Only in a few days, this movie has become one of my favorite Hitchcock movies for multiple reasons:- 1. I have never made so many wrong predictions while watching a movie, the constant surprise was amazing 2. The storyline was absolutely brilliant 3. Cary Grant and his one liners 4. The Soundtrack !!!! I have already seen the movie 5 times now and I love it more and more every single time…
Bernard Herman did the musical score for this movie . Also Psycho and Vertigo. IMO one of the best movie composers in history. Vertigo should be high on your Hitchcock list. Many critics think it's the best movie of all time. Would love to hear your opinions on that...
While the style of holding firearms has changed over the years, in films from the '70s you're more likely to see a two handed grip, it's more about presentation on screen.
Brilliant reaction from start to finish and so glad you mention the soundtrack. My great friend Dorothy's father composed the music and his scores are always so memorable. 💕
In his latter films, especially, Hitchcock made a point of making his trademark cameo appearance very early in the movie so people would not get distracted trying to spot him. "North by Northwest" is a good example of this. And yes, that was him missing the bus at the end of the opening credits.
apparently the censors objected to the film ending with a non-married couple going to bed together. the addition of Cary Grant saying "come along Mrs. Thornhill" satisfied the censors, but then Hitchcock added the last shot of the train entering the tunnel (hint, hint at the sexual symbolism) as a big middle finger to the censors.
There are many bits of trivia but I have one. When Saint “guns down” Grant, there is a young boy behind her. He breaks character by putting his fingers in his ears before the gunshot. And check out Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief. It takes place near Monaco where Grace Kelly married the Prince. She is shown tooling around on country roads looking down where, sadly, she crashed.
Cary Grant is one of my all-time favorite actors. For over three decades, he set the standard in Hollywood for charm, elegance, and sophistication. And he is really at his peak in “North by Northwest.”
Cary Grant started his Hollywood career in comedic and even physical slapstick comedy roles. Grant found he was good at improvisational acting and as his status as a popular movie star grew, he was able to influence the scripts and directors allowed him to add his own personal stamp on his characters. "North By Northwest" is full of Cary Grant's funny improv one-liners and snarky quips he made up on the spot. That's what makes this film so memorable. If you haven't seen it, I recommend Hitchcock's "To Catch a Thief," also with Grant. You should definitely check him out in "Arsenic and Old Lace" and "His Girl, Friday." Hilarious!
@@ariachanson01 please more Black Cinema 1. Harlem Nights -Eddie Murphy 2. Bait-Jamie Foxx 3. American Gangster Denzel Washington 4. Four Brothers- Mark walberg 5. Ransom- Mel Gibson 6. Kiss the Girls- Morgan Freeman 7. Money Talks- Chris Tucker 8. Fallen-Denzel Washington 9. Blue Streak-Martin Lawrence 10. Poetic justice.-2Pac Janet Jackson.
@@dan_hitchman007 a brilliant spoof of Hitchcock is charade also with Carey grant. The producers followed up charade with a similar movie called arabesque. Grant was not available for arabesque so Gregory peck was hired. The director kept telling peck to be funnier. “I’m not Carey grant!” He would always respond.
@@dan_hitchman007 they are spoofing all the Hitchcock tropes while at the same time going you a compelling Hitchcock like movie. Thats a good movie parody. It works on both levels, as a parody and as a good movie all on its own. Most critics dislike arabesque, mostly because of its fever dream like camera work and the presence of the earnest Gregory peck instead of the comic brilliance of Cary grant. To me arabesque isn’t charade fir sure but I still like it a lot. Sophia Loren is a knockout.
There is an expression called "Shoot from the hip" which came from the old west when they used to have quick draw face offs and you literally had to shoot from the hip to save time. Over time the drawing of the weapon left but supporting the gun tight against your hip to prevent recoil was still used. Aiming down the barrel (arms extended shoulder height) is only used when you can afford the time to line up the shot. Now it's time for VERTIGO!!!!
I've probably seen this at least a dozen times and still enjoy it, but watching your reaction to it made my day. And I'll wager that Alfred Hitchcock would have been delighted at your observations, commentary, and reactions. Cheers, girl.
The phrase “pay the $2” comes from an old vaudeville comedy routine and means: it isn’t worth fighting; just accept it and move on; better to deal with it now before it gets worse; “you can’t fight City Hall”; “don’t make a mountain out of a molehill; and similar thoughts.
"Good night, Mr. Thornhill, wherever you are." This was a shout out to comedian Jimmy Durante. Durante had a television show at the time. At the end of every show he would sign off with, "Good night Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are."
The movie was recently remastered in 4K. The original VistaVision negative (a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35 mm motion picture film format) was scanned at a whopping 13K for this restoration. It is probably the most gorgeous looking copy of any movie ever.
Newspapers used to have a morning and evening edition. Back before the internet, they used to be pretty important, especially for local news and now they are gone.
The innocent man framed by circumstantial evidence attempting to clear his name while eluding the authorities-this is a story that Hitchcock really specialized in, and more than a few of his films relate variations of it. “North by Northwest” is my personal favorite among his films for sheer entertainment value. I’m glad to see new people discover this great classic.
This was such a fun reaction to watch! It's not often you're so wrong about so many things, which was amusing to see. Definitely check out Vertigo as well. It's generally considered Hitchock's finest film, though it actually did quite poorly when it was released despite high critical praise. It also was one of the earliest true psychological thrillers which more firmly established it as its own genre and also established many of the tropes for films in the genre that would follow. There's also a nice mystery element that you'll probably enjoy trying to figure out.
Ernest Lehman was the amazing screenwriter who wrote this movie. He also wrote or co-wrote the screenplays to “The Sweet Smell of Success,” “West Side Story,” “The Sound of Music,” “Sabrina,” “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “Portnoy’s Complaint.” He was on quite a roll there for a while.
Aria C: I really enjoyed watching and listening to your reaction, especially your self deprecating updates printed white on black screen as to your finally understanding certain parts of the script's plotline after your initially having questions, guessed wrong out loud, or just being totally confused. Good job. . In the era of this film (shot in late August and mid - September of 1958), most big cities, Chicago, New York etc., still had multiple newspapers, and many of which published multiple editions throughout the 24 hours of a day. A dramatic news event, such as this crop duster plane crashing into a tanker truck out in a "cornfield" by the "Prairie Stop" bus stop in the middle of nowhere (INDIANA U.S. ROUTE 41, and an hour and a half drive south of Chicago, as the Greyhound bus with "Roger" on it was headed to its final destination, Indianapolis ) with the resulting colossal explosion and reported two fatalities would have easily made the late afternoon Chicago newspaper editions by the time "Roger" returns back there that same day in the early evening and reappears, he himself and his suit all crop dusted, at the Chicago hotel room door of "Eve". When in the Mount Rushmore cafeteria scene where "Van Damm" first "compliments" the uproarious exit by "Roger" the previous night from the Chicago auction house by the police, he would have been aware of this "exit", even though he and "Eve" had hastily left beforehand realizing that the Chicago P.D. were on the way, for he would have subsequently been filled in about all of this since his two henchmen, "Leonard" & "Valerian", had remained behind and witnessed "Roger" being escorted out of there after his, "Roger", purposely causing a ruckus during the auction "bidding". Some recommended Cary Grant films: "BRINGING UP BABY" (1938) "THE PHILADELPHIA STORY" (1940) "ARSENIC AND OLD LACE" (released in1944, even though it was filmed late 1941 into 1942, but due to the concurrent smash hit of the same title's original play still playing on Broadway at that time, the film's release was shelved until 1944.) "THE BISHOP'S WIFE" (1948) "MR. BLANDING BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE" (1948) "CHARADE" (1963) "FATHER GOOSE" (1964) Cute & lightweight.
