Vandamm was played by the great James Mason. An actor who never in his life gave a performance that was less than excellent. His film career lasted 50 years and has some truly great entries.
"Now you listen here, I'm an advertising man, not a red herring. I've got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex-wives and several bartenders depending upon me, and I don't intend to disappoint them all by getting myself 'slightly' killed." is the best movie quote ever. :)
There's a story that while making the film, Cary Grant went to Hitchcock complaining that he didn't understand what was going on in the plot. Hitchcock asked him, "Are you confused?" Grant said, "Yes!". Hitchcock asked, "Are your feeling anxious?" And Grant answered, "Yes!!". Hitchcock then said, "Good! Then the audience will be feeling the same way when they watch it." Good old Hitchcock. He loved to make his audiences uncomfortable.
"JUST PAY THE TWO DOLLARS" is an old colloquialism meaning, "just pay the small fine before you get into more trouble." Doesn't specifically mean the fine is two bucks.
At the very beginning of the movie, when Roger is at lunch, he gets up to talk to to the waiter to ask about sending a telegram. That waiter is yelling that they have a phone call for George Kaplan. That's how Roger is mistaken for Kaplan. Also, they were not given permission to film on Mount Rushmore. Then entire scene that takes place on Mount Rushmore was done on a set in a studio.
Those who grew up with 1960s spy shows will recognize a few of the actors in this film. Leo G. Carroll (The Professor) played Alexander Waverly on "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.", Edward Platt (Victor Larrabee) played Chief in "Get Smart", and Martin Landau (Leonard) played Rollin Hand in "Mission: Impossible".
Cary Grant started in vaudeville as an acrobat and tumbler. And he never lost his athleticism and lean build. He was 55 when he.made this film, one year younger than Jessie Royce Landis, who played his mother. His greatest films were the ones he made with Howard Hawks from 38 to 41, Bringing Up Baby, Only Angels Have Wings, and His Girl Friday, two classic comedies and a classic action movie., Hawks' movies with Cary created and defined and delineated the "Cary Grant" persona.
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.
“Pay the two dollars” is a line from an old Vaudeville routine that audiences in this era would (just barely!) remember. The gist of it is that if you spend too much energy & effort fighting a small penalty (like $2 for spitting on the subway) you may end up paying a much bigger penalty.
The script was an original screenplay by Earnest Lehman who wrote the outline and wrote the completed script under Hitchcock's supervision with elements of earlier Hitchock films such as THE 39 STEPS.
No, this was based on a idea, which makes it very rare for a Hitchcock Film Bernard Hermann also wrote the music for Psycho. "Pay the two dollars" goes back to a famous vaudeville routine. A man is arrested and charged with a two dollar fine. The man resists paying it until he is about to be executed. Martin Landau (Leonard) deliberately decided to play his character as gay and in love with VanDamm. The only hint you get of it is the line toward the end, "Call it my woman's intuition."
A great Cary Grant film - one of my favorites - is "His Gal Friday." Some of the witiest, rapid-fire, dialogue of any film. Speaking of comedies, Grant was also fantastic is "Bringing Up Baby," "Arsenic and Old Lace," and in a slightly less prominent role (with James Stewart and the great Katherine Hepburn as the leads), "The Philadelphia Story." Great stuff!
Hitchcock was not allowed to film at Mount Rushmore. Those scenes were all shot in studio. Leonard was played by the late, great Martin Landau. He became very well known for the role of Rollin Hand in the original _Mission Impossible_ TV series. Later he became one of the most highly respected acting teachers in Hollywood. Late in his career he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for playing Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton's film _Ed Wood._ Another Cary Grant film to put on the list is the 1963 romantic comedy, suspense thriller, mystery, _Charade._ Directed by Stanley Donen, starring Grant and Audrey Hepburn, and with a beautiful score by Henry Mancini, it has been called the greatest Hitchcock film Hitchcock never made.
A thrilling epic spy adventure film from Alfred Hitchcock. Fun fact: Both Hitchcock and Cary Grant were considered for making a James Bond movie, but turned it down.
Eva Marie Saint played Martha Kent in 2006’s Superman Returns. James Mason was in 1978’s The Boys from Brazil, which also starred Gregory Peck in a rare villainous role.
Fun Fact: Alfred Hitchcock was approached by James Bond author Ian Fleming himself and offered the chance to direct the first James Bond movie, which was originally going to be Thunderball. Hitchcock turned down the project because he'd already done a spy thriller with North By Northwest and wanted to move on to something different, but North By Northwest's influence can clearly be seen in the first three James Bond movies with Sean Connery.
19:25 That's a bit of an "in-joke". Eva Marie Saint (and also Martin Landau) were both Actor's Studio "method" actors. The method had come in during the late 40s/early 50s, most famously with Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift and James Dean (among others) The British James Mason was NOT an Actor's Studio "method" actor.
The opening credits feature a geometric pattern that cleverly transforms into the U.N. Secretariat Building, foreshadowing things to come. Pay the two dollars is an expression meaning pay the damn thing and get it over with. Eva Marie Saint went into North by Northwest as an Oscar winner from a few years earlier (Best Supporting Actress for On the Waterfront). What gets lost in all of this is that NxNW came at the height of the Cold War (a period of geopolitical tension) with the Soviet Union. Sputnik, the space race, U2 spy planes, nuclear missile proliferation, the Strategic Air Command and, of course, rampant espionage all were familiar themes of the day. NxNW barely mentions the Cold War and completely avoids naming the Soviet Union as the main adversary, but it would have been obvious to the audiences of the day.
1:39 "Written by" in on-screen titles denotes it being an original piece in contrast to "screenplay by" which indicates an adaptation of a novel, play or a remake.
This is my all time favorite Hitchcock film. I've seen it countless times. It's such a fun adventure film. One fun fact: In the scene where Eve "shoots" Roger in the cafeteria at Mount Rushmore, look out for a young boy in the background. He actually plugs his ears before Eve shoots.
