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).

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North by Northwest was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1995.

Academy Awards 1959 --- Ceremony Number 32 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Art DirectionArt Direction: William A. Horning, Robert Boyle, Merrill Pye; Set Decoration: Henry Grace, Frank Nominated
Best Film EditingGeorge TomasiniNominated
Best WritingErnest LehmanNominated
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BlogHub Articles:

4K UHD Blu-ray Review: North by Northwest

By Devon Powell on Nov 12, 2025 From Hitchcock Master

Distributor: 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 Blog

The 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 Life

On 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 Film

If 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 Man

Chicago 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

Eve Kendall: I want you to do a favor for me. A big, big favor.
Roger Thornhill: Name it.
Eve Kendall: I want you to leave right now, stay far away from me, and don't come near me again. We're not going to get involved. Last night was last night, and it's all there was, and it's all there is. There isn't going to be anything more between us. So please. Goodbye, good luck, no conversation, just leave.


Roger Thornhill: The moment I meet an attractive woman, I have to start pretending I have no desire to make love to her.
Eve Kendall: What makes you think you have to conceal it?
Roger Thornhill: She might find the idea objectionable.
Eve Kendall: Then again, she might not.


Roger Thornhill: How does a girl like you get to be a girl like you?
Eve Kendall: Lucky, I guess.


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Facts about

Alfred Hitchcock couldn't get permission to film inside the UN, so footage was made of the interior of the building using a hidden camera, and the rooms were later recreated on a soundstage.
The date on the newspaper shown being read at the United States Intelligence Agency is shown as Tuesday November 25, 1958.
Thornhill appears on the left side of the screen for almost the entire movie.
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National Film Registry

North by Northwest

Released 1959
Inducted 1995
(Sound)




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Also directed by Alfred Hitchcock




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