Streaming Gems: North by Northwest (1959)
Photo from IMDb
From Shane Conto
What do you think of when someone mentions Alfred Hitchcock? The Master of Suspense. One of the greatest horror directors of all time. A craftsman who had a great handle on tension and thrills. Horror and psychological thrillers galore in the filmography of Hitchcock. But he created types of films as well. Case in point…North by Northwest. No horror. No psychological thrills. But there are buckets of suspense and tension in this espionage thriller.
What is the most wonderful aspect of North by Northwest that makes this so iconic? The set pieces. Even if you have never watched North by Northwest, you have either seen or know specific moments from this film. First off, the crop-dusting sequence just might be one of the most intense and iconic sequences in the history of film. Cary Grant’s Roger Thornhill stands waiting in the middle of nowhere. A crop duster appears high above…until it is not so high up anymore. The image of Grant diving out of the way of this dive bombing crop duster is burned into the pop culture zeitgeist. But Hitchcock was not done with the iconic set pieces because the whole climax of the film takes place on Mount Rushmore. Watching Grant and James Mason going toe-to-toe on the slopes of famous presidents’ faces. This thrilling and unnerving battle at such a height is one of the most thrilling moments in any Hitchcock film.
What does Hitchcock have to match his expertly crafted suspense and tension? Grant. With Roger Thornhill, we get one of the most suave and charismatic leads in espionage thrillers. A few years before Sean Connery debuted as master spy James Bond, audiences were treated to some suave Grant energy in this espionage infused film. There were few figures in cinema at the time as cool and charismatic as Grant. Just watching him wander from one strange twist to the next is so entertaining and a big element of what makes this film work so well is the film’s lead. But Grant has some strong supporting players as well. Eva Marie Saint is gorgeous and alluring which makes their budding relationship so satisfying. Mason is an equally suave yet nefarious force who plays so well against Grant. Academy Award winner Martin Landau is also eerie, intense, and a bit frightening as Mason’s devious henchman.
But what is the biggest selling point for North by Northwest? Of course it has to be Hitchcock! This man was a legend of cinema and crafted so many masterclasses of filmmaking. This might not be on the same level as Psycho, Vertigo, and some of his other horror/thrillers, but North by Northwest is a creative, large-scale adventure. This narrative expands across the United States in an unexpected way. Hitchcock gets so many great performances out of his talented cast. Bernard Herrmann’s iconic score just adds so much emotion and energy to each of Hitchcock’s scenes. The camerawork is dynamic and expertly framed and blocked. Hitchcock does not waste a shot or an opportunity to heighten the tension. There are plenty of twisted and mysterious elements to this sprawling film. The prototype of the MacGuffin drives this thrilling narrative forward. There are endless film influenced by this master class of filmmaking, tension building, and mystery.
North by Northwest is currently streaming on Criterion Channel.
