Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason

A suave, succesful New York advertising executive finds himself, through a case of mistaken identity, embroiled in a web of intrigue and murder that takes him across the country to prove his innocence...( read more  read more... ) to the police and get an evil crime syndicate, looking for a lost microfilm, off his tail.

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56,582 ratings

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100% liked it

56 critics

Unrated, 2 hrs. 16 min.

Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

Release Date: September 17, 1959

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DVD Release Date: August 29, 2000

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Stats: 4,572 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (4,572)


  • September 25, 2009
    A classic, a lot of directors owe Hitchcock a great deal! The only thing I don't like about this film is Cary Grant, it?s a great film but not one of his best performances!
  • August 28, 2009
    "War is hell Mr. Thornhill, even when it's a cold one."

    A hapless New York advertising executive is mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and is pursued across the country while he looks for a way to survive.

    ...( read more) Schoolbook">REVIEW
    Probably no director has made such masterpieces back to back as "Vertigo," this film, and "Psycho." Although a bit long in the tooth, Grant is terrific as a man mistakenly drawn into a game of wits between the CIA and a group of spies. Saint is the ultimate icy blond, Mason makes an urbane villain, and Landau is creepy as Mason's sidekick. The dialog between Grant and Saint is surprisingly risqué for its time. Hitchcock keeps the action moving at a frenetic pace while building the suspense, helped by Hermann's marvelous score. The crop-dusting plane scene is justifiably famous, as is the finale atop Mount Rushmore. A masterful blend of action and comedy.
  • April 15, 2009
    Clearly a pre-cursor to the modern action thriller in the James Bond style. Despite the awful special effects (and colour) of the age making the action laughable, this is a gripping cold war spy thriller, with a twist.
  • December 14, 2008
    North By Northwest is not an artistic masterpiece like Rear Window and Vertigo, but it is probably the most purely entertaining picture Hitchcock ever made. It's essentially a rehash of many of his earlier films, with a plot partially derived from The Thirty Nine Steps and the ve...( read more)ry similar Saboteur, while there are borrowings from Foreign Correspondent and Notorious, among others. However, it is all done with such style and confidence that it doesn't matter if it's essentially just a greatest hits package.

    Very few other films of this kind attain the near perfect tone of this one, precariously balanced between seriousness and silliness. Sometimes this film manages the very difficult trick of being both suspenseful and comical at the same time, as in the auction house scene, or the wonderful scene in the lift when the hero's mother turns to two heavies in a lift looking menacingly at the hero and says "you gentlemen are not REALLY trying to kill my son, are you?".

    Of course the famous crop dusting plane scene and the Mount Rushmore chase are terrific. The former is really more notable for the amount of time taken to build up to the action than the action itself, while the technical work on the latter still looks pretty good. In a totally different vein is the astonishingly frank seduction sequence on the train. Hitchcock takes his time here as with many of the other scenes, but the film is so crammed with memorable passages that one hardly notices it's 136 mins long.

    Ernest Lehman's script is full of wonderful lines, many of them delivered so well by chief villain James Mason that at times we almost want to root for him. "Has any one ever told you tend to overplay your various roles Mr Kaplan....it seems to me you fellows could stand a little less training from the FBI and a little more from the Actor's Studio". Cary Grant is so smooth one almost forgets he's over 50, and of course there's also Bernard Herrmann's vibrant score.

    Endlessly enjoyable even with repeated viewings. How many of today's thrillers will be such fun in 25 years time?
  • August 13, 2008
    One of the longer Hitchcock films, Gary Grant is a comical character who finds himself being set up by agents for a number of crimes. This is an action packed film where Grant's character has to work hard to survive.

    The very beautiful Eva marie Saint plays Grant's forward se...( read more)xy love interest and seems to be quite intent in getting what she wants.

    This film could fall under many categories, Action, Love, Thriller, Mistaken Identity.

