October 23, 2010

North by Northwest. This was a fun movie. I loved watching this one. To date, it would come down to this film, and Rear Window for my favorite film we have viewed so far. Even though this storyline is a near carbon copy to that of The 39 Steps, I enjoyed this one much, much more.

May seem to believe this is the prize in the list of Hitchcock's repertoire of films. I am not in the position to make the best statement in agreement or disagreement of this statement, but the film seemed to embody everything that made so many of his films so great. The one issue I had a big problem with, and this might just be due to the time period I live in now, was the ending. But, I will get back to that later.

There were so many Hitchcockian elements to this films, it is almost unbelievable. Now, you might think it would be poorly put together and obvious with so many nuances of Hitchcock's in the film, but if anyone can make it seamless, it would be Sir Alfred.

Some of the Hitchcockian elements found in this film are as follows:

The innocent man falsely accused - Cary Grant's character, Roger Thornhill, gets dragged into a situation where he is accused og being a secret agent for the US government and is chased around the country trying to free himself and get to the bottom of the situation.

This theme is found in numerous other films by Hitchcock, such as The 39 Steps and Blackmail.

Mistaken identity - although this often ties together with the innocent man falsely accused, it is still a common theme. In this movie, as stated above, Thornhill is mistaken for a government agent.

Also seen in: Blackmail, The 39 Steps, Vertigo, and arguably Psycho, among others.

Blonde lead actress - In North by Northwest, the lead female was Eve Kendall, played by Eva Marie Saint. Of course her blonde hair is key, but she plays a secret agent for the government and seems to be in a situation that is no longer in her control, especially as Roger enters the picture when they "coincidentally" meet on a train.

Also seen in: Now what films of his do not have this as an element? It might be easier to list the ones that dont have a blonde lead, but, to keep it simple, every movie we have seen so far in this class has the blonde actress right in the middle of the story.

Incompetent Police Officers - In this film Roger has several instances where he is being chased by the police, as he is a wanted man. In every situation he, almost too easily, escapes the chase and gets away from these policemen who are always a step behind or not thorough enough to get the suspest.

Also seen in: The 39 Steps, Rear Window, Rebecca, etc.

Overbearing Mothers - Roger Thornhill's mother in this film is a well off upscale woman who prances around in her fur coats, so prim and proper. Roger is always concerned about updating her and seeking her approval along the way. Even though she is quite condescending and rude at times, she is still a big focus for Roger in his life.

Also seen in: With many examples, there is one that fits too perfectly, Psycho, with Norman Bates and his deceased mother still "controlling" his life.

Trains - Hitchcock loved to use trains in his films. In this one, Roger uses the train to evade the police, several times, he meets a strange lady, Eva, who helps him out and he would shortly fall in love with.

Also seen in: Shadow of a Doubt, The 39 steps, and, even though I haven't seen it, one properly names Strangers on a Train.

I think those are some pretty good examples. Even though I wont delve deeper into them at this time, other running themes of exotic locales, plot twist and turns, sexual undertones, etc. can be seen in this film as well.

Going back to the thought I had in the beginning of this film, The ending seemed so unfinished to me. As Eva screamed hanging from the Mt Rushmore monument, as her hand seemed to slowly slip away from Roger's, I truly thought that she would slip and would fall to her death. At the very least I was excited to see her actually be saved by Roger and how he did it. Instead, almost in mid scream, we flash to a different scene where each of them are back on a train and being swept away to spend the rest of their lives together. Happy Ending! Except for those watching. It seemed as though Hitchcock either ran out of time of funding to truly conclude the heroic scene at the end. I was left wanting more. The only thing I can think why he may have done it, was in his own condescending way, he thought "I dont need to finish this out, the audience will know what happened, I dont need to put it in." Either way, I was not happy with it and would have much preferred a real ending to that scene!