November 11–18, 1999

movie shorts

North by Northwest

recommended

Some may point to the crop duster attack or Mount Rushmore chase as the crowning moment of Hitchcock’s delightful 1959 thriller, but for me the film’s most notable aspect is the banter between Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint, the only time Hitchcock ever managed to be sexy without being salacious. It may not have the elegant visual motifs of Strangers on a Train or the psychological depth of Vertigo, but NxNW is the breeziest, most successful entertainment Hitchcock made after leaving England.

—Sam Adams