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North by Northwest

North by Northwest
Northbynorthwest1.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Produced by Alfred Hitchcock
Written by Ernest Lehman
Starring Cary Grant
Eva Marie Saint
James Mason
Jessie Royce Landis
Music by Bernard Herrmann
Cinematography Robert Burks
Edited by George Tomasini
Production
company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • July 28, 1959 (1959-07-28)
Running time
136 minutes
Country United States
Budget $4,326,000
Box office $9.8 million

North by Northwest is a 1959 American thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. The screenplay was by Ernest Lehman, who wanted to write "the Hitchcock picture to end all Hitchcock pictures".

North by Northwest is a tale of mistaken identity, with an innocent man pursued across the United States by agents of a mysterious organization trying to prevent him from blocking their plan to smuggle out microfilm that contains government secrets.

This is one of several Hitchcock films that features a music score by Bernard Herrmann and a memorable opening title sequence by graphic designer Saul Bass. This film is generally cited as the first to feature extended use of kinetic typography in its opening credits.

North by Northwest is now numbered among the essential Hitchcock pictures and is often listed as one of the greatest films of all time. It was selected in 1995 for preservation in the National Film Registry by the United States Library of Congress, as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Two thugs looking for a "George Kaplan" at a hotel bar see a waiter calling out for him at the same time advertising executive Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) summons the waiter. Thornhill, thus, is mistaken for "George Kaplan". Kidnapped by the thugs, he is brought to the Long Island estate of Lester Townsend, and interrogated by spy Phillip Vandamm (James Mason). Thornhill vehemently denies he is Kaplan. Vandamm thinks he is lying and Vandamm's henchman Leonard (Martin Landau) tries to arrange Thornhill's death, but Thornhill manages to escape a staged drunken driving accident.


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