Really, Really Close To Great

North by Northwest (1959) – A New York advertising executive is misidentified as an undercover government agent. The bad guys want him dead and the good guys want to use him in a larger plan. On the run, he meets a beautiful woman who helps him. Or does she?

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason

Why I Liked It – All the classic Hitchcock details in perfect order.

A lot of folks will list this as their favorite movie by the iconic director. I often see it listed as his best as well. While I like the movie a great deal, it doesn’t land on either of those lists for me. Given that it hits all the Hitchcockian notes that I love so perfectly, even I find it strange that I don’t rank it higher.

So, what’s the issue? That’s a good question.

It may be as simple as the stars of the movie falling just a tiny percentage short for me. Cary Grant takes care of the light comedy pieces here with his usual style. The back and forth between Roger Thornhill (Grant) and Roger’s mother, Clara (Jessie Royce Landis) is wonderful. But it falls just short. Landis doesn’t feel like she could be his mother. In fact, the two actors were born only eight years apart, so the feeling is accurate. Either Grant was too old for the role, or Landis was too young. Plus, the relationship between the middle-aged Roger and his mother is never developed. It exists strictly for comedic throwaways. It’s funny but never goes anywhere. Once the action picks up speed, Mother basically disappears.

Speaking of Grant’s Roger Thornhill, he’s kidnapped, locked up, threatened with death, has multiple attempts made on his life, is betrayed by his own government, but never rises above being “affronted” by it all. Where’s the anger? Where’s the full-on survival mode? Thornhill seems to be stuck at the “See here, my good man!” stage. Add in his complete acceptance that a beautiful stranger on a train inserts herself into his life when he’s being chased for murder without a blink of an eye. Then jumps into bed with him. Maybe I’m just living in a more cynical age, but it seems unlikely.

Speaking of the beautiful stranger, Eva Marie Saint is certainly beautiful, and she handles her role well. She is one of Hitchcock’s classic blonde leading ladies. Unfortunately, she’s never done much for me. Her personality in everything I’ve ever seen her in strikes me as “thin”. The actress usually played timid, introverted characters, so it’s a shock to see her here as a nerveless seductress. She’s actually better here than many other places, but still doesn’t sell me on her role. Again, she’s close, really close, just not quite there.

That makes the movie come up a little short for me. It’s still a great movie that I’d heartily recommend. A great cast of supporting actors features James Mason in his stock-in-trade villain role. He is smooth, urbane, and coldly deadly, Leo G. Carroll as the analytical head of the American intelligence agency, and Martin Landau as Mason’s aide. Landau is amazing with a subtle addition of homo-erotic tension with his boss. It would be easy to miss, and was daring for the day. Hitchcock is smooth as silk in his direction. If you’ve never seen the movie before and enjoy trying to catch where the great director slides in his background cameos, pay close attention to the first couple minutes of this one. I almost missed it myself! Plus, you get the iconic airplane scene! The second half of the movie is tighter and more exciting.

One of Hitchcock’s best, but not a personal favorite.

You can stream “North by Northwest” on Tubi, Hulu, Sling, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Google Play, and Apple TV.

Rating – **** Recommended