FYI: "Make love" in 1959 simply meant to flirt, not what we think of today. 🙂 The car they loaded Cary Grant's drunk character into at the start was (at the time) a brand new 1959 Mercedes, a relatively rare car in the U.S. at the time. Early product placement?
The shot of the airplane actually hitting the tanker truck is a miniature. However the very next shot is a full sized truck and plane exploding on cue to match the miniature.
Eva Marie Saint, who played Eve Kendall, was also in On the Waterfront, Exodus, The Sandpiper, The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming, and Grand Prix. The music was by the great Bernard Hermann, who also did the music for Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Trouble with Harry, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Vertigo, Psycho, Cape Fear, Marnie, Taxi Driver, and many other movies. He's one of the great movie composers, up there with John Williams. James Mason played Phillip Vandamm. He was also in The Prisoner of Zenda, 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, the 1954 version of A Star Is Born, Lolita, Lord Jim, Georgy Girl, Heaven Can Wait, The Boys from Brazil, and The Verdict.
A great Hitchcock/Cary Grant vehicle with a James Bond feel to it. Another movie to watch with Cary Grant that I think you would love is the 1963 film Charade also starring Audrey Hepburn, James Coburn, Walter Matthau and George Kennedy. Directed by Stanley Donen (Singing In the Rain) it is a comedy, mystery, crime, drama, romance movie. It's the best Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock never made.
You should watch "Charade" from 1963. Stanley Done directed Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn as well as several great other known actors. It's a Hitchcock film with suspense, romance, and comedy that he didn't direct but very much in his style.
Frequent Hitchcock collaborators, graphic designer Saul Bass and composer Bernard Hermann, both worked on North By Northwest. Both men had also worked on Vertigo and Psycho, with Hermann composing the music and Bass designing the title sequences.
Enjoyed your reaction- and Cary Grant is my favorite Golden Age actor. He did 3 other films with Hitch. I recommend Notorious, a younger Grant playing a US spy who recruits Ingrid Bergman to help in a mission in South America after the war. Filmed in 1945, it reflected post war fears before the war ended. There is an iconic zoom imitated by many directors, interesting camera work. The Hayes Code limited kisses to 3 seconds so Hitch had Grant and Bergman kiss for 3 seconds, whisper, kiss, nuzzle, kiss, etc. for 3 minutes, making it one of the most erotic scenes in film history. Cary Grant was mainly a romantic, comedic leading man starting in the 30’s and through his long career. He did do his own stunts and tapped on his experience as an acrobat as a teenager in Vaudeville. He was in his mid 50’s when this filmed, and afterwards was approached to play the first James Bond. Grant only would do one film, for a cool million. The producers (Broccolis) decided on Sean Connery who agreed to do a series of films for less. Grant’s filmography covers comedy, drama, suspense, action and romance- highly entertaining and witty dialogue.
I agree. Notorious is a favorite of mine also. Very different part for him. He even “flattened” his iconic accent and usual clipped way of speaking for that role. Hitchcock was smart to choose Grant in that film.
great score too by bernard hermann, a frequent collaborator with hitchcock until an unfortunate falling out between the two in the 1960s. the opening "fandango" theme under the main titles sets the stage perfectly for the wild chase to follow.
james mason (vandamm) had a long and distinguished career, starting in his native england in the 1930s and lasting well into the 1980s. some career highlights: carol reed's "odd man out" (1947); vincente minnelli's "madame bovary" (1949); george cukor's "a star is born" (1954, with judy garland); stanley kubrick's"lolita" (1962, based on the nabokov novel); silvio narizzano's "georgy girl"(1966).
Microfilm, yes, it's just film, but full of microscopic images (typically, in the movies, of secret documents, military installations, you name it). Plenty of old newspapers provided their back issues on microfilm to libraries and other research institutions: it was a favored bulk text storage and retrieval system before the digital age. (And pretty damned useful, you could store 100 years worth of a daily newspaper, hundreds of thousands of pages of text and photographs, in a cabinet about the size of a chest freezer.) Any child could dig through the racks to get the roll of film with the date range they needed, and thread it into the reader. Pretty cheap and efficient, too, you could have local copies of personnel records of your whole company on a couple of 5x7" sheets. Our local public library had (and may still have) several microfilm readers, a couple of which are equipped with printers, so once you scroll to the page you are interested in, you can plunk a dime in and get hard copy. Of course digital is better but microfilm was absolutely not the worst storage format ever devised.
Had the great fortune of watching this on the big screen right before the pandemic began. That VistaVision and 4k transfer in the theater was amazing. Hope to see Vertigo next whenever they decide to play it in my area.
Hitchcock developed the story idea and hired Lehman to sculpt it into shape by having of conversations regarding how the innocent man on the run will finally get to the cozy bunk on the train with Eve. In an interview he called N by NW a fantasy film and he does have a way if making his films seem dreamlike because they're primarily filmed in a very subjective perspective. The plane sequence didn't use any miniatures and the explosions were created by an expert pyrotechnic crew. I was worked on a film called Passenger 57 in which there was a big explosion and I played along with several others a police officer witnessing it and a real explosion of a fuel truck turning over and exploding was created and it was impressive and you could feel the heat from it.wash over you. Also once again my friend Dorothy's father did the score for N by NW as he did for other Hitchcock films you've seen, Vertigo and Psycho as well as the sound design for The Birds. Hitchcock's first man of the run was in the 1935 film The 39 Steps, which you'd really enjoy. It's considered a classic. Great job with your observations. Also Eva Marie received an Oscar for her role in On the Waterfront, which is another American masterpiece.
@@robertjewell9727 I just watched it again a few times at .25 speed. The instant the plane bursts into flames is either a miniature or they used some sort of tilt-shift photography to intentionally make it look like a miniature
This movie is a classic, Cary Grant (Real name was Archibald Leach) but wanted to sound more American as he was born here in England, plus I think he would have been an interesting choice for "James Bond ", keep the great work 👍
If you look closely, there's a boy in the background in the Mount Rushmore restaurant scene. He puts his fingers in his ears seconds before Eve shoots Roger. Hitchcock found is so funny that he kept it in the movie.
