North By Northwest
Everything that is great about Hitchcock can be found in this thriller with Cary Grant in the role of a man hunted by spies who mistake him for a secret agent.
Advertising man Roger O. Thornhill is mistaken for a secret agent and murderer. Suspected of murdering a United Nations diplomat, he becomes entangled in a web of dangerous intrigue. Aided by an enigmatic blonde, Thornhill goes on the run. The film’s famous apotheosis is a chase on top of Mount Rushmore over the heads of four US presidents carved into the rock.
NORTH BY NORTHWEST was one of Hitchcock’s greatest commercial successes. It encapsulates everything that makes Hitchcock’s oeuvre so good: suspense, humour, romance, technical feats and spectacular chases. For shooting the United Nations building, Hitchcock had to use a hidden camera. He reconstructed the interior from photographs he had secretly taken inside the building.