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North by Northwest Overview:

North by Northwest (1959) was a Adventure - Mystery Film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and produced by Alfred Hitchcock and Herbert Coleman.

SYNOPSIS

This is one of Hitchcock's greatest, with suspense, action, and comedy in one non-stop motion picture. In one of his patented ordinary-man-in-exceptional-circumstances plots, advertising executive Grant gets kidnapped from a business engagement and winds up in a baffling, twisting battle with enemy agents and on the run from both police and the agents. This technically superb film yielded some of Hitchcock's best-known images: the crop duster bearing down on Grant in a remote cornfield, Grant and Saint dangling from Mt. Rushmore, Saint's frank seduction of Grant on a train. Essential viewing. The laserdisc includes an audio commentary by Frank Danielle, dean of USC Film School, with special screenplay analysis.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

North by Northwest was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1995.

Academy Awards 1959 --- Ceremony Number 32 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Art DirectionArt Direction: William A. Horning, Robert Boyle, Merrill Pye; Set Decoration: Henry Grace, Frank Nominated
Best Film EditingGeorge TomasiniNominated
Best WritingErnest LehmanNominated
See More Oscar Winners

North by Northwest BlogHub Articles:

The Directors’ Chair: North by Northwest

By Theresa Brown on May 16, 2020 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

The Directors’ Chair: North by Northwest (1959) ….. NORTH BY NORTHWEST ( 1959 ) ~ TO BE or NOT TO BE THE SPY WHO LOVED ME A case of mistaken identity takes a dull Madison Avenue advertising exec on a journey across the United States, hooking up with a cool blonde, biddin... Read full article

HITCHCOCK & HERRMANN: "NORTH BY NORTHWEST" COMES TO THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY

By The Lady Eve on Nov 24, 2017 From Lady Eve's Reel Life

On Friday, December 1 and Saturday, December 2, The San Francisco Symphony will present the Alfred Hitchcock blockbuster, North by Northwest, featuring Bernard Herrmann's iconic score. As with all film series presentations, North by Northwest will be screened with its score scrubbed from the soundtr... Read full article

North by Northwest (1959)

on Apr 12, 2017 From Journeys in Classic Film

If you’ve looked at my previous coverage on Alfred Hitchcock then you’re aware of the glaring omissions in his filmography for me. Well, cross one of the biggies off the list for I’ve finally seen North by Northwest. Hitchcock’s Bond-esque story of the man who wasn’t th... Read full article

Chicago Film Club field trip: “North By Northwest” April 2 at ShowPlace ICON at Roosevelt Road

By Stephen Reginald on Mar 25, 2017 From Classic Movie Man

Chicago Film Club field trip: “North By Northwest” April 2 at ShowPlace ICON at Roosevelt Road Directed by Hitchcock—“The Master of Suspense”—and starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, and James Mason, North By Northwest is one of the classiest espionage films... Read full article

Win Tickets to see “TCM Big Screen Classics: North by Northwest” (Giveaway runs 2/22 through 3/18)

By Annmarie Gatti on Feb 22, 2017 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

Win Tickets to see “North by Northwest” on the Big Screen! in Select Cinemas Nationwide Sunday, April 2 & Wednesday, April 5! “That’s funny, that plane’s dustin’ crops where there ain’t no crops.” CMH is thrilled to announce the 4rth of our 14 movie ticket giveawa... Read full article

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North by Northwest Quotes:

Roger Thornhill: Tell me, why are you so good to me?
Eve Kendall: Shall I climb up and tell you why?
Roger Thornhill: Now you listen to me, I'm an advertising man, not a red herring. I've got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex-wives and several bartenders that depend upon me, and I don't intend to disappoint them all by getting myself "slightly" killed.
Eve Kendall: It's going to be a long night.
Roger Thornhill: True.
Eve Kendall: And I don't particularly like the book I've started.
Roger Thornhill: Ah.
Eve Kendall: You know what I mean?
Roger Thornhill: Ah, let me think. Yes, I know exactly what you mean.
Phillip Vandamm: Has anyone ever told you that you overplay your various roles rather severely, Mr. Kaplan?
Eve Kendall: I want you to do a favor for me. A big, big favor.
Roger Thornhill: Name it.
Eve Kendall: I want you to leave right now, stay far away from me, and don't come near me again. We're not going to get involved. Last night was last night, and it's all there was, and it's all there is. There isn't going to be anything more between us. So please. Goodbye, good luck, no conversation, just leave.
See More Quotes from North by Northwest
North by Northwest Facts
MGM wanted Alfred Hitchcock to cast Cyd Charisse for the part of Eve Kendall, but Hitchcock insisted upon Eva Marie Saint.
The studio wanted Sophia Loren for the female lead, and she wanted to do it, but contractual problems resulted in her having to turn it down. The part was eventually given to Eva Marie Saint.
In a TCM interview, according to screenwriter Ernest Lehman (who worked in close collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock), the working title was "In A Northwesterly Direction." The head of the Story Department at MGM said, "Why don't you call it 'North by Northwest'?" Lehman says that he and Hitch adopted that as the new working title, always assuming that they'd come up with something better.
Cary Grant was initially reluctant to accept the role of Roger Thornhill since at 55 he was much older than the character.
William Holden was suggested to play Roger Thornhill, but was never actually offered the part.
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