North By Northwest wasn't based on any book, Jen. It was an original script written by Alfred Hitchcock's friend, Ernest Lehman. Hitchcock and Lehman were originally going to adapt a book called The Wreck of the Mary Deare, but Lehman quit after a couple of weeks, saying he didn't know what to do with the story. Lehman said he wanted to make the "ultimate Hitchcock film," and Hitchcock said he always wanted to film a chase scene on Mount Rushmore. The two men began to collaborate on the script, with Hitchcock remembering a story told to him by an American journalist about spies creating a fake agent as a decoy, and even bought the idea from the journalist for $10,000.
He is taken supposedly to a mansion on Long Island, where they pour alcohol into him and set up off to drive along the rugged cliffs. There are basically no cliffs like that anywhere on Long Island. (But lots where this was probably filmed, in California.)
Microfilm, often mentioned in old spy films, is just regular film like they showed coming out of the broken statue. What makes it different is not the film itself, it is the content of the images and the camera that was used to take the pics. It is a method of reproducing documents and works as a more efficient storage method than having a bunch of papers. There were special document cameras that would hold the documents flat and level to the camera to reduce distortion.
Original Screenplay. The screenwriter and Hitchcock got together to create the ultimate Hitchcock movie so they thought of everything they could that Hitchcock has done for over 30 years of his movie making and added the kitchen sink to make this THE Hitchcock movie of all time !
Leo G. Carroll, the "professor" starred in an early (1953-'55) tv comedy series before he was in Man From Uncle. He was Cosmo Topper, a respectable banker who is the only one who can see three ghosts, George and Marian Kirby, and their St. Bernard. Love that series.
Based on the Hitchcock films you've seen, I'd recommend "Shadow of a Doubt" or "Strangers on a Train" next. p.s. you saw James Mason in "Salem's Lot." He played the vampire's human protector, Straker.
Eve is played by Eva Marie Saint, who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her film debut opposite Marlon Brando in On The Waterfront in 1954.
OMG, you uploaded this last night after I'd already gone to sleep, Jen! 😭Okay, at least I got to it now. lol 😂I'm glad you finally got to North By Northwest, Jen. It's considered one of the "top five" in Hitchcock's filmography, along with Psycho, The Birds, Vertigo, and Rear Window. It was Hitchcock's most successful film at the time, and a hit that he needed after the disappointing performance of Vertigo at the box office.
There's a little bit of Cary Grant inside Buckaroo Banzai. Also along these lines, "Charade" (Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, 1963, directed by Stanley Donen) is sometimes called the best Hitchcock film that Hitchcock didn't make. It's lush and has a killer score by Henry Mancini, etc., and supporting cast is great, like one of these new "Jack Reacher" movies with plot twists and truly memorable villains. Audrey Hepburn ain't too much of a slouch, either.
Great reaction, Jen. One of James Mason's best films is The Desert Fox (1951), in which he played WW2 German General Erwin Rommel. If you don't get a chance to react to it on your channel, consider watching it for your own enjoyment. The more films a person watches, the better he/she understands the ins, outs, ups, and downs of the film industry. Keep up the good work!!!
Congrats, you've seen four in a row of Hitch: he did "Vertigo" (which tanked), decided to do something intentionally commercial (this movie), then did "Psycho". Then "The Birds". But hey, he's got a long, rich career! Definitely don't miss "Strangers On A Train" or "Shadow Of A Doubt", those should be on your shortlist of next-Alfred H's to watch! Absolute top tier Hitchcock. As far as James Mason, you are one of the only reactors who could do Kubrick's "Lolita", which features amazing performances from James Mason, Shelley Winters, Peter Sellers, and Sue Lyon. Eva Marie Saint is known first and foremost for acting opposite Marlon Brando in "On The Waterfront".
Hitchcock had a sardonic sense of humor. I read a review or perhaps it was an interview...but, it was said Hitchcock came to the screenwriter with the idea. He had an image in his mind...it was the hero hiding in the nose of one of the heads on Mount Rushmore and he has a sneezing fit. Hitchcock found it funny and wanted a screenplay to go with it. Don't know if it's true, but I definately heard/read it that way. Great reaction and look forward to many more!
The actor playing Van Damme was James Mason. He was a great actor; he was the defense lawyer in The Verdict, whivh I'm guessing you haven't seen; it would make a great reaction video.
If you want another Hitchcock movie about being on the run, the 1935 The 39 Steps is a good one. Suspense, foreign spies, propaganda and paranoia mixed with romance and comedy in true Hitchcock style. And as I have done before here, I have to recommend you react to his 1948 Rope. A one location movie almost played out in real time. It's quite unique and very good. Had Hitchcock had more modern cameras, he might have tried to do it in one shot, or at least less.
Cracking film! You should check out Notorious and To Catch a Thief. Both are Hitchcock and Carey Grant again. And for a super funny Carey Grant film, watch Arsenic & Old Lace (1944) Classic screwball comedy by Frank Capra
Glad you enjoyed North By Northwest Jen. You can't go too far wrong with Hitchcock. Apparently Hitchcock stalwart James Stewart was desperate to play the lead role, but Hitchcock thought he looked too old, even though Grant was 4 years older than Stewart! Would highly recommend either "Strangers On A Train" or the classic "Dial M For Murder", which I think you'd really enjoy Jen, with it's twists and turns.
This movie contains almost all the recurring Alfred Hitchcock tropes: An ordinary innocent man gets drawn into a dangerous situation...A bad relationship with a mother...fear of the police (who seem like more of a threat than a help)...a scene in a theater setting (if the auction can be considered a kind of stage)...and the unimportance of the "McGuffin". To Hitchcock, the McGuffin is the thing that everyone in the movie is after (gold, diamonds, secret information...whatever). To him, it didn't matter what the McGuffin was - it could be anything - so long as it drove the plot of the movie. Here, he demonstrates this philosophy in the scene where the intelligence chief explains what the bad guys are after to Roger Thornhill, at an airport. At that moment, an airplane revs up its engine and we can't hear the intelligence chief's explanation. Hitchcock is proving his theory that the specifics of the McGuffin don't really matter. We can only assume that it has something to do with secret information. Another movie that demonstrates this philosophy just as well, is "Torn Curtain" - where the McGuffin is a physics equation that no audience member could possibly understand.
microfilm might be like microfiche, where you put it through a little viewing machine in the library , and look at one frame at a time, because it's usaully , a series of still photographs, from a still camera taking pictures one shot at a time of maybe blue prints or something
Eva Marie Saint also shines in the wonderful 1966 comedy, The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming. Also starring Carl Reiner, Alan Arkin, and Brian Keith.