    On the special features, Eva Marie Saint (as she is today) takes us through the making of the film along with Hitchcock's daughter, which is an interesting watch also.
  • November 20, 2009
    Sly identity crisis, suspenseful cross-continental chase, and cool romance balanced between suspense thriller and urbane comedy, with its irreverent Hitchcock humor complementing and fueling its intrigue. Memorable for the sensual banter between the superb Cary Grant and Eva Mari...( read more)e Saint as for its famous sequences. Stylish and taut.
  • November 20, 2009
    Alfred Hitchcock invites us to go "North by Northwest", on a stylish and expansive Cross-country pursuit, from New York to South Dakota. We joyously trail Cary Grant through a series of memorable scenes and iconic set-pieces, danger looming ominously over our hero, as a case of m...( read more)istaken identity implicates him as an unwitting player in an international cold war - inextricably entangled with refined villain, James Mason.

    Each dazzlingly staged episode is a disparate fragment of an exciting and colourful collage, punctuated by interludes of protracted suspense, providing the raw material for an exhilarating and flamboyant composition, assembled by the hands of the master and his fellow craftsmen.

    The stand-out moments of this diverse artistry are the crop-dusting plane attack and the climactic chase across the faces of Mount Rushmore. The former is a visual treat, as the glorious panoramic images capture the plane swooping down from the glaring sun, like a bird of prey, chasing our stranded hero across the dusty wilderness of Highway 41. The latter is equally spectacular, boasting searing tension that is balanced on a knife edge, as precarious as Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint dangling from the face of the famous monument.

    "North by Northwest" is yet another fruitful collaboration between Hitchcock and regular composer, Bernard Herrmann; the latter scoring a lively commentary on the elaborately plotted action, beginning with a boisterous overture that sets the tone for a bold and dynamic adventure.

    The sprawling script by Ernest Lehman is lightly humorous, brimming with snappy and sophisticated dialogue that is justified by the charismatic Grant, who is particularly enjoyable during the steamy train journey, when he first encounters the elegant seductress, Saint. We are treated to sizzling chemistry between the two charming leads, both eagerly getting their mouths around Lehman's suggestive words.

    "North by Northwest" is a rip-roaring thrill ride, relentless from the opening flourishes through to the very peculiar finale - from mortal danger to wedded bliss in the blink of an eye.
  • November 18, 2009
    Over the top like a James Bond flick and perhaps even better then any films in the James Bond series. Cary has to go through just as many ordeals as Bond and doesn't need any special gadgets. His girl is more cooly sexy than Bond is too. The special effects are unrealistic, but t...( read more)his doesn't matter in a film as unrealistic as this.

    Maybe not Hitch's best, but it's his most straight ahead entertaining and upbeat.
  • November 13, 2009
    As you would expect from a Hitchcock film, this movie is full of mystery, intrigue, drama and suspence. Eva Marie Saint is simply marvellous is her role as Eve Kendall and brings a certain intensity along with a romantic angle to the film. This movie will have its audience spellb...( read more)ound from the onset and will captivate you until the very end.
  • November 11, 2009
    My favorite Hitchcock thriller.

Comments


  • WinstonSmith6079
    September 27, 2007
    Looks like they fixed it now. Seems like all they gotta do to begin with is go to the IMDb to get the info.
  • Keaven
    May 15, 2007
    You know there is a report missing or incorrect data link for a reason people.
  • ron5190
    March 28, 2007
    Yes, please fix the release dates! They're bothering me!
  • bllrmdncr
    November 19, 2006
    This movie was not released in 1999! can someone please fix this on the website? Under details, it says, "Released Oct. 22, 1999." It also says on the cover who this is directed by - Alfred Hitchcock. Don't tell me there's no inormation available...!

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North by Northwest Trivia


  • In which classic movie was actor Cary Grant chased by a crop duster airplane and almost getting killed in an explosion?  Answer »
  • Although Cary Grant played Roger Thornhill in "North by Northwest", who was MGM's preferred choice?  Answer »
  • Who directed the film North By Northwest ?  Answer »
  • Legendary Movie Scene: Alfred Hitchcock directed North By Northwest (1957), in which the hero is left alone beside an open corn field. He notices a plane lazily spraying crops. Suddenly the plane swoops down and attacks him. Who is the hero? He often played sophisticated leading man roles.   Answer »

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