"Games . . . must we?"

Rating: 7/10 (2 July 2018)

There are so many iconic elements to North by Northwest, from Bernard Herrmann's complicated score, to the chase scene between Cary Grant and an airplane, to Eva Marie Saint's come-on, "I don't particularly like the book I'm reading," to the location of the end action scene. While everyone has their favorite parts to the movie, mine are not the most famous. My favorite scene is when Cary Grant drunkenly phones his mother from the police station. It's easily the funniest scene in the film, and I happen to adore Cary when he's in his humorous element. My favorite line in the film has become a frequently used household phrase of my family's: James Mason, in one of his iconic villainous roles, smirks at Cary and asks, "Games . . . must we?" in his imitable accent. It's hilarious, and we frequently say, "James . . . must we?" instead when we joke about him or his movies.
I don't really like North by Northwest, even though I've seen it over a dozen times. It's one of Alfred Hitchcock's most famous films, and everyone in my family really likes it, so it was one of the classics I was raised on as a kid. In general, I find Hitchcock's movies to be a little slow, and I don't think Eva Marie Saint is as appealing as her role necessitates. If it weren't for Cary and James, I'd probably never watch this movie, but their energies together are great fun to watch. They were friends in real life, and when they verbally spar, it almost feels like they're playing a-dare I say it?-game.
The plot is always a very intriguing one: an innocent misunderstanding leads certain people to believe Cary Grant has a different name, and he becomes implicated in a very dangerous situation. Since Cary's entirely innocent, it's easy to root for him, but since James is so charming and funny, it's incredibly easy to root for him, too. Aren't the best stories the ones where you're torn between rooting for the bad and good guys? If you think so, you'll probably really like North by Northwest. If you don't end up liking it, then you can ask the screen, "James . . . must we?"