OK. If you're five Hitchcock movies in, you're ready for "High Anxiety", Mel Brooks' send-up of Hitchcock. Can't remember the year. (1978)? North by Northwest is I think the most beautifully color printed of all of Hitchcock's color films. Cary Grant was absolutely the Harrison Ford of his day, with chiseled good looks, fit, funny, and always unaware of what a good comedian he was. Neither of them ever ruined a single movie they were in.
Cary Grant played in another film titled 'Topper' (1937). It is about a banker suddenly beset by two ghosts. The TV show (1953) based on it starred Leo G. Carrol (and included a ghost St. Bernard with a drinking problem. I watched it in reruns while staying home 'sick' from school.) I just loved his British primness. Martin Landau was a great creepy actor too. You saw him as Bela Legosi in 'Ed Wood'. His best role was being father to Juliet Landau, Drusilla in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But then, you knew that... Loved seeing your response to this wonderful classic. You sure know how to pick movies.
Hi Jen, for some Cary Grant comedies please react to any of these :- Arsenic & Old Lace 1944, Mr. Blanding`s Builds His Dream House 1948, Monkey Business 1952, Walk, Don`t Run 1966 . The latter film was his final appearance. It`s great to see someone reacting to these Classic movies, they are nearly all before I was born but I`ve always enjoyed older movies.
@@hennakettunen8755 I agree entirely, although I think at that time, I did not include it as it was set during W.W. II. I can`t be certain but I think that was the only reason I left it out. The same goes for (Father Goose), another great C.G. comedy film. :)
Great movie. I think this movie inspired to make the James Bond movies. I think he was offered the role of James Bond before Sean Connery. If you want to see another great none Hitchcock movie with Carry Grant which is considered a Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock never made :) you should see Charade 1963. Also if you have seen allot of Hitchcock movies you should watch High Anxiety. Also another great movie with the guy who plays the bad guy here is Heaven Can Wait 1978.
Great choice of movie. Thank you. To answer your question, this is not based on a book. And, by the way, "Pay the two dollars" was a popular expression, figuratively related to traffic tickets, but meaning that going along is easier than opposing. There are no sequels, but there are many other fabulous Hitchcock movies, for instance "The Lady Vanishes."
Coming to this late, but what a great reaction! Producers Albert "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman credit this Hitchcock masterpiece with providing the template for the early 007 films (along with a Gregory Peck film called The Guns of Navarone). They even asked Cary Grant if he'd like to play the role of an American James Bond, but he declined. Still, from the stylish opening credits to a leading man in a suit, a femme fatale, an arch villain with a ruthless henchman, exotic locales, and a healthy dose of sexual innuendo, North by Northwest is very much the prototype for Connery's early Bond films. Spielberg and Williams gave Hitchcock and Herrmann numerous audio/visual nods in a Leonardo DiCaprio film called Catch Me if You Can.
6:30 "Pay the two dollars" is a reference to an old vaudeville routine. You could have paid the $2 fine, but instead, if you make a big deal out of it, the final penalty is much worse.
I think the plane scene was down to editing. The pilot pulled up and over at the last moment and then the plane being burned was added. James Mason was an English actor, who played Humbert Humbert in Stanley Kubrick's Lolita (1962).
"I'm gonna leave that metaphor alone!" What metaphor, Jen? 😜The ending with the train going into the tunnel? What could that possibly be a metaphor of? 😜lol
Vandamm was played by the great James Mason. An actor who never in his life gave a performance that was less than excellent. His film career lasted 50 years and has some truly great entries.
The Verdict is another great reaction movie, with Paul Newman as the plaintiff attorney and James Mason as the defendants' attorney!
Mason was awesome at Captain Nemo and as Noman Maine in 1954
Heaven Can Wait (1978)
A great James Mason movie is Lolita.
Also with the original human chameleon, Peter Sellers. @@randybass8842
"Now you listen here, I'm an advertising man, not a red herring. I've got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex-wives and several bartenders depending upon me, and I don't intend to disappoint them all by getting myself 'slightly' killed." is the best movie quote ever. :)
There's a story that while making the film, Cary Grant went to Hitchcock complaining that he didn't understand what was going on in the plot. Hitchcock asked him, "Are you confused?" Grant said, "Yes!". Hitchcock asked, "Are your feeling anxious?" And Grant answered, "Yes!!". Hitchcock then said, "Good! Then the audience will be feeling the same way when they watch it." Good old Hitchcock. He loved to make his audiences uncomfortable.
"JUST PAY THE TWO DOLLARS" is an old colloquialism meaning, "just pay the small fine before you get into more trouble." Doesn't specifically mean the fine is two bucks.
At the very beginning of the movie, when Roger is at lunch, he gets up to talk to to the waiter to ask about sending a telegram. That waiter is yelling that they have a phone call for George Kaplan. That's how Roger is mistaken for Kaplan.
Also, they were not given permission to film on Mount Rushmore. Then entire scene that takes place on Mount Rushmore was done on a set in a studio.
Those who grew up with 1960s spy shows will recognize a few of the actors in this film. Leo G. Carroll (The Professor) played Alexander Waverly on "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.", Edward Platt (Victor Larrabee) played Chief in "Get Smart", and Martin Landau (Leonard) played Rollin Hand in "Mission: Impossible".
Landau also played Bela Lugosi in _Ed Wood._ He won an Oscar for the role.
Gotta love Hitchcock, Cary Grant, James Mason, Eva Marie Saint and Martin Landau.
