North by Northwest (1959) | |
| Director(s) | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Producer(s) | Herbert Coleman (associate), Alfred Hitchcock (uncredited) |
| Top Genres | Action, Adventure, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller/Suspense |
| Top Topics | Mistaken Identity, Romance (Drama), Spies |
Featured Cast:
North by Northwest Overview:
North by Northwest (1959) was a Adventure - Mystery Film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and produced by Alfred Hitchcock and Herbert Coleman.
SYNOPSIS
This is one of Hitchcock's greatest, with suspense, action, and comedy in one non-stop motion picture. In one of his patented ordinary-man-in-exceptional-circumstances plots, advertising executive Grant gets kidnapped from a business engagement and winds up in a baffling, twisting battle with enemy agents and on the run from both police and the agents. This technically superb film yielded some of Hitchcock's best-known images: the crop duster bearing down on Grant in a remote cornfield, Grant and Saint dangling from Mt. Rushmore, Saint's frank seduction of Grant on a train. Essential viewing. The laserdisc includes an audio commentary by Frank Danielle, dean of USC Film School, with special screenplay analysis.
(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).
.North by Northwest was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1995.
Academy Awards 1959 --- Ceremony Number 32 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Art Direction | Art Direction: William A. Horning, Robert Boyle, Merrill Pye; Set Decoration: Henry Grace, Frank | Nominated |
| Best Film Editing | George Tomasini | Nominated |
| Best Writing | Ernest Lehman | Nominated |
BlogHub Articles:
4K UHD Blu-ray Review: North by Northwest
By Devon Powell on Nov 12, 2025 From Hitchcock MasterDistributor: Warner Brothers Release Date: November 19, 2024 Region: Region Free Length: 02:16:22 Video: 2160P (HEVC, H.265 ? HDR10) Main Audio: English Dolby Atmos Audio 7.1 English Dolby TrueHD Audio 2.0 English DTS-HD Master Audio Alternate Audio: Spanish Mono Dolby Digital Audio French Mono Dol... Read full article
The Directors’ Chair: North by Northwest
By Theresa Brown on May 16, 2020 From Classic Movie Hub BlogThe Directors’ Chair: North by Northwest (1959) ….. NORTH BY NORTHWEST ( 1959 ) ~ TO BE or NOT TO BE THE SPY WHO LOVED ME A case of mistaken identity takes a dull Madison Avenue advertising exec on a journey across the United States, hooking up with a cool blonde, biddin... Read full article
HITCHCOCK & HERRMANN: "NORTH BY NORTHWEST" COMES TO THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY
By The Lady Eve on Nov 24, 2017 From Lady Eve's Reel LifeOn Friday, December 1 and Saturday, December 2, The San Francisco Symphony will present the Alfred Hitchcock blockbuster, North by Northwest, featuring Bernard Herrmann's iconic score. As with all film series presentations, North by Northwest will be screened with its score scrubbed from the soundtr... Read full article
North by Northwest (1959)
on Apr 12, 2017 From Journeys in Classic FilmIf you’ve looked at my previous coverage on Alfred Hitchcock then you’re aware of the glaring omissions in his filmography for me. Well, cross one of the biggies off the list for I’ve finally seen North by Northwest. Hitchcock’s Bond-esque story of the man who wasn’t th... Read full article
Chicago Film Club field trip: “North By Northwest” April 2 at ShowPlace ICON at Roosevelt Road
By Stephen Reginald on Mar 25, 2017 From Classic Movie ManChicago Film Club field trip: “North By Northwest” April 2 at ShowPlace ICON at Roosevelt Road Directed by Hitchcock—“The Master of Suspense”—and starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, and James Mason, North By Northwest is one of the classiest espionage films... Read full article
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Quotes from
Roger Thornhill: Is that a proposition?
Eve Kendall: I never discuss love on an empty stomach.
Roger Thornhill: You've already eaten!
Eve Kendall: But you haven't.
Roger Thornhill: I didn't realize you were an art collector. I thought you just collected corpses.
Roger Thornhill: Now, what can a man do with his clothes off for twenty minutes? Couldn't he have taken an hour?
Eve Kendall: You could always take a cold shower.
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Facts about
Alfred Hitchcock had planned a sequence where Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) hid in Abraham Lincoln's nose and had a sneezing fit. Park officials would not allow this to be filmed, but Hitchcock tried again and again. Finally, someone asked Hitchcock how he would feel if it were the other way around and Lincoln was having a sneezing fit in Cary Grant's nose. Hitchcock immediately understood and the scene was never filmed. However, "The Man in Lincoln's Nose" was used as a "gag" working title.
In the video release version of the film, Eva Marie Saint says that Cary Grant's opening scene abduction from his hotel business lunch date was shot on a Hollywood sound stage. Actually it was shot on location in the famed Oak Room of New York's Plaza Hotel, where Grant retained a room during production there.
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