North by Northwest (1959)

 Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest"


After watching "North by Northwest," Alfred Hitchcock's smash hit from 1959, it occured to me that the film is very much a proto-James-Bond flick. All the ingredients are there: espoinage, a suave smooth-talking protagonist, a charming antagonist, colorful locations, and a love interest who is pulled between being under control of the antagonist and her deep love and desire for the protagonist. Because of the similarities I felt that Hitchcock's 1955 film "To Catch a Thief" had with the James Bond series, "North by Northwest" would seem to act as Hitchcock's James Bond Part II.

It is understandable that a James-Bond-style caper would entice many viewers. This is especially true for viewers in 1959, as that style of film had not come along quite yet. However, I personally am not particularly drawn to these espoinage-style action films. I found much of the film to be quite implausable (which I guess provides much of the point and entertainment). The film was one of Hitchcock's most successful films even so. It even has one of the most iconic sequences in film history involving a terrifying crop duster. That being said, it is nothing more than amusing (at times) entertainment.



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