Cary Grant started in vaudeville as an acrobat and tumbler. And he never lost his athleticism and lean build. He was 55 when he.made this film, one year younger than Jessie Royce Landis, who played his mother.
His greatest films were the ones he made with Howard Hawks from 38 to 41, Bringing Up Baby, Only Angels Have Wings, and His Girl Friday, two classic comedies and a classic action movie., Hawks' movies with Cary created and defined and delineated the "Cary Grant" persona.
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.
“Pay the two dollars” is a line from an old Vaudeville routine that audiences in this era would (just barely!) remember. The gist of it is that if you spend too much energy & effort fighting a small penalty (like $2 for spitting on the subway) you may end up paying a much bigger penalty.
The title comes from Hamlet: “I am but mad north-northwest. When the wind is from the south, I can tell a hawk from a handsaw.”
Interesting...
The script was an original screenplay by Earnest Lehman who wrote the outline and wrote the completed script under Hitchcock's supervision with elements of earlier Hitchock films such as THE 39 STEPS.
No, this was based on a idea, which makes it very rare for a Hitchcock Film
Bernard Hermann also wrote the music for Psycho.
"Pay the two dollars" goes back to a famous vaudeville routine. A man is arrested and charged with a two dollar fine. The man resists paying it until he is about to be executed.
Martin Landau (Leonard) deliberately decided to play his character as gay and in love with VanDamm. The only hint you get of it is the line toward the end, "Call it my woman's intuition."
You got the metaphor at the end! I think you're the first of several N by NW reactors I've watched who got it!
A great Cary Grant film - one of my favorites - is "His Gal Friday." Some of the witiest, rapid-fire, dialogue of any film. Speaking of comedies, Grant was also fantastic is "Bringing Up Baby," "Arsenic and Old Lace," and in a slightly less prominent role (with James Stewart and the great Katherine Hepburn as the leads), "The Philadelphia Story." Great stuff!
"Pay the $2," was an old comedy sketch.
“The Love Train. I’m gonna leave that metaphor alone.” Jen, you crack me up in just about every movie. Cheese and rice.
Hitchcock was not allowed to film at Mount Rushmore. Those scenes were all shot in studio.
Leonard was played by the late, great Martin Landau. He became very well known for the role of Rollin Hand in the original _Mission Impossible_ TV series. Later he became one of the most highly respected acting teachers in Hollywood. Late in his career he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for playing Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton's film _Ed Wood._
Another Cary Grant film to put on the list is the 1963 romantic comedy, suspense thriller, mystery, _Charade._ Directed by Stanley Donen, starring Grant and Audrey Hepburn, and with a beautiful score by Henry Mancini, it has been called the greatest Hitchcock film Hitchcock never made.
A thrilling epic spy adventure film from Alfred Hitchcock.
Fun fact: Both Hitchcock and Cary Grant were considered for making a James Bond movie, but turned it down.
I'm reporting you for spamming the comment section.
Fun fact, Martin Landau who plays the thug in this film is the father of Juliet Landau, Drusilla from Buffy,
Cary Grant started out as an acrobat and was able to perform many out of his own stunts.
Eva Marie Saint played Martha Kent in 2006’s Superman Returns.
James Mason was in 1978’s The Boys from Brazil, which also starred Gregory Peck in a rare villainous role.
Fun Fact: Alfred Hitchcock was approached by James Bond author Ian Fleming himself and offered the chance to direct the first James Bond movie, which was originally going to be Thunderball. Hitchcock turned down the project because he'd already done a spy thriller with North By Northwest and wanted to move on to something different, but North By Northwest's influence can clearly be seen in the first three James Bond movies with Sean Connery.
19:25 That's a bit of an "in-joke". Eva Marie Saint (and also Martin Landau) were both Actor's Studio "method" actors. The method had come in during the late 40s/early 50s, most famously with Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift and James Dean (among others) The British James Mason was NOT an Actor's Studio "method" actor.
The opening credits feature a geometric pattern that cleverly transforms into the U.N. Secretariat Building, foreshadowing things to come. Pay the two dollars is an expression meaning pay the damn thing and get it over with. Eva Marie Saint went into North by Northwest as an Oscar winner from a few years earlier (Best Supporting Actress for On the Waterfront). What gets lost in all of this is that NxNW came at the height of the Cold War (a period of geopolitical tension) with the Soviet Union. Sputnik, the space race, U2 spy planes, nuclear missile proliferation, the Strategic Air Command and, of course, rampant espionage all were familiar themes of the day. NxNW barely mentions the Cold War and completely avoids naming the Soviet Union as the main adversary, but it would have been obvious to the audiences of the day.
1:39 "Written by" in on-screen titles denotes it being an original piece in contrast to "screenplay by" which indicates an adaptation of a novel, play or a remake.
You have watched enough Hitchcock that you can now enjoy HIGH ANXIETY -- a Mel Brooks film poking fun at Hitchcock films.
Yes!!!! That film is great
This is my all time favorite Hitchcock film. I've seen it countless times. It's such a fun adventure film.
One fun fact: In the scene where Eve "shoots" Roger in the cafeteria at Mount Rushmore, look out for a young boy in the background. He actually plugs his ears before Eve shoots.
Some call it the first "James Bond" Film! .... And Grant was offered the Role of James Bond!
FYI: "Make love" in 1959 simply meant to flirt, not what we think of today. 🙂
The car they loaded Cary Grant's drunk character into at the start was (at the time) a brand new 1959 Mercedes, a relatively rare car in the U.S. at the time. Early product placement?
The shot of the airplane actually hitting the tanker truck is a miniature. However the very next shot is a full sized truck and plane exploding on cue to match the miniature.
Eva Marie Saint, who played Eve Kendall, was also in On the Waterfront, Exodus, The Sandpiper, The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming, and Grand Prix.
The music was by the great Bernard Hermann, who also did the music for Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Trouble with Harry, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Vertigo, Psycho, Cape Fear, Marnie, Taxi Driver, and many other movies. He's one of the great movie composers, up there with John Williams.
