"It's a deadly game of "tag" and Cary Grant is "it"!"
North by Northwest - Movie Quotes
Memorable Quotes
That's funny, that plane's dusting crops where there ain't no crops.
— Man at bus stop
Context:
Roger Thornhill has been sent to a desolate crossroads in the prairie. After a long wait, another man gets off a bus and they exchange a few words. The man looks off into the distance and makes this observation just before the crop duster plane begins its attack on Thornhill.
Meaning:
This seemingly innocuous line of dialogue is a masterclass in building suspense. It signals that something is deeply wrong and unnatural in the seemingly peaceful landscape, transforming a mundane observation into a chilling premonition of the terror to come. It marks the precise moment the scene turns from quiet anticipation to imminent danger.
I never discuss love on an empty stomach.
— Eve Kendall
Context:
During their first meeting in the dining car of the 20th Century Limited train, Roger Thornhill makes a pass at Eve Kendall. She responds with this line, coolly deflecting yet simultaneously encouraging his advances.
Meaning:
This witty and suggestive line perfectly encapsulates Eve's character: sophisticated, alluring, and in control. It's a piece of flirtatious dialogue that bristles with sexual tension. The line was famously a way for Hitchcock to circumvent the censors; the original line was "I never make love on an empty stomach," but the dubbed version retains all of the seductive implication.
In the world of advertising, there's no such thing as a lie. There is only the expedient exaggeration.
— Roger O. Thornhill
Context:
At the beginning of the film, Thornhill is in a taxi with his secretary, dictating a message and explaining his philosophy on advertising as he expertly navigates his busy, slick life before his abduction.
Meaning:
This quote, delivered early in the film, establishes Thornhill's character as a man whose profession is built on clever deception and manipulation of the truth. It's deeply ironic, as he is about to be plunged into a world of espionage where the lies are deadly and the exaggerations are anything but expedient for him. It sets up his character arc from a purveyor of harmless untruths to a victim of lethal ones.
War is hell, Mr. Thornhill. Even when it's a cold one.
— The Professor
Context:
The Professor, the head of the U.S. intelligence agency, says this to Thornhill in a forest clearing after revealing the truth about Eve's identity as an undercover agent. He is explaining why they must allow her to leave with Vandamm, despite the immense danger.
Meaning:
This line encapsulates the cold, pragmatic, and morally ambiguous stance of the government intelligence agency. The Professor uses it to justify the agency's ruthless methods, including their willingness to endanger Eve Kendall's life and sacrifice Thornhill. It speaks to the high stakes of the Cold War, where the lines between right and wrong are blurred in the name of national security.