@@ariachanson01: Hey, you cutie pie (and a guitarist like meself, "Brilliant!" as they say in Eire), I forgot to include the earliest movie of my Cary Grant "pix", "THE AWFUL TRUTH" (1937) co-starring the delightful Irene Dunne, and who joins Cary again, as listed in my original recommendations, for the delightful "Screwball Comedy" in "MY FAVORITE WIFE" (1938).
As to who's in the crop duster, notice that one of the henchmen in the hotel elevator is not seen after the plane crash. When watching CHARADE, I hope people recognize at least half a dozen echoes of this film.
@@rg3388 I haven't quite wrapped up all the action points yet. When the henchmen kills Townsend at the UN, was he aiming for him, or Thornhill (Kaplan?). A case could be made for either...
@@flarrfan I know, and I always request it when I can. There are a few who have done it. Yeah, you can't get better than Grant, Stewart and Hepburn together with a great script and direction.
Cary Grant's real name was Archibald Leach born in Bristol UK, John Cleese used the name Archie Leach in the comedy film "A Fish Called Wanda". Well worth having a look at.
32:58 "It's already in the newspaper? That thing happened today. When did they print that?" It used to be common for some newspapers to print more than one edition per day-such as a morning edition and an afternoon or evening edition (also called "early" and "late"). Back when it used to be common for larger cities to have more than one daily newspaper, sometimes one would come out in the morning and the other in the afternoon: the two papers shared the market between them, the early one offering the advantage of giving you news first thing in the morning, the afternoon edition having the advantage of telling you in the evening what had happened as recently as that very morning. (Back when the world relied more on paper for the transmission of information, some places also had more than one mail-delivery per day. In Victorian times, at least one part of London got as many as nineteen mail-deliveries per day.) The "FINAL" in the upper-right corner of the front page of the newspaper at 31:52 lets you know that it is that day's final edition of the _Chicago Sun-Times_ (there won't be another one until the next day).
Chef's kiss on your reaction to one of my favorite movies! When I saw you were watching "North by Northwest", I couldn't click fast enough. And I agree this movie really keeps you guessing. One of the things I enjoy about your channel is that you have perfected the delicate balance between speaking and silence. Not to mention your timely sprinkling of observations and clever little jokes along the way (although I think my favorite was the dancing Minnie at the end of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail... that was hilarious!). Why you don't have a million subscribers is a complete mystery to me.
Before he is kidnapped, Cary Grant walks through the hotel lobby. The music playing in the background is from an MGM musical. The song is titled, ‘It’s a Most Unusual Day’. It is indeed.
"Pay the two dollars" is the punchline to an old comedy routine where a guy gets in more and more trouble while trying to avoid a two-dollar fine. Roger's mother was suggesting that he'd be better off admitting to drunk driving that he would be fighting the charge. The music was by Bernard Hermann, one of the great screen composers. He also did the music for "Psycho," "Vertigo," "Citizen Kane," "Taxi Driver," "The Man Who Knew Too Much," "Cape Fear," "The Day the Earth Stood Still," and many other movies. How they hold guns in movies is a matter of what the director thinks will look good. For a while it was a fad to show people holding guns sideways. No one who knows anything about guns would do that. They just thought it looked cool. More Hitchcock movies to react to: - Vertigo - Psycho - Shadow of a Doubt (Hitchcock's personal favorite of his films) - To Catch a Thief - The Birds - Notorious - Rebecca If I can recommend a couple of non-Hitchcock suspense movies: - The Third Man (1949) - The Conversation (1974) Both of these are highly-rated films, but there aren't many reactions to them on RUclips.
Nice! Eva Marie Saint made her film debut in Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront (1954) and won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in it. Also check out that film when you can. Her other notable film appearances include A Hatful of Rain (1957), Raintree County (1957), The Sandpiper (1965), and Grand Prix (1966).
When this movie was made, Cary Grant had one of the most recognizable faces in the world, so the joke of him evading detection by wearing sunglasses was even funnier.
I loved your, often baffled, reactions to this superb Hitchcock movie, Aria C. Perhaps I could also recommend the movies The Lady Vanishes and The Silver Streak, which are also mystery movies set on trains.
@youngsteph1 I actually prefer that version. The original is somewhat annoying and underwhelming. Gould and Shepherd have some chemistry, Angela Lansbury is her usual great self, the brilliant Arthur Lowe is a hoot, and the real Alps location scenery is more stunning than the studio filmed original.
@@lyndoncmp5751 I agree that there are some good actors in this, with Lowe & Carmichael giving good performances. The central partnership though has no chemistry, not helped by Shepherd who is an awful actress, The original may have been studio bound but far better film.
Nice reaction!!! You might like Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt". He liked it best of all his films. Also, someone suggested "Anatomy of a Murder". It's not Hitch, but another great Euro director from the same era, Otto Preminger.
Ware points out that his LSD sessions coincided with the star’s professional heyday. “This was the time of North by Northwest and Charade. So all that period when he is the biggest box office star in the world is also the period when he’s taking LSD. He has reached this incredible level of total minimalism, inner peace. I’m sure the acid informed the acting.”
Hitchcock did most of his cameo appearances early in the films, starting in about 1955. He found out too many people were looking for him, so he just moved his appearances way back toward the beginning so the audience wouldn't miss out on plot points. 48:18 Cary was a acrobat in his teens when he was doing vaudeville acts in England, so he did do a lot of his own stunts in movies. 54:14 Yes, holding a pistol real close to your body with your arm bent at the elbo isn't a good way to get off any sort of accurate shot and the kickback throws your arm backwards or sometimes upward.
One of Hitchcock's favorite themes was the "everyman" who gets caught up in events he don't understand. (Or in the case of one of my favorites, his 1930's The Lady Vanishes, "everywoman.") PS - The fine was NOT $2, although I don't know what it was. This referred to an old joke in vaudeville which got reused several times in early movies. Guy commits a minor misdemeanor, like spitting the sidewalk, and is fined by a judge $2. Instead of simply paying, he decides to fight it, but things keep snowballing until he is facing life in prison. The joke is he could have simply paid the fine and not try to fight city hall. PPS - ever since trains had toilets on board, conductors know to check each and every restroom as they go through collecting tickets.
To answer your gun hold style: up until the 70s the common training method developed by Colonel Rex Applegate for close quarter combat in those days was instinctive point shooting without using the sights to aim the pistol. In the 70s Colonel Jeff Cooper single handedly changed that with his method of using the gun sights because it proved through testing to be more effective than point shooting and required less training and less practice.
Cary Grant never received an Oscar, when he was active, but received an honourary Oscar for a lifetime's achievement later in life. The location for the scene in the field with the aeroplane was chosen deliberately for contrast to violent scenes taking place in dark city alleys that was the norm in crime movies.
The "wrong man" trope was one of Hitch's favorite forms of storytelling. For more, see: 1. THE 39 STEPS 2. SABOTEUR 3. THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (Jimmy Stewart) 4. FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT is another great early Hitch spy thriller. Highly recommend also a more modern movie which is also set on a train, and is a more lighthearted (but still suspenseful) "imitation" of NbyNW called SILVER STREAK with Gene Wilder (Young Frankenstein, Willy Wonka)
If you keep watching more Hitchcock, and want to try some of his older films - there are 2 in particular that have numerous elements which show up in NBNW. The 39 Steps (1935) and Foreign Correspondent (1940). You can see how Hitchcock took certain ideas and refined them, used modern techniques, reworked them, modernized them for NBNW. But it is really fun to see the same themes: wrongly accused protagonist; protagonist who is witty, charming, clever; foreign intrigue; train travel; antagonist who is suave, clever and intriguing; very unusual ways that the villains attempt to destroy the protagonists; scripts that are humorous and sometimes slyly risqué; scenes with meals; very unique crowd or escape sequences; unusual locations; memorable dramatic set pieces; romances that get complicated; and lots more. Other films utilize all these as well, but those 2 titles in particular seem like forerunners to NBNW.