James Mason played Phillip Vandamm. He was also in The Prisoner of Zenda, 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, the 1954 version of A Star Is Born, Lolita, Lord Jim, Georgy Girl, Heaven Can Wait, The Boys from Brazil, and The Verdict.
Now you have to see Mel Brooks's "High Anxiety."
Those camera shots! Only Hitch can do them! This is one of my favorites of his films. I'm so glad you finally have the chance to see and enjoy it. 🎥
Eva Marie Saint, who plays Eve, will be 98 years old on July 4, 2022 !
A great Hitchcock/Cary Grant vehicle with a James Bond feel to it. Another movie to watch with Cary Grant that I think you would love is the 1963 film Charade also starring Audrey Hepburn, James Coburn, Walter Matthau and George Kennedy. Directed by Stanley Donen (Singing In the Rain) it is a comedy, mystery, crime, drama, romance movie. It's the best Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock never made.
Great reaction to a classic Hitchcock film!
Pay the 2 dollars was just a metaphor meaning give in and don’t complicate matters worse
You should watch "Charade" from 1963. Stanley Done directed Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn as well as several great other known actors. It's a Hitchcock film with suspense, romance, and comedy that he didn't direct but very much in his style.
His Girl Friday 1940 as well.
Frequent Hitchcock collaborators, graphic designer Saul Bass and composer Bernard Hermann, both worked on North By Northwest. Both men had also worked on Vertigo and Psycho, with Hermann composing the music and Bass designing the title sequences.
Cary Grant was an acrobat in his early years.
Enjoyed your reaction- and Cary Grant is my favorite Golden Age actor. He did 3 other films with Hitch. I recommend Notorious, a younger Grant playing a US spy who recruits Ingrid Bergman to help in a mission in South America after the war. Filmed in 1945, it reflected post war fears before the war ended. There is an iconic zoom imitated by many directors, interesting camera work. The Hayes Code limited kisses to 3 seconds so Hitch had Grant and Bergman kiss for 3 seconds, whisper, kiss, nuzzle, kiss, etc. for 3 minutes, making it one of the most erotic scenes in film history.
Cary Grant was mainly a romantic, comedic leading man starting in the 30’s and through his long career. He did do his own stunts and tapped on his experience as an acrobat as a teenager in Vaudeville. He was in his mid 50’s when this filmed, and afterwards was approached to play the first James Bond. Grant only would do one film, for a cool million. The producers (Broccolis) decided on Sean Connery who agreed to do a series of films for less.
Grant’s filmography covers comedy, drama, suspense, action and romance- highly entertaining and witty dialogue.
I agree. Notorious is a favorite of mine also. Very different part for him. He even “flattened” his iconic accent and usual clipped way of speaking for that role. Hitchcock was smart to choose Grant in that film.
great score too by bernard hermann, a frequent collaborator with hitchcock until an unfortunate falling out between the two in the 1960s. the opening "fandango" theme under the main titles sets the stage perfectly for the wild chase to follow.
Haven't watched the reaction yet... If you like then watch 'Charade' and guess where the money is!!
MOST FAMOUS MOVIE POSTER OF ALL TIME....."THAT S FUNNY...THAT PLANE S DUSTING CROPS WHERE THERE AIN T NO CROPS...."
4:59, poor guy is so hammered, no one will believe his story! Lol!!
For a good time watch this in a theater; the audience moves out of the way of the plane.
james mason (vandamm) had a long and distinguished career, starting in his native england in the 1930s and lasting well into the 1980s. some career highlights: carol reed's "odd man out" (1947); vincente minnelli's "madame bovary" (1949); george cukor's "a star is born" (1954, with judy garland); stanley kubrick's"lolita" (1962, based on the nabokov novel); silvio narizzano's "georgy girl"(1966).
Martin Landau won an Oscar for playing Bela Lugosi in the film Ed wood.
Microfilm, yes, it's just film, but full of microscopic images (typically, in the movies, of secret documents, military installations, you name it). Plenty of old newspapers provided their back issues on microfilm to libraries and other research institutions: it was a favored bulk text storage and retrieval system before the digital age. (And pretty damned useful, you could store 100 years worth of a daily newspaper, hundreds of thousands of pages of text and photographs, in a cabinet about the size of a chest freezer.) Any child could dig through the racks to get the roll of film with the date range they needed, and thread it into the reader.
Pretty cheap and efficient, too, you could have local copies of personnel records of your whole company on a couple of 5x7" sheets. Our local public library had (and may still have) several microfilm readers, a couple of which are equipped with printers, so once you scroll to the page you are interested in, you can plunk a dime in and get hard copy. Of course digital is better but microfilm was absolutely not the worst storage format ever devised.
NbNW has a great score by Bernard Hermann.
Had the great fortune of watching this on the big screen right before the pandemic began. That VistaVision and 4k transfer in the theater was amazing. Hope to see Vertigo next whenever they decide to play it in my area.
Cheese and Rice, nice reaction. The start of a lifelong crush on Eva Marie Saint.
Hitchcock developed the story idea and hired Lehman to sculpt it into shape by having of conversations regarding how the innocent man on the run will finally get to the cozy bunk on the train with Eve. In an interview he called N by NW a fantasy film and he does have a way if making his films seem dreamlike because they're primarily filmed in a very subjective perspective. The plane sequence didn't use any miniatures and the explosions were created by an expert pyrotechnic crew. I was worked on a film called Passenger 57 in which there was a big explosion and I played along with several others a police officer witnessing it and a real explosion of a fuel truck turning over and exploding was created and it was impressive and you could feel the heat from it.wash over you. Also once again my friend Dorothy's father did the score for N by NW as he did for other Hitchcock films you've seen, Vertigo and Psycho as well as the sound design for The Birds. Hitchcock's first man of the run was in the 1935 film The 39 Steps, which you'd really enjoy. It's considered a classic. Great job with your observations. Also Eva Marie received an Oscar for her role in On the Waterfront, which is another American masterpiece.
The quick shot where the plane hits the truck definitely looks like a miniature
@@monroe767 it's not.
