“Jaws is generally credited with the birth of the blockbuster, but the groundwork for the modern action movie was laid a half-century ago by none other than Alfred Hitchcock. Coming off of 1958’s Vertigo, easily his darkest, most difficult work (and not coincidentally, a middling performer at the box office), it’s as if Hitchcock decided to give the people what they wanted by crafting the most entertaining follow-up possible, using one of his favored plot devices – mistaken identity – as a springboard for a sprawling cross-country adventure. With an assist from Oscar-nominated screenwriter Ernest Lehman, the master of suspense leapfrogs from one spellbinding set piece to the next, including a chase across Mount Rushmore and the crop-duster sequence that ranks among the most celebrated action sequences of all time. This is not to suggest that North by Northwest is merely mindless escapism, as its plotting, humor and execution is far more sophisticated than you’ll find in the countless imitators that followed. (And let’s take a moment to be thankful that the film was made long before sequelitis ran rampant in Hollywood – South by Southwest, anyone?) Still, the movie remains one of Hitchcock’s fizziest concoctions, and Cary Grant’s urbane, witty performance is the straw that stirs the drink."
A great film indead.
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