Great reaction! You might try Hitchock's "Vertigo," "Marnie," or "The Lady Vanishes." In an interview I read, Hitchcock was asked if "North by Northwest" had any deeper meaning or symbolism. He said something like "No. No symbolism....Oh, excuse me, only the very last shot."
I think they used to hold them like that to steady their aim with their bodies. Also, if one must unholster quickly it is faster to aim that way (like in cowboy movie duels). Today it is done with the arm extended because it is better for aiming, using the other hand and arm to steady the aim.
A great, earlier Cary Grant movie is the dark comedy, 'Arsenic and Old Lace'. A good, later one is 'Charade' with Audrey Hepburn. James Mason was great as Captain Nemo in '20000 Leagues Under the Sea'. Martin Landau (Mason's goon) got an Oscar for his performance as Bela Lugosi in 'Ed Wood' alongside Johnny Depp.
Love that you have discovered how great the 1950's Hitchcock movies are. "Vertigo" should be on your list as well. Also I think that it's great that you were worried about somebody missing their refrigerator😁
53:50 Firearms practices have changed a _lot_ since the 1800s. "Point sh00ting", that is using instinctive alignment of finger and a lot of practice, were practiced by gunslingers and police for years. And holding it near your body does reduce the risk of someone grabbing it out of your extended hand. Self-defense instruction today teaches similar styles, today, if you're going to be very close-up, but generally you do want to align your sights and aim in other circumstances.
The actress is Eva Marie Saint She is 101 years old,Still quite beautiful and still very healthy! She also starred in a great movie with Marlon Brando On the Waterfront!
Aria, I enjoyed your reaction to this excellent movie and, I also appreciate the Totoro poster on the wall behind you. My eye is always drawn to it when I watch your videos. In response to your question about how guns are held in these older movies, this is the result of the motion picture production code that was self-imposed by the industry in 1930 and continued to the late 1960's. Most films would not show criminals pointing guns as they would in real life. Another film that you would enjoy is Silver Streak. It was greatly influenced by this movie and was the first of several films starring the duo of Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. I look forward to the next movie you watch.
As you asked....In short you never point a loaded gun at anyone even if it contains blanks. It's up to the camerman/director to make angles to make it look as though the gun is pointing at someone. Sometimes when the gun is held out it can be obvious that it's not pointing at the intended target, especially if it's a less experienced director. However, holding the gun close really makes it impossible to tell what is being aimed at thus negating the need for extra camera work. Anyway, more to the point this was a really enjoyable reaction to watch.
Combat handgun tactics have evolved a great deal in the last half century with the advent of more modern firearms and ammunition and numerous competitive handgun competitions and associations that have changed tactics, stances, grips, etc. Older movies often aped cowboy style shooting.
I think the way of holding guns depends on the type of gun, whether it is a pistol or a revolver, its size and how much “kick” it might have, the shooter’s familiarity with it, the distance to the target, etc. During WW2, and the Korean War, there were so many types of guns developed from both sides, and in this case, smaller guns created to help undercover agents during the Cold War. However, a lot of Hollywood movies, whether newer or older, still make a lot of decisions on scenes with actors and guns based more on the appearance of the scene, and the way they want the shooter to be portrayed, than on realism and how situations might actually take place.
Thank you for another wonderful reaction Aria. I'm pleased you love this film. IMO you cannot go wrong with Cary Grant. As a favour to yourself, check out "His Girl Friday" ... which is hilarious. If you would like to see a pre-hollywood era Hitchcock may I recommend *Dial M for Murder* ? An excellent detective story.
The point where the two goons mistake Thornhill for Kaplan in the hotel bar is done so fast and subteley that almost no once catches it. I'm glad you are one of the few who got it, even if it was on the 3rd go around.
Favorite Hitchcock movie, and one of my favorite films to re-watch. Glad you left in the "Stop! ...stop" scene from the hospital in your RUclips edit. Good reactions, Aria.
Loved your reaction. The famous scene where you correctly predicted the villains would try to kill Thornhill, you described as dangerous. Another reactor, Dasha of Russia, said it looked like a place where you would sell your soul to the devil. That scene is so iconic and yet it's utterly desolate, a tribute to Hitchcock's direction and ability to build tension in the most generic of places.
Sir Alfred Hitchcock was an absolute giant among directors. Hitchcock is still considered one of the most influential film directors in terms of his style, even though he never won an Oscar as a director. He established the term suspense. His genre was the thriller, which he often combined with humor. The recurring motifs in his films were fear, guilt and loss of identity. He varied the theme of the innocent persecuted several times. Many of his films have cult status (The Man Who Knew Too Much, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho, The Birds, Frenzy...).
That was really superb, I hadn't seen in a vampire's age. Excellent reaction and also especially the edit! Eva Marie Saint (Eve) is still with us! She's 100 and was born on the 4th of July (not dissimilar to Tom Cruise).
One of my fav films of all times. 1) One of the best soundtracks ever. 2) The baddies are brilliantly great 3)Love the concept of George Caplin- the non-existant agent. 4) The dialogue is superb. 5) I'm sure that Leo G Carroll's portrayal of the spy boss must have led to his casting as Mr Waverley, the head of UNCLE in the famous TV series.
Can't really decide to pinpoint one single favourite Hitchcock movie, but I can say that this is my favourite movie-score for any Hitchcock movie, even leaving Psycho behind. And I adore Bernard Herrmanns works, esp. those for Hitchcock. Sometimes there is this perfect fit between directors and composers, like Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone, David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti or Tim Burton and Danny Elfman.
Loved your reaction to this great movie. His indestructible suit went viral in a pre-Internet world. There's even a book that claims it's the real star of the movie! 4 years later he made a movie, Charade, which I love even more, where he parodies it. This time, when he takes a shower, he keeps his suit on!
This was the fourth time Hitchcock made a film where a wrongly-accused man chases the bad guys across the country. Young and Innocent, The 39 Steps and Saboteur all had the same structure.
Your reaction to Hitchcock films got me to subscribe. I think there were two people in the plane that crashed, because it wasn't a fighter plane so there were no weapons mounted on it that the pilot could operate. There must have been a second person to shoot the gun. I love Cary Grant. His physical acting and line delivery are legendary. I'd recommend watching Arsenic & Old Lace for a great comedy performance from him.
As expected, another great reaction. If you would like another Cary Grant (at his peak) movie, 'Charade', with the beautiful Audrey Hepburn, would suit you. Regarding the pistol thing, I think a reason would be that popular handguns were smaller (easy to conceal) back then, so smaller calibre, less recoil. A modern handgun in an untrained hand could easily cause physical damage during recoil. The correct way is 2 handed at arms length. Anyway, keep up the good work, already looking forward to your next post. ; )
Fun Fact! The script was being written and rewritten while it was being filmed. Do note the screenwriter and director each had decades of experience and even then it was nearly a disaster with each near working themselves to death and having to be hospitalized for exhaustion. Yet, for some reason modern directors and writers think they can pull of the same feat with little effort.
Fun Fact 2! They didn't have permission to film the United Nations building (which is apparently super hard to get) so they used very good paintings... and some unauthorized guerilla film making.
Most pistols in movies, modern and old, are held in unrealistic positions. It's just the movie-makers' ideas of what will look cool. That said, holding it down by your hip may be a good idea in some situations. If you're trying to use a gun to scare someone, but you aren't ready to aim it and don't want to put your gun-hand out in front of you at shoulder-height, where your opponent might get hold of the gun or your hand or your arm, holding it near your hip may be good. A hip-position is also less conspicuous, in case you want some people around you not to notice that you're holding a gun and threatening someone.