@@robertjewell9727 I just watched it again a few times at .25 speed. The instant the plane bursts into flames is either a miniature or they used some sort of tilt-shift photography to intentionally make it look like a miniature
This movie is a classic, Cary Grant (Real name was Archibald Leach) but wanted to sound more American as he was born here in England, plus I think he would have been an interesting choice for "James Bond ", keep the great work 👍
If you look closely, there's a boy in the background in the Mount Rushmore restaurant scene. He puts his fingers in his ears seconds before Eve shoots Roger. Hitchcock found is so funny that he kept it in the movie.
1:47, there he is! There's Hitch! Lol!
one of the men that meet him in the room and pour the whiskey for him is a very young Martin Landau from space1999 fame. Excellent performance
North By Northwest wasn't based on any book, Jen. It was an original script written by Alfred Hitchcock's friend, Ernest Lehman. Hitchcock and Lehman were originally going to adapt a book called The Wreck of the Mary Deare, but Lehman quit after a couple of weeks, saying he didn't know what to do with the story. Lehman said he wanted to make the "ultimate Hitchcock film," and Hitchcock said he always wanted to film a chase scene on Mount Rushmore. The two men began to collaborate on the script, with Hitchcock remembering a story told to him by an American journalist about spies creating a fake agent as a decoy, and even bought the idea from the journalist for $10,000.
He is taken supposedly to a mansion on Long Island, where they pour alcohol into him and set up off to drive along the rugged cliffs. There are basically no cliffs like that anywhere on Long Island. (But lots where this was probably filmed, in California.)
Always enjoy the kid covering his ears before the shot.
Microfilm, often mentioned in old spy films, is just regular film like they showed coming out of the broken statue. What makes it different is not the film itself, it is the content of the images and the camera that was used to take the pics. It is a method of reproducing documents and works as a more efficient storage method than having a bunch of papers. There were special document cameras that would hold the documents flat and level to the camera to reduce distortion.
Old school PDFs
Original Screenplay. The screenwriter and Hitchcock got together to create the ultimate Hitchcock movie so they thought of everything they could that Hitchcock has done for over 30 years of his movie making and added the kitchen sink to make this THE Hitchcock movie of all time !
Leo G. Carroll, the "professor" starred in an early (1953-'55) tv comedy series before he was in Man From Uncle. He was Cosmo Topper, a respectable banker who is the only one who can see three ghosts, George and Marian Kirby, and their St. Bernard. Love that series.
Based on the Hitchcock films you've seen, I'd recommend "Shadow of a Doubt" or "Strangers on a Train" next. p.s. you saw James Mason in "Salem's Lot." He played the vampire's human protector, Straker.
I got a flip book of the crop duster scene for christmas.
Eve is played by Eva Marie Saint, who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her film debut opposite Marlon Brando in On The Waterfront in 1954.
Hi Jen, Cool Reaction As Always, Take Care Sweetie & Most Of All, Cheese & Rice
You're funny! Enjoyed your reaction video quite a bit! 😊
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the video! 🎬
OMG, you uploaded this last night after I'd already gone to sleep, Jen! 😭Okay, at least I got to it now. lol 😂I'm glad you finally got to North By Northwest, Jen. It's considered one of the "top five" in Hitchcock's filmography, along with Psycho, The Birds, Vertigo, and Rear Window. It was Hitchcock's most successful film at the time, and a hit that he needed after the disappointing performance of Vertigo at the box office.
There's a little bit of Cary Grant inside Buckaroo Banzai.
Also along these lines, "Charade" (Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, 1963, directed by Stanley Donen) is sometimes called the best Hitchcock film that Hitchcock didn't make. It's lush and has a killer score by Henry Mancini, etc., and supporting cast is great, like one of these new "Jack Reacher" movies with plot twists and truly memorable villains. Audrey Hepburn ain't too much of a slouch, either.
Does not have Hitch’s great camerawork.
Great reaction, Jen. One of James Mason's best films is The Desert Fox (1951), in which he played WW2 German General Erwin Rommel. If you don't get a chance to react to it on your channel, consider watching it for your own enjoyment. The more films a person watches, the better he/she understands the ins, outs, ups, and downs of the film industry. Keep up the good work!!!
Congrats, you've seen four in a row of Hitch: he did "Vertigo" (which tanked), decided to do something intentionally commercial (this movie), then did "Psycho". Then "The Birds". But hey, he's got a long, rich career! Definitely don't miss "Strangers On A Train" or "Shadow Of A Doubt", those should be on your shortlist of next-Alfred H's to watch! Absolute top tier Hitchcock. As far as James Mason, you are one of the only reactors who could do Kubrick's "Lolita", which features amazing performances from James Mason, Shelley Winters, Peter Sellers, and Sue Lyon. Eva Marie Saint is known first and foremost for acting opposite Marlon Brando in "On The Waterfront".
Hitchcock had a sardonic sense of humor. I read a review or perhaps it was an interview...but, it was said Hitchcock came to the screenwriter with the idea. He had an image in his mind...it was the hero hiding in the nose of one of the heads on Mount Rushmore and he has a sneezing fit. Hitchcock found it funny and wanted a screenplay to go with it. Don't know if it's true, but I definately heard/read it that way. Great reaction and look forward to many more!
The actor playing Van Damme was James Mason. He was a great actor; he was the defense lawyer in The Verdict, whivh I'm guessing you haven't seen; it would make a great reaction video.
If you want another Hitchcock movie about being on the run, the 1935 The 39 Steps is a good one. Suspense, foreign spies, propaganda and paranoia mixed with romance and comedy in true Hitchcock style.
And as I have done before here, I have to recommend you react to his 1948 Rope. A one location movie almost played out in real time. It's quite unique and very good. Had Hitchcock had more modern cameras, he might have tried to do it in one shot, or at least less.
