North by Northwest

I wasn’t aware that North by Northwest was nominated for 3 oscars. And I must say that embarrassingly so, my research finally revealed that Ben-Hur actually never lost an Oscar in editing (despite the infamous red or white Mercedes). So all this while I have been led to believe that my favourite question in a quiz never existed. Damn. This is embarrassing. And what led me to this revalation is that George Tomasini – one of Hitchcock’s favourite editors (Psycho, Vertigo & Birds to his credit) – was nominated for North by North West and lost it to Ben-Hur. And my embarrassment suddenly hit an all time high. I cannot even recollect the number of times I have asked that question only to be told several years later that the question didn’t exist. Damn! Damn!! Damn!!!

Well we need to move to the crux of the matter which revolves around successful advertising executive Roger O Thornhill (Cary Grant). Now Roger finds himself in a club for a meeting when the bell hop goes around calling for George Kaplan. Roger, inadvertently bumps into the bell hop for different reasons completely but a couple of suspicious looking bystanders mistake Roger to be Kaplan and kidnap him @ gun point. They take him to the residence of one Mr. Townsend (James Mason) where he is grilled to no end and then force fed a bottle of bourbon in an attempt to make his death appear like a car accident under the influence of alcohol. Little do they know that Roger can hold a drink better than most people.

Whats worse – Roger is now determined to prove his innocence to the police. A determination that leads him into a web of high level espionage that involves organizations and people that Roger cannot even imagine being involved with. But the romance with the mysterious and gorgeous Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint) keeps him in the hunt for the truth and gives us a heady concoction that one can expect only from the great Alfred Hitchcock’s table.

Now who am I but a mere mortal to comment on the #37 in the imdb’s top 250 list. North by Northwest was an absolute hit in its time and over 50 years since its making continues to be rated as one of the best movies of all time. Thanks to wonderful cuts from Tomasini and a tight screenplay with very little wastage from Ernest Lehman (The Sound of Music, Sabrina, West Side Story, King and I, Hello Dolly).

Hitchcock’s direction is unquestionably brilliant. Especially in the cult sequences of the aircraft chasing Roger over the Prarie grasslands and the most spoken about climax on Mount Rushmore. A movie in which the technical aspects far outshine the performances, North by Northwest will forever find itself in the list of best Hollywood movies of all time. The only thing I would change in hind sight would be the undue emphasis on the romance between Eve and Roger. But then it sold in 1959 and I guess it would sell even today. 8 on 10 for certain.

Trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi473956889/