Many people like to call this the first James Bond movie. Cary Grant was actually considered to originate the role of James Bond - as was James Mason, who played Vandamm. But neither actor was willing to commit to more than one or two movies.
@lukebarton5075 That's understandable. Alfred liked dealing with ordinary yet smart people who weren't cops, private investigators or spies as the leads.
Loved 😍 watching your reactions! You are so smart at figuring things out ahead of time. Ut seems to be innate. I hope you will take a moment and look at the closing title where ut says THE END. The image is if a speeding train going into a tunnel. That is visual double entendre. Think abt it. I wish the movie sound were louder. I'm old & if I turn up the film you're watching, you and the RUclips ads are too loud. Would headphones help? Maybe not. Ask around; somebody knows. I'm so happy you're doing reactions now. You're a lot of fun to watch & have excellent insights! Thank you!!!
I know I messed up the sound in this one, I'm sorry. I was using a different editor and got a little confused. I'll make it louder in the future ones:)
Great movie. Fyi North by Northwest was the inspiration for the James Bond movies. Another great Carey Grant movie is Charade 1963 which is considered the greatest Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock never made. it actullly came out the same time as Hitchcock The Birds and beat it in the box office. Another great Hitchcock movie with Jimmy Stewart is The Man Who Know Too Much. Also a great comedy with the Bad Guy in this movie is Heaven Can Wait 1980
Hitchcock had a penchant for using national landmarks for effect. Places like the United Nations building, Jefferson Memorial, Statue of Liberty, Golden Gate Bridge and Royal Albert Hall in London are some examples.
Iconic film, and well in to my top 10 of all time and really stands up even today. Cary Grant is just brilliant in it, ably supported by Eva Marie Saint.
I love that you're not afraid of movies made before the turn of the century. There are a ton of great movies from the Seventies, best decade yet for American cinema, including an amazing four film run from Coppola. You might also want to check out some Brian De Palma, who was heavily influenced by Hitchcock, specifically Blow Out, Dressed to Kill and Body Double. And one from the Sixties, just because it's so very good, Cool Hand Luke with Paul Newman. An older one with Newman that hits hard is The Hustler. Just great.
You did great spotting Hitchcock's cameo today. Hollywood usually has trouble when it comes to firearms and facts. Quick draw shooting on main street never really did happen in the "wild west" any more than it does today with street gangs and drug cartel hits in today's towns. Ambush and surprise favor the winner. Holding a person at gunpoint (while not wanting to be noticed) it makes sense to keep the weapon close to the side as not to be obvious, and for a very close range shot it works, but powder burnt clothes may result. Serious shooters will use two hands and a support to rest the gun against to increase the chance of a good shot. A rare few actors and directors like Tom Selick and John Milius are experienced with firearms and their films show it.
Just one more fun fact: Hitchcock used some creative license at the end of the film. The back of Mount Rushmore is NOTHING like what they depicted in the movie.
I never thought about it before, but I assume there were two people in the crop duster. The pilot, and the guy with the machine gun. Very nice reaction. Very much fun!
All of the settings in and near Rapid City SD except for the actual faces (which were reconstructed in a back lot) are real buildings there. The only thing is that there are no such houses behind the faces. Most of my remaining family live in the Black Hills so the places are familiar.
Strange I thought I left my comment but I don't see it. I really enjoyed your reaction to this. I really wish you had a Patreon for full movie reactions. But anyway, there are so many great Hitchcock movies. I see lots of people here recommending "To Catch a Thief" which I whole-heartedly agree with. Also The Man Who Knew Too Much (1954 version) and the Trouble with Harry (for some comedic relief) Also, you Should check out the Alfred Hitchcock Hour TV Series. There were some very good episodes and he directed a handful of those as well.
This is my favorite Hitchcock. Second favorite is FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, a pre WWII drama. Cary Grant and Hitch made four movies. Cary could do it all, but I really prefer his lighter and comedic performances. NBNW is a James Bond style trip. Coolness under pressure. Jimmy Stewart also has a handful of collaborations. That shooting from the hip was actually taught for decades. Probably influenced by the quick-draw crowd and tales of the old west. It's really hard to be accurate from there. Glad we teach practical shooting now. Thanks for watching.
If you want to see him at his sarcastic best, see Grant in The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer (1947) You’ll also see a teenaged Shirley Temple in that one. 😉 Lawyer: “You’re looking well” Grant: “Prison agrees with me!” Or in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948). Two of the best comedies of all time. 😊
I was more naive when I first saw this and had no trouble believing Eve was helping Roger just because she fell in love immediately because he's Cary Grant! Another fun mystery romance with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn in "Charade" -- very much Hitchcock-style movie
Only in a few days, this movie has become one of my favorite Hitchcock movies for multiple reasons:-
1. I have never made so many wrong predictions while watching a movie, the constant surprise was amazing
2. The storyline was absolutely brilliant
3. Cary Grant and his one liners
4. The Soundtrack !!!!
I have already seen the movie 5 times now and I love it more and more every single time…
This is amazing. I love this movie so much. Glad you liked it too
Bernard Herman did the musical score for this movie . Also Psycho and Vertigo. IMO one of the best movie composers in history. Vertigo should be high on your Hitchcock list. Many critics think it's the best movie of all time. Would love to hear your opinions on that...
It's a shit movie. Don't worry.
While the style of holding firearms has changed over the years, in films from the '70s you're more likely to see a two handed grip, it's more about presentation on screen.
Brilliant reaction from start to finish and so glad you mention the soundtrack. My great friend Dorothy's father composed the music and his scores are always so memorable. 💕
In his latter films, especially, Hitchcock made a point of making his trademark cameo appearance very early in the movie so people would not get distracted trying to spot him. "North by Northwest" is a good example of this. And yes, that was him missing the bus at the end of the opening credits.
This is one of his wittiest personal appearances.
apparently the censors objected to the film ending with a non-married couple going to bed together. the addition of Cary Grant saying "come along Mrs. Thornhill" satisfied the censors, but then Hitchcock added the last shot of the train entering the tunnel (hint, hint at the sexual symbolism) as a big middle finger to the censors.
There are many bits of trivia but I have one. When Saint “guns down” Grant, there is a young boy behind her. He breaks character by putting his fingers in his ears before the gunshot. And check out Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief. It takes place near Monaco where Grace Kelly married the Prince. She is shown tooling around on country roads looking down where, sadly, she crashed.
Cary Grant is one of my all-time favorite actors. For over three decades, he set the standard in Hollywood for charm, elegance, and sophistication. And he is really at his peak in “North by Northwest.”
He’s my favorite actor from Hollywood’s Golden Age, along with Jimmy Stewart and Humphrey Bogart.
He would have made a great 1950s 007.
@@mr.a8315 “North by Northwest” is considered by many to be the template for the Bond movies.
@@FilmBuff54 That's awesome.😎
Cary Grant started his Hollywood career in comedic and even physical slapstick comedy roles.
Grant found he was good at improvisational acting and as his status as a popular movie star grew, he was able to influence the scripts and directors allowed him to add his own personal stamp on his characters.
"North By Northwest" is full of Cary Grant's funny improv one-liners and snarky quips he made up on the spot. That's what makes this film so memorable.
If you haven't seen it, I recommend Hitchcock's "To Catch a Thief," also with Grant. You should definitely check him out in "Arsenic and Old Lace" and "His Girl, Friday." Hilarious!
