North by Northwest (1959)
96%RT Audience Score: 94%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 3 Oscars
8 wins & 10 nominations total
Gripping, suspenseful, and visually iconic, this late-period Hitchcock classic laid the groundwork for countless action thrillers to follow.
This flick is a total nail-biter! Hitchcock really outdid himself with this one. The suspense is so thick you could cut it with a knife. And let’s talk about those visuals – they’re iconic AF. You can totally see how this movie influenced all those action thrillers that came after it. It’s like the OG of the genre.
Production Company(ies)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Garces Highway 1/10th mile East from Corcoran Road and Kern National Wildlife Preserve, Kern County, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Approved
Year of Release
1959
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby SR Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.50 : 1 (VistaVision, original & negative ratio)
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Runtime:2h 16m
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Language(s):English, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jul 17, 1959 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 3, 2009
Genre(s)
Mystery & thriller
Keyword(s)
starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Leo G Carroll, Martin Landau, Jessie Royce Landis, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by Ernest Lehman, mystery, thriller, box office success, budget, reviewed by Pauline Kael, Barbara L Wilson, Marie Stevenson, Helen Bower, Kate Cameron, John L Scott, Brian Eggert, Florence Epstein, Hortense Morton, C.A Lejeune, Jay Carmody, Harold V Cohen, MPAA rating, mistaken identity, espionage, action sequences, suspenseful, visually iconic, iconic, thriller, adventure, spy, conspiracy, Technicolor, VistaVision, crop duster chase, Mount Rushmore, United Nations, train, Mata Hari, superheroic score, clever dialogue, charismatic lead, grand adventure, intriguing mystery, colorful characters, lively directorial performance, entertainment value, classic thriller, Hitchcock classic, late-period Hitchcock, top Hitchcock film, iconic action thriller, gripping, visually stunning, suspenseful, thrilling, action-packed, memorable, must-see, timeless, masterpiece, Hollywood classic, American thriller, spy thriller, mistaken identity, espionage, adventure opus, grand scope, intriguing mystery, conspiracy, clever, sophisticated, elegant, glossy, thrilling, brilliant, cool surface, perfect polish, Number 1 hand, superheroic style, cleverly original, cleverly sexy, entertaining, fun, awesome, spy adventure flick
Worldwide gross: $142,319
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,643,157
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,467
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 179,188
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $3,101,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $35,802,869
Production budget ranking: 1,045
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $19,279,845
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$53,439,557
ROI to date (est.): -97%
ROI ranking: 2,002
– Eva Marie Saint as Eve Kendall
– James Mason as Phillip Vandamm
– Leo G. Carroll as The Professor
– Martin Landau as Leonard
– Jessie Royce Landis as Clara Thornhill
– Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
– Produced by Alfred Hitchcock
– Written by Ernest Lehman
Director(s)
Alfred Hitchcock
Writer(s)
Ernest Lehman
Producer(s)
Alfred Hitchcock
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 3 Oscars
8 wins & 10 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (110) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (107) | Rotten (3)
Though not as cleverly original as Strangers on a Train, or as cleverly sexy as Notorious, this is one of Hitchcock’s most entertaining American thrillers.
July 6, 2022
Pauline Kael
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
Alfred Hitchcock’s new thriller, North by Northwest, is one of those no holds barred films. For better than two hours, he lets the Technicolor melodrama ramble across the VistaVision screen while gleefully setting traps for his hero.
June 9, 2021
Barbara L. Wilson
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
North by Northwest Is the reliable one of mistaken identity and spies with the glossy touches of Hitchcock– a crop dusting plane spraying bullets over a farm road and a chase on the stone faces of Mount Rushmore .
June 9, 2021
Marie Stevenson
Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
TOP CRITIC
On all counts, North by Northwest is Hitchcock’s best picture in recent years.
June 9, 2021
Helen Bower
Detroit Free Press
TOP CRITIC
The brilliant director has outdone himself by piling thrill on thrill for the delectation of an enraptured audience.
June 9, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
Kate Cameron
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
Grant’s technique, so well established, shines brightly under Hitchcock’s guidance. The two seem completely en rapport in movie making. Miss Saint, effective in her former sweet or drab roles, makes the switch to glamour as a lovely Mata Hari type.
June 8, 2021
John L. Scott
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
North by Northwest distills Alfred Hitchcock’s obsessions, techniques, and themes into a singular, deliriously entertaining form.
February 12, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
This is a classic thriller, slick as ice and about as exciting as you can stand.
June 9, 2021
Florence Epstein
Modern Screen
Relax and enjoy it — North by Northwest is elegant, in color escape entertainment.
June 9, 2021
Hortense Morton (Screen Scout)
San Francisco Examiner
You get a lot of entertainment for your money. You get a couple of clever, sophisticated screen actors and an elegant actress with a fine-drawn, exciting face. You get one scene that will be talked about as long as people talk about films at all.
June 9, 2021
C.A. Lejeune
Observer (UK)
The acting in North by Northwest has that brilliant, cool surface that represents the perfect polish for the best of Hitchcock. Grant, to be sure, is the director’s Number 1 hand at this sort of thing. Mason, nevertheless, comes close to matching him.
June 8, 2021
Jay Carmody
Washington Star
Very little of it makes sense, but no matter. From the moment Mr. Cary Grant, a Madison Avenue advertising man, is kidnaped by a band of foreign agents who think ne s someone else, North By Northwest stays on a rollercoaster that operates on laughing gas.
June 8, 2021
Harold V. Cohen
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette…
Plot
Madison Avenue advertising man Roger Thornhill finds himself thrust into the world of spies when he is mistaken for a man by the name of George Kaplan. Foreign spy Philip Vandamm and his henchman Leonard try to eliminate him but when Thornhill tries to make sense of the case, he is framed for murder. Now on the run from the police, he manages to board the 20th Century Limited bound for Chicago where he meets a beautiful blond, Eve Kendall, who helps him to evade the authorities. His world is turned upside down yet again when he learns that Eve isn’t the innocent bystander he thought she was. Not all is as it seems however, leading to a dramatic rescue and escape at the top of Mt. Rushmore.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Cary Grant’s performance as the lead character is “remarkably charismatic.”
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