A a high-stakes thriller where an ordinary man's identity unravels, painting a portrait of escalating paranoia across the vast, indifferent American landscape.

North by Northwest

"It's a deadly game of "tag" and Cary Grant is "it"!"

06 August 1959 United States of America 136 min ⭐ 8.0 (4,308)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Cast: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Jessie Royce Landis, Leo G. Carroll

Thriller Adventure

Mistaken Identity and the Fragility of Self Appearance vs. Reality The Individual Against the Institution Love and Deception

Budget: $4,000,000

Box Office: $13,275,000

North by Northwest - Easter Eggs & Hidden Details

Easter Eggs

Alfred Hitchcock's Cameo Appearance

In what became his signature, director Alfred Hitchcock makes a brief appearance near the very beginning of the film. Just after his own directorial credit appears on screen, he is seen trying to catch a city bus, only to have the doors slam in his face. This playful cameo allowed Hitchcock to insert his authorial stamp and engaged audiences who made a sport of spotting him in his films.

The Boy Covering His Ears

In the Mount Rushmore cafeteria scene, just before Eve Kendall 'shoots' Roger Thornhill with a blank-loaded gun, a young boy in the background can be seen plugging his ears in anticipation of the loud noise. For years, this was considered a continuity error. However, many analysts now believe it was a deliberate 'meta' joke by Hitchcock, winking at the audience by having a character on-screen acknowledge the artifice of the staged shooting.

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