Okay the fact that he came up with all those one liners makes it even better. So amazing
@@ariachanson01 please more Black Cinema
1. Harlem Nights -Eddie Murphy
2. Bait-Jamie Foxx
3. American Gangster Denzel Washington
4. Four Brothers- Mark walberg
5. Ransom- Mel Gibson
6. Kiss the Girls- Morgan Freeman
7. Money Talks- Chris Tucker
8. Fallen-Denzel Washington
9. Blue Streak-Martin Lawrence
10. Poetic justice.-2Pac Janet Jackson.
@@dan_hitchman007 a brilliant spoof of Hitchcock is charade also with Carey grant. The producers followed up charade with a similar movie called arabesque. Grant was not available for arabesque so Gregory peck was hired. The director kept telling peck to be funnier. “I’m not Carey grant!” He would always respond.
@RossM3838 I've seen "Charade." It does feel like a Hitchcock knockoff. The music score by Henry Mancini is well done and catchy.
@@dan_hitchman007 they are spoofing all the Hitchcock tropes while at the same time going you a compelling Hitchcock like movie. Thats a good movie parody. It works on both levels, as a parody and as a good movie all on its own. Most critics dislike arabesque, mostly because of its fever dream like camera work and the presence of the earnest Gregory peck instead of the comic brilliance of Cary grant. To me arabesque isn’t charade fir sure but I still like it a lot. Sophia Loren is a knockout.
There is an expression called "Shoot from the hip" which came from the old west when they used to have quick draw face offs and you literally had to shoot from the hip to save time. Over time the drawing of the weapon left but supporting the gun tight against your hip to prevent recoil was still used. Aiming down the barrel (arms extended shoulder height) is only used when you can afford the time to line up the shot. Now it's time for VERTIGO!!!!
Followed by The Birds and then High Anxiety 😂
@@Paden616 Best recommendation I have seen in a while. No better spoofer of all things Hitch than Mel!
@@chetstevensq charade is a brilliant spoof of Hitchcock. It also has Carey grant in it.
I've probably seen this at least a dozen times and still enjoy it, but watching your reaction to it made my day. And I'll wager that Alfred Hitchcock would have been delighted at your observations, commentary, and reactions. Cheers, girl.
Thankyou 🩷
The phrase “pay the $2” comes from an old vaudeville comedy routine and means: it isn’t worth fighting; just accept it and move on; better to deal with it now before it gets worse; “you can’t fight City Hall”; “don’t make a mountain out of a molehill; and similar thoughts.
This IS my favorite Hitchcock movie!
"Good night, Mr. Thornhill, wherever you are." This was a shout out to comedian Jimmy Durante. Durante had a television show at the time. At the end of every show he would sign off with, "Good night Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are."
Aria, you were correct about identifying "Hitch" (Alfred Hitchcock) in his flash cameo in NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959). He missed his bus!
The movie was recently remastered in 4K. The original VistaVision negative (a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35 mm motion picture film format) was scanned at a whopping 13K for this restoration. It is probably the most gorgeous looking copy of any movie ever.
Newspapers used to have a morning and evening edition. Back before the internet, they used to be pretty important, especially for local news and now they are gone.
Newspapers were the social media of the 20th century.
The innocent man framed by circumstantial evidence attempting to clear his name while eluding the authorities-this is a story that Hitchcock really specialized in, and more than a few of his films relate variations of it. “North by Northwest” is my personal favorite among his films for sheer entertainment value. I’m glad to see new people discover this great classic.
This was such a fun reaction to watch! It's not often you're so wrong about so many things, which was amusing to see.
Definitely check out Vertigo as well. It's generally considered Hitchock's finest film, though it actually did quite poorly when it was released despite high critical praise. It also was one of the earliest true psychological thrillers which more firmly established it as its own genre and also established many of the tropes for films in the genre that would follow. There's also a nice mystery element that you'll probably enjoy trying to figure out.
Ernest Lehman was the amazing screenwriter who wrote this movie. He also wrote or co-wrote the screenplays to “The Sweet Smell of Success,” “West Side Story,” “The Sound of Music,” “Sabrina,” “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “Portnoy’s Complaint.”
He was on quite a roll there for a while.
Aria C:
I really enjoyed watching and listening to your reaction, especially your self deprecating updates printed white on black screen as to your finally understanding certain parts of the script's plotline after your initially having questions, guessed wrong out loud, or just being totally confused.
Good job.
.
In the era of this film (shot in late August and mid - September of 1958), most big cities, Chicago, New York etc., still had multiple newspapers, and many of which published multiple editions throughout the 24 hours of a day.
A dramatic news event, such as this crop duster plane crashing into a tanker truck out in a "cornfield" by the "Prairie Stop" bus stop in the middle of nowhere (INDIANA U.S. ROUTE 41, and an hour and a half drive south of Chicago, as the Greyhound bus with "Roger" on it was headed to its final destination, Indianapolis ) with the resulting colossal explosion and reported two fatalities would have easily made the late afternoon Chicago newspaper editions by the time "Roger" returns back there that same day in the early evening and reappears, he himself and his suit all crop dusted, at the Chicago hotel room door of "Eve".
When in the Mount Rushmore cafeteria scene where "Van Damm" first "compliments" the uproarious exit by "Roger" the previous night from the Chicago auction house by the police, he would have been aware of this "exit", even though he and "Eve" had hastily left beforehand realizing that the Chicago P.D. were on the way, for he would have subsequently been filled in about all of this since his two henchmen, "Leonard" & "Valerian", had remained behind and witnessed "Roger" being escorted out of there after his, "Roger", purposely causing a ruckus during the auction "bidding".
Some recommended Cary Grant films:
"BRINGING UP BABY" (1938)
"THE PHILADELPHIA STORY" (1940)
"ARSENIC AND OLD LACE" (released in1944, even though it was filmed late 1941 into 1942, but due to the concurrent smash hit of the same title's original play still playing on Broadway at that time, the film's release was shelved until 1944.)
"THE BISHOP'S WIFE" (1948)
"MR. BLANDING BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE" (1948)
"CHARADE" (1963)
"FATHER GOOSE" (1964) Cute & lightweight.
Thankyou for the recommendations:)
@@ariachanson01: Hey, you cutie pie (and a guitarist like meself, "Brilliant!" as they say in Eire), I forgot to include the earliest movie of my Cary Grant "pix", "THE AWFUL TRUTH" (1937) co-starring the delightful Irene Dunne, and who joins Cary again, as listed in my original recommendations, for the delightful "Screwball Comedy" in "MY FAVORITE WIFE" (1938).
As to who's in the crop duster, notice that one of the henchmen in the hotel elevator is not seen after the plane crash. When watching CHARADE, I hope people recognize at least half a dozen echoes of this film.
From Russia with Love borrows a heap from it too.
@@rg3388 I haven't quite wrapped up all the action points yet. When the henchmen kills Townsend at the UN, was he aiming for him, or Thornhill (Kaplan?). A case could be made for either...
@@phila3884 Thornhill being the target is something I never considered.
Cary Grant was English and grew up in Bristol there, in an impoverished childhood, until he went to America age 16 and eventually changed his accent.
And his real name was Archibald Leach.😮
Interestingly, Grant went to America as part of a young acrobatic Troup. That is why he was always so good at the physical comedy and acting.
The Philadelphia Story, My Favorite Wife , His Girl Friday , and Father Goose are all Cary Grant films not to be missed!
Philly Story is special for the other two stars, Jimmy Stewart and the great Kate Hepburn...almost nobody wants to react to it :(
All great, but The Philadelphia Story is one of my top 10 all-time favorite movies.
@@flarrfan I know, and I always request it when I can. There are a few who have done it. Yeah, you can't get better than Grant, Stewart and Hepburn together with a great script and direction.
@@flarrfan I know. I don't understand why!
Cary Grant's real name was Archibald Leach born in Bristol UK, John Cleese used the name Archie Leach in the comedy film "A Fish Called Wanda". Well worth having a look at.
