Sizzling Romance, Cliffhanger Thrills

Rating: 8/10 (6 September 2019)

I think the last time I watched this film was when I was a kid or at least before I got my hormones properly. This time around, as much as I loved the mystery and thriller elements (that plane scene! who is Mr. Kaplan?), I noticed the chemistry beween Eva Marie Saint and Cary Grant far more.
The scene in the restaurant carriage on the train is a treatise on how to flirt on-screen and, I confess, I had to check the date of the film. Yes, this is from 1959 and not some swinging Sixties free-love frolic. Watching two actors of the calibre of Saint and Grant spar with each other is truly wonderful, it all feels so real and therefore it sells the rest of the film to us, including famoust Mount Rushmore pursuit. Without the sexual tension that Grant and Saint portray, all of Thornhill's actions to save damsel-in-distress Kendall would seem un-warranted at least and, at most, a little bit stalkery and bizarre.
As it stands, North by Northwest is a practically perfect film of the genre romcom spy thriller. There is a genuine charm to this film and its leads that no modern Hollywood creation can touch. It has heart.