NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) Movie Reaction - FIRST TIME WATCHING 

What a fun film! Really felt like James Bond before James Bond films were a thing. I loved how big this movie felt with all the different locations and the sort of spy mystery thriller vibe it was going for. Also that plane sequence was marvellous and worth the price of the movie alone! Thanks for watching and have a great day! :)

Eva Marie Saint is wonderful- pre- COVID, she often did in-person interviews in the L.A. area at screenings of some of her films ("On the Waterfront," "North By Northwest," etc.) wherein she shared wonderful behind-the-scenes recollections, serving as something of a goodwill ambassador for classic movies in the process. She also is receptive as far as answering fan mail goes. A class-act onscreen and off!

I think I remember that Hitchcock began to move his cameos to the early parts of his films so that viewers could then concentrate on watching the film after spotting him already. I have really fond memories of going to see this one in cinemas as a rerun with a good print.

Cary Grant's grey suit in this is iconic in cinema. Grant also couldn't make sense of the plot while they were making it and thought the movie was going to flop, until it premiered to huge acclaim.

OMG the dolly shot of Cary Grant running toward the cornfield is, honestly, a very beautiful strip of film. It's movement is so precise and beautiful - effortless.

"Pay the two dollars" was a popular idiom, stemming from a famous revue sketch in which the great comedian Victor Moore is fined two dollars for spitting in the subway, and his attorney insists he fight it, leading to progressively worse legal outcomes and gargantuan legal expenses. Jessie Royce Landis has a similar moment in To Catch a Thief, when everybody around is glued to a newspaper, and she says "Everybody in Philadelphia reads The Bulletin." That stemmed from a favorite series of print ads advertising the newspaper.

The plane didn't commit suicide he lost control weaving around in the air before smashing into the tanker truck.

The actor you thought was "really creepy" is the one and only Martin Landau, notable for playing Rollin Hand in the original Mission Impossible tv series, and other famous roles. Rollin is the character who Tom Cruise basically portrays in the movie franchise.

Love the way the green pattern in the opening credits turns into a building, but not just any building. It's the United Nations Secretariat Building, a key location in the film.

@ 8:18 The line "Pay the $2" is just an expression and the fine was not really $2. It was a common phrase then and in this case Roger's mother said that to suggest the actual money fine (a lot higher) is cheap compared to the alternative of jail time. $2 in 1959 is around $19 today. @ 26:07 Did you notice the classic blooper here Ollie? Check out the kid to the right just behind the guy in the white shirt, and watch what he does just before the gunfire. @ 34:04 Hitchcock didn't drag out the ends of movies much and that's why the cut/switch there. Just enough to end the story! Cary Grant was known for his humorous bits in movies like this one. To see a serious role for him do the Hitchcock WWII spy intrigue story "Notorious" (1946) also starring Ingrid Bergman & Claude Rains. ✌️😎

You should also watch Hitchcock's Rebecca. Its the only movie I consider to be as good as the book.

You're not thinking cinematically. This is the most adroit ending of all Hitchcock films. He wraps everything up in less than one minute. The villains are captured. Using real bullets. The police shoot the henchman with his foot on Cary's hand. In a single shot the statue is dropped and breaks and we see the microfilm with America's national secrets are safe, Cary Grant pulls her up CUT to the upper bunk on the train and calls her MRS. THORNHILL so we now know they eventually got married and we know they have sex because the film's final shot is a phallic metaphor for intercourse as we see the train enter the tunnel. THE END. Highly efficient filmmaking, everything resolved.

Not just a cut. It was an audacious cut.

10:49 'That is a beautiful building.' I laughed out loud. It's a beautiful painting of a building. It's a glass painting my friend.

This always mystifies reactors, but "Pay the two dollars" was just an expression. Two dollars was a typical fine for parking violations and such. No, two dollars wasn't the fine for drunk driving back in the olden days.

I recommend Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) with Cary Grant

A couple of things: crop dusters do not have front mounted guns. Why would they? So the shots that were aimed at Roger Thornhill were done by the pilot using a handheld gun, after he passed Roger. A handheld gun aimed forward could conceivably hit the propellor. And the female lead was Eva MARIE Saint, not Eva Mary Saint. Another thing you should realize is that Hitchcock almost always establishes important story points in the first few minutes of his movies. In this movie, the entire reason the two henchmen thought that Roger was Kaplan was that he chose to flag down the restaurant employee so that he could send the telegram at the same time that that same employee was paging George Kaplan for a phone call. In "Rear Window", he established the heatwave within the first few minutes of the movie. That's why all the windows were open and why the couple across the way were sleeping on the fire escape. Air conditioning was a luxury in those days, so nobody in that apartment complex had air conditioning.

The crop duster chase is the best part of the movie! Alfred Hitchcock and Cary Grant were considered for making a James Bond movie, but neither were interested as Grant was in his 50's st the time at Hitchcock was making Psycho.

"Pay the two dollars" was a reference to a famous comedy skit where a man refuses to pay a minor fine and ends up on death row.

"She's not doing a very good job of not getting on the plane" 😄

"Pay the $2" was an expression. It doesn't mean that the fine was actually $2.

RPO, your editing missed a key plot twist that starts the ball rolling: Roger Thornhill wants to send his mother a telegram and signals for the bellhop right as the guy is paging George Kaplan. Two thugs who set up the page are hoping to draw Kaplan out, and who seems to be responding? It's the very unlucky Roger T.