Vertigo is Hitchcock's masterpiece.
32:58 "It's already in the newspaper? That thing happened today. When did they print that?" It used to be common for some newspapers to print more than one edition per day-such as a morning edition and an afternoon or evening edition (also called "early" and "late"). Back when it used to be common for larger cities to have more than one daily newspaper, sometimes one would come out in the morning and the other in the afternoon: the two papers shared the market between them, the early one offering the advantage of giving you news first thing in the morning, the afternoon edition having the advantage of telling you in the evening what had happened as recently as that very morning. (Back when the world relied more on paper for the transmission of information, some places also had more than one mail-delivery per day. In Victorian times, at least one part of London got as many as nineteen mail-deliveries per day.) The "FINAL" in the upper-right corner of the front page of the newspaper at 31:52 lets you know that it is that day's final edition of the _Chicago Sun-Times_ (there won't be another one until the next day).
Chef's kiss on your reaction to one of my favorite movies! When I saw you were watching "North by Northwest", I couldn't click fast enough. And I agree this movie really keeps you guessing. One of the things I enjoy about your channel is that you have perfected the delicate balance between speaking and silence. Not to mention your timely sprinkling of observations and clever little jokes along the way (although I think my favorite was the dancing Minnie at the end of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail... that was hilarious!). Why you don't have a million subscribers is a complete mystery to me.
Thankyou so much🩷🩷
You'll find that Grant's dialogue in many roles is humerous and flirtatious. TO CATCH A THIEF and CHARADE are good examples.
Before he is kidnapped, Cary Grant walks through the hotel lobby. The music playing in the background is from an MGM musical. The song is titled, ‘It’s a Most Unusual Day’. It is indeed.
"Pay the two dollars" is the punchline to an old comedy routine where a guy gets in more and more trouble while trying to avoid a two-dollar fine. Roger's mother was suggesting that he'd be better off admitting to drunk driving that he would be fighting the charge.
The music was by Bernard Hermann, one of the great screen composers. He also did the music for "Psycho," "Vertigo," "Citizen Kane," "Taxi Driver," "The Man Who Knew Too Much," "Cape Fear," "The Day the Earth Stood Still," and many other movies.
How they hold guns in movies is a matter of what the director thinks will look good. For a while it was a fad to show people holding guns sideways. No one who knows anything about guns would do that. They just thought it looked cool.
More Hitchcock movies to react to:
- Vertigo
- Psycho
- Shadow of a Doubt (Hitchcock's personal favorite of his films)
- To Catch a Thief
- The Birds
- Notorious
- Rebecca
If I can recommend a couple of non-Hitchcock suspense movies:
- The Third Man (1949)
- The Conversation (1974)
Both of these are highly-rated films, but there aren't many reactions to them on RUclips.
I think of this as a "greatest hits" movie. It brings together so many rehashed Hitchcock tropes in a great package. My fav is Vertigo.
Nice! Eva Marie Saint made her film debut in Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront (1954) and won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in it. Also check out that film when you can. Her other notable film appearances include A Hatful of Rain (1957), Raintree County (1957), The Sandpiper (1965), and Grand Prix (1966).
When this movie was made, Cary Grant had one of the most recognizable faces in the world, so the joke of him evading detection by wearing sunglasses was even funnier.
I loved your, often baffled, reactions to this superb Hitchcock movie, Aria C.
Perhaps I could also recommend the movies The Lady Vanishes and The Silver Streak, which are also mystery movies set on trains.
If you do see The Lady Vanishes make sure you see the original Hitchcock film, & not the appalling remake with Elliot Gould & Cybil Shepherd.
Good call with Silver Streak. My favourite film set on a train.
@youngsteph1
I actually prefer that version. The original is somewhat annoying and underwhelming. Gould and Shepherd have some chemistry, Angela Lansbury is her usual great self, the brilliant Arthur Lowe is a hoot, and the real Alps location scenery is more stunning than the studio filmed original.
@@lyndoncmp5751 I agree that there are some good actors in this, with Lowe & Carmichael giving good performances. The central partnership though has no chemistry, not helped by Shepherd who is an awful actress, The original may have been studio bound but far better film.
Cary Grant was 57 when he was flat-out running for the cornfield in one of the most famous scenes in cinema history.
WAY TO GO spotting hitchcock! 😁👍 i LOVE how you were SO concerned about that fridge delivery 🤣 REALLY ENJOYED YOUR REACTION! 👍☺
🙌🏻🙌🏻
Nice reaction!!! You might like Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt". He liked it best of all his films. Also, someone suggested "Anatomy of a Murder". It's not Hitch, but another great Euro director from the same era, Otto Preminger.
Ware points out that his LSD sessions coincided with the star’s professional heyday. “This was the time of North by Northwest and Charade. So all that period when he is the biggest box office star in the world is also the period when he’s taking LSD. He has reached this incredible level of total minimalism, inner peace. I’m sure the acid informed the acting.”
Back then, newspapers had a morning and afternoon edition. Radio was the only other news.
Leo G. Carroll, who played the Professor in this film, was also in “Strangers on a Train,” as the Senator, and in “Spellbound.”
He starred in the tv series Topper in the 1950s!
That's why he looked familiar
And he played Mr. Waverley in "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." television series.
@ Forgot about that but it feels like it’s been a million years since I’ve seen “The Man from Uncle.”
And Rebecca and Suspicion
Hitchcock did most of his cameo appearances early in the films, starting in about 1955. He found out too many people were looking for him, so he just moved his appearances way back toward the beginning so the audience wouldn't miss out on plot points. 48:18 Cary was a acrobat in his teens when he was doing vaudeville acts in England, so he did do a lot of his own stunts in movies. 54:14 Yes, holding a pistol real close to your body with your arm bent at the elbo isn't a good way to get off any sort of accurate shot and the kickback throws your arm backwards or sometimes upward.
Newspapers in those days published two editions a day.
One of Hitchcock's favorite themes was the "everyman" who gets caught up in events he don't understand. (Or in the case of one of my favorites, his 1930's The Lady Vanishes, "everywoman.")
PS - The fine was NOT $2, although I don't know what it was. This referred to an old joke in vaudeville which got reused several times in early movies. Guy commits a minor misdemeanor, like spitting the sidewalk, and is fined by a judge $2. Instead of simply paying, he decides to fight it, but things keep snowballing until he is facing life in prison. The joke is he could have simply paid the fine and not try to fight city hall.
PPS - ever since trains had toilets on board, conductors know to check each and every restroom as they go through collecting tickets.
I was thinking why they didn't check the toilets but then I thought that maybe they didn't start doing it until much later😅
Often Hitchcock has an additional second theme in his movies. In North by Northwest this theme was modern architecture. In Frenzy, it was food.
To answer your gun hold style: up until the 70s the common training method developed by Colonel Rex Applegate for close quarter combat in those days was instinctive point shooting without using the sights to aim the pistol. In the 70s Colonel Jeff Cooper single handedly changed that with his method of using the gun sights because it proved through testing to be more effective than point shooting and required less training and less practice.
Cary Grant never received an Oscar, when he was active, but received an honourary Oscar for a lifetime's achievement later in life. The location for the scene in the field with the aeroplane was chosen deliberately for contrast to violent scenes taking place in dark city alleys that was the norm in crime movies.
The "wrong man" trope was one of Hitch's favorite forms of storytelling. For more, see:
1. THE 39 STEPS
2. SABOTEUR
3. THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (Jimmy Stewart)
4. FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT is another great early Hitch spy thriller.
Highly recommend also a more modern movie which is also set on a train, and is a more lighthearted (but still suspenseful) "imitation" of NbyNW called SILVER STREAK with Gene Wilder (Young Frankenstein, Willy Wonka)
The Wrong Man is another one that people tend to forget. It's grimmer and also based on a true story.
