Movie review: North by Northwest (1959)

• October 17, 2006
• James Skemp
• dvd / movie

For many years, North by Northwest is a movie that I have wanted to see, if not consciously, then certainly at the back of my mind.  Other than the somewhat sappy ending, North by Northwest was one of the best movies I've seen in a very long time.

Directed by Hitchcock, this movie truly put me on the edge of my seat.  The ending was quite a surprise, and the movie has aged extremely well in the over 40 years since it's release.  Not only that, but Cary Grant truly shines in this movie, from beginning to end, truly an actor that others should aspire to beat.

What if everyone around you was suddenly convinced you were a spy? Cary Grant plays an advertising executive who looks a little too much like someone else and is forced to go on the lam (helped along by Eva Marie Saint). Hitchcock's sure-handed comic drama pits Grant against a crop duster and lands him in a fight for his life on Mount Rushmore. A cliffhanger if ever there was one!

While over 2 hours long, the movie hardly faltered, each moment as important as the last.

I've given North by Northwest five stars, as I believe it would appeal to a large audience, and since I would certainly watch it again (again, despite the sappy ending).  After watching this movie, I've added a number of Cary Grant movies to my queue

Rated: UR
2 hr 16 min
1959