Cracking film! You should check out Notorious and To Catch a Thief. Both are Hitchcock and Carey Grant again. And for a super funny Carey Grant film, watch Arsenic & Old Lace (1944) Classic screwball comedy by Frank Capra
1st James Bond Movie
Glad you enjoyed North By Northwest Jen. You can't go too far wrong with Hitchcock. Apparently Hitchcock stalwart James Stewart was desperate to play the lead role, but Hitchcock thought he looked too old, even though Grant was 4 years older than Stewart! Would highly recommend either "Strangers On A Train" or the classic "Dial M For Murder", which I think you'd really enjoy Jen, with it's twists and turns.
James Mason who played Vandamm played Prof. Humbert Humbert in Kubrick's Lolita.
This movie contains almost all the recurring Alfred Hitchcock tropes: An ordinary innocent man gets drawn into a dangerous situation...A bad relationship with a mother...fear of the police (who seem like more of a threat than a help)...a scene in a theater setting (if the auction can be considered a kind of stage)...and the unimportance of the "McGuffin". To Hitchcock, the McGuffin is the thing that everyone in the movie is after (gold, diamonds, secret information...whatever). To him, it didn't matter what the McGuffin was - it could be anything - so long as it drove the plot of the movie. Here, he demonstrates this philosophy in the scene where the intelligence chief explains what the bad guys are after to Roger Thornhill, at an airport. At that moment, an airplane revs up its engine and we can't hear the intelligence chief's explanation. Hitchcock is proving his theory that the specifics of the McGuffin don't really matter. We can only assume that it has something to do with secret information. Another movie that demonstrates this philosophy just as well, is "Torn Curtain" - where the McGuffin is a physics equation that no audience member could possibly understand.
microfilm might be like microfiche, where you put it through a little viewing machine in the library , and look at one frame at a time, because it's usaully , a series of still photographs, from a still camera taking pictures one shot at a time of maybe blue prints or something
Eva Marie Saint also shines in the wonderful 1966 comedy, The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming. Also starring Carl Reiner, Alan Arkin, and Brian Keith.
OK. If you're five Hitchcock movies in, you're ready for "High Anxiety", Mel Brooks' send-up of Hitchcock. Can't remember the year. (1978)?
North by Northwest is I think the most beautifully color printed of all of Hitchcock's color films.
Cary Grant was absolutely the Harrison Ford of his day, with chiseled good looks, fit, funny, and always unaware of what a good comedian he was. Neither of them ever ruined a single movie they were in.
9:21, lol!! Yeah that's a perfect excuse for her to know why they are after him.
23:50 pre-CARY-ous
Cary Grant played in another film titled 'Topper' (1937). It is about a banker suddenly beset by two ghosts. The TV show (1953) based on it starred Leo G. Carrol (and included a ghost St. Bernard with a drinking problem. I watched it in reruns while staying home 'sick' from school.) I just loved his British primness.
Martin Landau was a great creepy actor too. You saw him as Bela Legosi in 'Ed Wood'. His best role was being father to Juliet Landau, Drusilla in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But then, you knew that...
Loved seeing your response to this wonderful classic. You sure know how to pick movies.
One of my favorite Cary Grant Rom Coms is That Touch of Mink with Dorris Day.
Hi Jen, for some Cary Grant comedies please react to any of these :- Arsenic & Old Lace 1944, Mr. Blanding`s Builds His Dream House 1948, Monkey Business 1952, Walk, Don`t Run 1966 . The latter film was his final appearance. It`s great to see someone reacting to these Classic movies, they are nearly all before I was born but I`ve always enjoyed older movies.
Don't forget Operation Petticoat - I've watched it so many times, always makes me laugh! Also starring Tony Curtis. Absolutely worth watching! ❤
@@hennakettunen8755 I agree entirely, although I think at that time, I did not include it as it was set during W.W. II. I can`t be certain but I think that was the only reason I left it out. The same goes for (Father Goose), another great C.G. comedy film. :)
"How does a girl like you get to be girl like you"
"The Actor's Studio" with Landau coming up from behind. An actor's actor moment.
If you want to see another Cary Grant film, I highly suggest the comedy Topper.
Great movie. I think this movie inspired to make the James Bond movies. I think he was offered the role of James Bond before Sean Connery. If you want to see another great none Hitchcock movie with Carry Grant which is considered a Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock never made :) you should see Charade 1963. Also if you have seen allot of Hitchcock movies you should watch High Anxiety. Also another great movie with the guy who plays the bad guy here is Heaven Can Wait 1978.
Great choice of movie. Thank you.
To answer your question, this is not based on a book. And, by the way, "Pay the two dollars" was a popular expression, figuratively related to traffic tickets, but meaning that going along is easier than opposing.
There are no sequels, but there are many other fabulous Hitchcock movies, for instance "The Lady Vanishes."
The joke is that a person goes in to contest a two dollar traffic ticket and every time he makes a defense he finds he's violated another law.
@@tremorsfan Never heard that one.
Coming to this late, but what a great reaction! Producers Albert "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman credit this Hitchcock masterpiece with providing the template for the early 007 films (along with a Gregory Peck film called The Guns of Navarone). They even asked Cary Grant if he'd like to play the role of an American James Bond, but he declined. Still, from the stylish opening credits to a leading man in a suit, a femme fatale, an arch villain with a ruthless henchman, exotic locales, and a healthy dose of sexual innuendo, North by Northwest is very much the prototype for Connery's early Bond films. Spielberg and Williams gave Hitchcock and Herrmann numerous audio/visual nods in a Leonardo DiCaprio film called Catch Me if You Can.
I got this movie
6:30 "Pay the two dollars" is a reference to an old vaudeville routine. You could have paid the $2 fine, but instead, if you make a big deal out of it, the final penalty is much worse.
I think the plane scene was down to editing. The pilot pulled up and over at the last moment and then the plane being burned was added. James Mason was an English actor, who played Humbert Humbert in Stanley Kubrick's Lolita (1962).
16:26, that was done with miniatures.
Original screenplay. Unusual for Hitch
15:47, here's the money shot! Lol!!!
"I'm gonna leave that metaphor alone!" What metaphor, Jen? 😜The ending with the train going into the tunnel? What could that possibly be a metaphor of? 😜lol
Hmm I wonder lol 🤔