@walterlewis1526
Yes, I was thinking of listing that one, but I don't find it as compelling as some of these others.
If you keep watching more Hitchcock, and want to try some of his older films - there are 2 in particular that have numerous elements which show up in NBNW. The 39 Steps (1935) and Foreign Correspondent (1940). You can see how Hitchcock took certain ideas and refined them, used modern techniques, reworked them, modernized them for NBNW. But it is really fun to see the same themes:
wrongly accused protagonist; protagonist who is witty, charming, clever; foreign intrigue; train travel; antagonist who is suave, clever and intriguing; very unusual ways that the villains attempt to destroy the protagonists; scripts that are humorous and sometimes slyly risqué; scenes with meals; very unique crowd or escape sequences; unusual locations; memorable dramatic set pieces; romances that get complicated; and lots more. Other films utilize all these as well, but those 2 titles in particular seem like forerunners to NBNW.
Great reaction!
You might try Hitchock's "Vertigo," "Marnie," or "The Lady Vanishes."
In an interview I read, Hitchcock was asked if "North by Northwest" had any deeper meaning or symbolism. He said something like "No. No symbolism....Oh, excuse me, only the very last shot."
I think they used to hold them like that to steady their aim with their bodies. Also, if one must unholster quickly it is faster to aim that way (like in cowboy movie duels). Today it is done with the arm extended because it is better for aiming, using the other hand and arm to steady the aim.
A great, earlier Cary Grant movie is the dark comedy, 'Arsenic and Old Lace'. A good, later one is 'Charade' with Audrey Hepburn. James Mason was great as Captain Nemo in '20000 Leagues Under the Sea'. Martin Landau (Mason's goon) got an Oscar for his performance as Bela Lugosi in 'Ed Wood' alongside Johnny Depp.
The whole impetus for this movie was Hitchcock's vision for chase scene across Mount Rushmore.
Love that you have discovered how great the 1950's Hitchcock movies are. "Vertigo" should be on your list as well. Also I think that it's great that you were worried about somebody missing their refrigerator😁
53:50 Firearms practices have changed a _lot_ since the 1800s. "Point sh00ting", that is using instinctive alignment of finger and a lot of practice, were practiced by gunslingers and police for years. And holding it near your body does reduce the risk of someone grabbing it out of your extended hand. Self-defense instruction today teaches similar styles, today, if you're going to be very close-up, but generally you do want to align your sights and aim in other circumstances.
The actress is Eva Marie Saint She is 101 years old,Still quite beautiful and still very healthy! She also starred in a great movie with Marlon Brando On the Waterfront!
I saw On the Waterfront such a long time ago, I don't remember anything other than Marlon Brando🙈
Aria, I enjoyed your reaction to this excellent movie and, I also appreciate the Totoro poster on the wall behind you. My eye is always drawn to it when I watch your videos.
In response to your question about how guns are held in these older movies, this is the result of the motion picture production code that was self-imposed by the industry in 1930 and continued to the late 1960's. Most films would not show criminals pointing guns as they would in real life.
Another film that you would enjoy is Silver Streak. It was greatly influenced by this movie and was the first of several films starring the duo of Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor.
I look forward to the next movie you watch.
As you asked....In short you never point a loaded gun at anyone even if it contains blanks. It's up to the camerman/director to make angles to make it look as though the gun is pointing at someone. Sometimes when the gun is held out it can be obvious that it's not pointing at the intended target, especially if it's a less experienced director. However, holding the gun close really makes it impossible to tell what is being aimed at thus negating the need for extra camera work. Anyway, more to the point this was a really enjoyable reaction to watch.
Combat handgun tactics have evolved a great deal in the last half century with the advent of more modern firearms and ammunition and numerous competitive handgun competitions and associations that have changed tactics, stances, grips, etc. Older movies often aped cowboy style shooting.
Everybody always has the same reaction when he grabs the knife in Mr. Townsend’s back. No one would do that. Great film, though. Thanks, Aria.
Well, as an instinctual reaction to possibly save his life, I don't think it's that far fetched.
I think the way of holding guns depends on the type of gun, whether it is a pistol or a revolver, its size and how much “kick” it might have, the shooter’s familiarity with it, the distance to the target, etc. During WW2, and the Korean War, there were so many types of guns developed from both sides, and in this case, smaller guns created to help undercover agents during the Cold War. However, a lot of Hollywood movies, whether newer or older, still make a lot of decisions on scenes with actors and guns based more on the appearance of the scene, and the way they want the shooter to be portrayed, than on realism and how situations might actually take place.
Thank you for another wonderful reaction Aria. I'm pleased you love this film. IMO you cannot go wrong with Cary Grant. As a favour to yourself, check out "His Girl Friday" ... which is hilarious. If you would like to see a pre-hollywood era Hitchcock may I recommend *Dial M for Murder* ? An excellent detective story.
I've seen it on my own. Love that one:)
The point where the two goons mistake Thornhill for Kaplan in the hotel bar is done so fast and subteley that almost no once catches it. I'm glad you are one of the few who got it, even if it was on the 3rd go around.
Favorite Hitchcock movie, and one of my favorite films to re-watch. Glad you left in the "Stop! ...stop" scene from the hospital in your RUclips edit. Good reactions, Aria.
Those little Hitchcock comedic bits are priceless.
One Hitchcock film I would mention for review, which isn't ususally reviewed, is Marnie, his most underrated film with Sean Connery & Tippi Hedren.
I'll keep it mind, thankyou for suggesting this:)
Loved your reaction. The famous scene where you correctly predicted the villains would try to kill Thornhill, you described as dangerous. Another reactor, Dasha of Russia, said it looked like a place where you would sell your soul to the devil. That scene is so iconic and yet it's utterly desolate, a tribute to Hitchcock's direction and ability to build tension in the most generic of places.
Sir Alfred Hitchcock was an absolute giant among directors.
Hitchcock is still considered one of the most influential film directors in terms of his style, even though he never won an Oscar as a director.
He established the term suspense. His genre was the thriller, which he often combined with humor.
The recurring motifs in his films were fear, guilt and loss of identity. He varied the theme of the innocent persecuted several times.
Many of his films have cult status (The Man Who Knew Too Much, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho, The Birds, Frenzy...).
That was really superb, I hadn't seen in a vampire's age. Excellent reaction and also especially the edit!
Eva Marie Saint (Eve) is still with us! She's 100 and was born on the 4th of July (not dissimilar to Tom Cruise).
I like that you put your own work on the wall. That's cool.
Thank you :))
One of my fav films of all times. 1) One of the best soundtracks ever. 2) The baddies are brilliantly great 3)Love the concept of George Caplin- the non-existant agent. 4) The dialogue is superb. 5) I'm sure that Leo G Carroll's portrayal of the spy boss must have led to his casting as Mr Waverley, the head of UNCLE in the famous TV series.
Can't really decide to pinpoint one single favourite Hitchcock movie, but I can say that this is my favourite movie-score for any Hitchcock movie, even leaving Psycho behind. And I adore Bernard Herrmanns works, esp. those for Hitchcock. Sometimes there is this perfect fit between directors and composers, like Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone, David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti or Tim Burton and Danny Elfman.
Note how Grace-Kelly-like Eva Marie Saint is in her performance. Kelly had married Rainier and retired from motion pictures permanently.
Loved your reaction to this great movie. His indestructible suit went viral in a pre-Internet world. There's even a book that claims it's the real star of the movie! 4 years later he made a movie, Charade, which I love even more, where he parodies it. This time, when he takes a shower, he keeps his suit on!
This was the fourth time Hitchcock made a film where a wrongly-accused man chases the bad guys across the country. Young and Innocent, The 39 Steps and Saboteur all had the same structure.
