MovieChat Forums > North by Northwest (1959) Discussion > Long time since I watched this

Long time since I watched this

posted 2 years ago by huwdj (4562)
3 replies | jump to latest

I'd forgotten:
How ridiculously it starts with a silly coincidence - but I suspect that amused Hitchcock and he didn't really care anyway as long as it got the story rolling.
How studio bound it was. He must have had some big sets made though, I have to admit, there is a long list of locations given for this film on IMDb.
How good Eve Marie Saint was at playing a femme fatale. I only seem to see her in 'vulnerable' roles but here, at least for 3/4 of the film, she was pretty tough, clever and seductive.
That Martin Landau was a compelling and interesting presence whenever on screen. He reminded me of younger amoral James Mason characters and I wonder how intentional that was?
Also, I regret to say, I noticed how slim all the background extras were, even the cops - sign of the times I guess.
And at the end of the day - I really quite enjoyed it.

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

IMHO it's not a great movie, and is somewhat overrated, but it is a movie with some great scenes and performances.

But I've always found the whole to be less than the sum of its parts. Or, its good parts.

[–] huwdj (4562) 2 years ago

I agree it's a bit overrated but I enjoyed it. I'm wondering how much comedy Hitchcock wanted in the film or whether it's just Cary Grant being himself that makes it generally light-hearted. You can imagine if Sean Connery was the lead it would have had a harder edge - though in 1959 I guess he wasn't yet a big star (Dr No (1962)).

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

Hitchcock did like a bit of sly comedy in his films, I think he was the one who invented the device of throwing wisecracks or bits of comic business into suspenseful situations, something that's been done in every action film ever since *. And of course anyone who ever hired Cary Grant had to give him some room to be funny! So I would guess that the Hitchcock/Grant films included a mutual agreement to explore opportunities for humor, as long as they didn't interfere with the suspense.

And yeah, it isn't a great film and I do think it's a bit overrated, but hey, it's a chance to spend two hours watching Cary Crant! And like "Vertigo", the female lead is a twist on the Hitchcock Blonde the audience expected to see by then. Eva Marie Saint looks as sexy and confident as Grace Kelly in "To Catch a Thief", but in fact she's a regular girl in a horrible abusive relationship where she's forced to whore herself out, so if Hitchcock wanted a girl who was more vulnerable than Grace Kelly then he got the casting right.

* Except for DC-based comic-book films, because DC fans lack senses of humor.