Cary Grant
Roger O. Thornhill/George Kaplan
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North by Northwest is a tale of mistaken identity, with an innocent man pursued across the United States by agents of a mysterious organization trying to prevent him from blocking their plan to smuggle microfilm, which contains government secrets, out of the country.
A classic action adventure mystery film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint. Learn about the plot, cast, trivia, awards, and more on IMDb, the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content.
- Alfred Hitchcock
- 3 min
This classic suspense film finds New York City ad executive Roger O. Thornhill (Cary Grant) pursued by ruthless spy Phillip Vandamm (James Mason) after Thornhill is mistaken for a government agent.
- (115)
- Mystery & Thriller
“North By Northwest,” Alfred Hitchcock’s new study of the vagaries of the nervous system under pressure, is the brilliant realization of a feat he has unintentionally been moving toward for...
- Hitchcock and writer Ernest Lehman conceived of "North by Northwest" after suffering from writer's block while working on an adaptation of the Hammond Innes novel "The Wreck of the Mary Deare."
- MGM executives wanted Cyd Charisse to play Eve Kendall, but Hitchcock was adamant that Eva Marie Saint be cast in the role.
- While Hitchcock had final say over most aspects of the film, he was forced to re-dub one of Saint's lines. "I never make love on an empty stomach," became "I never discuss love on an empty stomach."
- The production went severely over-budget because a delay in filming activated a penalty clause in Cary Grant's contract. That clause resulted in him being paid an extra $5000 per day.
Watch the classic Hitchcock thriller starring Cary Grant as an innocent man pursued by spies. Learn the plot, the reviews, and the historical significance of this film in the Internet Archive collection.
Close. North by Northwest is a tale of mistaken identity, with an innocent man pursued across the United States by agents of a mysterious organization trying to prevent him from blocking their plan to smuggle microfilm, which contains government secrets, out of the country.
![North by Northwest | Hitchcock’s Classic Thriller [1959] | Britannica](https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=North+by+Northwest&ei=UTF-8&xargs=0&age=1w&th=111.4&tw=166.1&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.britannica.com%2F99%2F176699-050-797B541E%2FCary-Grant-North-Northwest-Alfred-Hitchcock.jpg&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.britannica.com%2Ftopic%2FNorth-by-Northwest&size=197KB&name=North+by+Northwest+%7C+Hitchcock%E2%80%99s+Classic+Thriller+%5B1959%5D+%7C+Britannica&oid=1&h=1074&w=1600&turl=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.vPB55tPVTs0QeJ88b3P7swHaE-%26pid%3DApi%26rs%3D1%26c%3D1%26qlt%3D95%26w%3D166%26h%3D111&tt=North+by+Northwest+%7C+Hitchcock%E2%80%99s+Classic+Thriller+%5B1959%5D+%7C+Britannica&sigr=9OZuiHFhZNHF&sigit=Tg3xErBjUj8N&sigi=a6ADCTh3MNrH&sign=MMqnxURG.FHC&sigt=MMqnxURG.FHC "North by Northwest | Hitchcock’s Classic Thriller [1959] | Britannica")