And Saboteur had it's climactic atop another famous monument!
Your reaction to Hitchcock films got me to subscribe. I think there were two people in the plane that crashed, because it wasn't a fighter plane so there were no weapons mounted on it that the pilot could operate. There must have been a second person to shoot the gun.
I love Cary Grant. His physical acting and line delivery are legendary. I'd recommend watching Arsenic & Old Lace for a great comedy performance from him.
Does my heart good to see young people enjoying my favorite old time movies.
As expected, another great reaction. If you would like another Cary Grant (at his peak) movie, 'Charade', with the beautiful Audrey Hepburn, would suit you. Regarding the pistol thing, I think a reason would be that popular handguns were smaller (easy to conceal) back then, so smaller calibre, less recoil. A modern handgun in an untrained hand could easily cause physical damage during recoil. The correct way is 2 handed at arms length. Anyway, keep up the good work, already looking forward to your next post. ; )
Fun Fact! The script was being written and rewritten while it was being filmed. Do note the screenwriter and director each had decades of experience and even then it was nearly a disaster with each near working themselves to death and having to be hospitalized for exhaustion. Yet, for some reason modern directors and writers think they can pull of the same feat with little effort.
Fun Fact 2! They didn't have permission to film the United Nations building (which is apparently super hard to get) so they used very good paintings... and some unauthorized guerilla film making.
Fun Fact 3! This movie would form the template for all the early James Bond movies.
Most pistols in movies, modern and old, are held in unrealistic positions. It's just the movie-makers' ideas of what will look cool.
That said, holding it down by your hip may be a good idea in some situations. If you're trying to use a gun to scare someone, but you aren't ready to aim it and don't want to put your gun-hand out in front of you at shoulder-height, where your opponent might get hold of the gun or your hand or your arm, holding it near your hip may be good. A hip-position is also less conspicuous, in case you want some people around you not to notice that you're holding a gun and threatening someone.
That plane is dusting where there aren't any crops.
Sus
Yes, that is exactly what the bus waiting man is mentioning in the film.
The score is superb also.
One of the greatest movies ever, and maybe the best POPCORN 🍿 movie of all time.
If Jaws is a popcorn movie then Jaws is. 🙂
great reaction tremendous movie
Many people like to call this the first James Bond movie. Cary Grant was actually considered to originate the role of James Bond - as was James Mason, who played Vandamm. But neither actor was willing to commit to more than one or two movies.
They both would have been amazing in that role
I could imagine Mason as a Bond villain, not Bond.
Hitchcock was offered the chance to direct the first Bond film but turned it down.
@lukebarton5075 That's understandable. Alfred liked dealing with ordinary yet smart people who weren't cops, private investigators or spies as the leads.
@@Madbandit77 I've actually long pictured Mason as Bond. It could definitely have worked.
Congrats ! Very entertaining reaction. You're very sincere and that's important.
Loved 😍 watching your reactions! You are so smart at figuring things out ahead of time. Ut seems to be innate. I hope you will take a moment and look at the closing title where ut says THE END. The image is if a speeding train going into a tunnel. That is visual double entendre. Think abt it. I wish the movie sound were louder. I'm old & if I turn up the film you're watching, you and the RUclips ads are too loud. Would headphones help? Maybe not. Ask around; somebody knows. I'm so happy you're doing reactions now. You're a lot of fun to watch & have excellent insights! Thank you!!!
I know I messed up the sound in this one, I'm sorry. I was using a different editor and got a little confused. I'll make it louder in the future ones:)
The closeup of the gardener at the Townsend estate is one of the 2 thugs who kidnapped Cart Grant from the hotel.
Yes, we all noticed that.
I've always felt this movie is like a prototype for the James Bond series.
It was.
Great movie. Fyi North by Northwest was the inspiration for the James Bond movies. Another great Carey Grant movie is Charade 1963 which is considered the greatest Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock never made. it actullly came out the same time as Hitchcock The Birds and beat it in the box office. Another great Hitchcock movie with Jimmy Stewart is The Man Who Know Too Much. Also a great comedy with the Bad Guy in this movie is Heaven Can Wait 1980
"North by Northwest" is among Hitchcock's best movies!
Hitchcock had a penchant for using national landmarks for effect. Places like the United Nations building, Jefferson Memorial, Statue of Liberty, Golden Gate Bridge and Royal Albert Hall in London are some examples.
Iconic film, and well in to my top 10 of all time and really stands up even today. Cary Grant is just brilliant in it, ably supported by Eva Marie Saint.
I love that you're not afraid of movies made before the turn of the century. There are a ton of great movies from the Seventies, best decade yet for American cinema, including an amazing four film run from Coppola. You might also want to check out some Brian De Palma, who was heavily influenced by Hitchcock, specifically Blow Out, Dressed to Kill and Body Double. And one from the Sixties, just because it's so very good, Cool Hand Luke with Paul Newman. An older one with Newman that hits hard is The Hustler. Just great.
You did great spotting Hitchcock's cameo today. Hollywood usually has trouble when it comes to firearms and facts. Quick draw shooting on main street never really did happen in the "wild west" any more than it does today with street gangs and drug cartel hits in today's towns. Ambush and surprise favor the winner. Holding a person at gunpoint (while not wanting to be noticed) it makes sense to keep the weapon close to the side as not to be obvious, and for a very close range shot it works, but powder burnt clothes may result. Serious shooters will use two hands and a support to rest the gun against to increase the chance of a good shot. A rare few actors and directors like Tom Selick and John Milius are experienced with firearms and their films show it.
Hitchcock started putting his cameo in early so people could concentrate on the movie.
Just one more fun fact: Hitchcock used some creative license at the end of the film. The back of Mount Rushmore is NOTHING like what they depicted in the movie.
I never thought about it before, but I assume there were two people in the crop duster. The pilot, and the guy with the machine gun. Very nice reaction. Very much fun!
All of the settings in and near Rapid City SD except for the actual faces (which were reconstructed in a back lot) are real buildings there. The only thing is that there are no such houses behind the faces. Most of my remaining family live in the Black Hills so the places are familiar.
The initial Kaplan misunderstanding is very easy to miss. It must surely be one of the most subtle inciting incidents in a major Hollywood movie.
It was so subtle, I heard him calling the name and quickly forgot about it because I was focused on Roger needing to send a telegram😅
Strange I thought I left my comment but I don't see it. I really enjoyed your reaction to this. I really wish you had a Patreon for full movie reactions. But anyway, there are so many great Hitchcock movies. I see lots of people here recommending "To Catch a Thief" which I whole-heartedly agree with. Also
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1954 version)
and the Trouble with Harry (for some comedic relief)
Also, you Should check out the Alfred Hitchcock Hour TV Series. There were some very good episodes and he directed a handful of those as well.
This is my favorite Hitchcock. Second favorite is FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, a pre WWII drama. Cary Grant and Hitch made four movies. Cary could do it all, but I really prefer his lighter and comedic performances. NBNW is a James Bond style trip. Coolness under pressure. Jimmy Stewart also has a handful of collaborations. That shooting from the hip was actually taught for decades. Probably influenced by the quick-draw crowd and tales of the old west. It's really hard to be accurate from there. Glad we teach practical shooting now. Thanks for watching.
If you want to see him at his sarcastic best, see Grant in The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer (1947)
You’ll also see a teenaged Shirley Temple in that one. 😉
Lawyer: “You’re looking well”
Grant: “Prison agrees with me!”
Or in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948).
Two of the best comedies of all time. 😊
I was more naive when I first saw this and had no trouble believing Eve was helping Roger just because she fell in love immediately because he's Cary Grant!
Another fun mystery romance with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn in "Charade" -- very much Hitchcock-style movie