« Pay the two dollars » is a quotation of the film Ziegfeld Follies, the sequence of the prisoner and his attorney !

The $2 his Mother said to pay was simply an expression to pay whatever the fine is because it wasn't worth the price he could potentially pay in jail etc if he kept persisting.

FYI.. They didn't have Blue Screen or Green Screening back in those times. They either used Optical Printers or Matte Painting along with some work with Miniatures mostly back then.

Actually, the very final cut was not, as you said, from the monument to the sleeping car. It was from the sleeping car to a train going into a tunnel. Think about it.

You need to add this to your list > On the Waterfront (Marlon Brando,Karl Malden,Lee J Cobb,Rod Steiger,Eva Marie Saint)

Need to watch "39 steps" "the lady vanishes" and "what's the matter with harry" just to name a few, also "marnie"

Great movie. You should watch Charade 1963 a movie like Hitchcock that was not made by Hitchcock, Also with Carey Grant.

Hmm....trying to figure out why you believe that someone giving a speech at the United Nations must be "a good person."

Love the crop duster scene. Cary grant was ideal for this and indeed he was from Bristol in England. Archibald Leach was his real name. Look forward to spellbound.

Townsend (James Mason) and his sidekick (Jason Robards) were well known actors.

In the beginning, he is taken out to a stunning estate on LONG ISLAND. There are no cliffs like that when he was drunk on Long Island as far as I know.

If you love this film you should add The 39 Steps (1935) to your to watch list. In many ways, it is a much earlier British version of the same movie. It's also probably one of Hitchcock's two best pre-Hollywood films, along with The Lady Vanishes (1938).

if u into Hitchcock's fun action-thriller, i suggest u to watch To Catch A Thief. the vibe really reminds me of NBNW. It's not spy thriller, but it have that very 'bond-esque' beautiful exotic locale.. (and this is few years before Dr. No). This also starred Cary Grant & magnificently beautiful Grace Kelly.

Hitchcock loved composer Bernard Hermann.

The last shot with the train entering the tunnel is a way to say they are having sex. Only a genious like Alfred could do things like this.

This IS the *proto* Bond flick.

This is one my favorite Hitchcock films. I remember having to watch this one in high school. Definitely looking forward to seeing what you think of it. 😊

“Two people. Dibs the bed!” 🤣🤣🤣🛏 Note: tv and movies had official censors. There were specific rules. Thus “I love Lucy” tv show had twin beds for a married couple. This movie N x NW would have been banned if it suggested sex without marriage and these two sharing a bed. It came as close as it could.

Cary Grant was a former acrobat and did many of his own stunts.

Cary Grant & James Mason were both mentioned as world celebs in "Rope"...

Welcome to the 1950s, where even crowd scenes were all white. And a white redcap? That was the nickname for train porters,Pullman Porters, after Pullman, the manufacturer of train cars. The Pullman Porters were the largest all-black union in America.

At 16:38 or so, you talked about the awkward head-grab, etc. Under the Hays Codes, which were in effect for motion pictures in the U.S. from 1933-68, you supposedly couldn't have a kiss that was visible to the camera for longer than 2 seconds. So actors would have to come up for air frequently and use the machine-gun technique, or stay locked but keep swiveling in order to block the camera view out, or something.

5:08 That’s a young Martin Landau

3:40 Everybody was leaving work, it's 5pm in summer. 14:11 Another cool blonde! Such an effective actress, the next year she did Exodus which is a really good movie. 22:50 Yeah, since Hitchcock began directing movies in the silent film era, he was very skilled at telling his stories with visuals instead of dialog. 30:27 Grant dropped out of high school and went into show business as an acrobat so he was pretty good at that stuff.

Hello - I like the observation of the strange last cut. It is actually very strange because it trivialises the action from mount Rushmoore. - I think this is intentional by Hitchcock, saying with the last cut: Oh this is ust a bit of fun :-)

I love this movie partly because I think it's the best spy espionage (or counter espionage) film ever. There's something in not quite sure if people pick up on the first viewing. The people in the room are basically OSS or modern CIA who have created a fake spy to keep the other spy group chasing him but in order to sell it they do all this stuff to create a paper trail like having a room in his name and having suits pressed by someone who has to carry them out of the room. Because of that the bad spy ring has the exact measurements of the person they think they're after so when they pick up the main character they mention he's taller than they expected and he blows it off because nothing make sense at that point but I love that detail. And all that stuff is pretty realistic as far as counter intelligence is concerned making this maybe one of the more realistic intelligence related movies I know of, james bond kind of becomes a parody of itself after the first movie so those are something very different and specific. Also there's a line when he first meets Eve the studio made him redo because it was too sexual so as a way to get back at them he has the ending be a very family guy type blatant train going into a tunnel euphemism. Also they apparently had once chance inside the U.N. building but knew they couldn't film there so they had someone stealthily take as many pictures as possible and then completely recreated it with sets lol

I enjoy the younger perspective on films. I understand the final scene, but i sort of agree, the transition is a bit 'off'. Never knew how much the title related to the airline, but Northwest used to be a very large airline based in the upper midwest, Minneapolis I believe, in the 70s changed to Northwest Orient airlines, then back to Northwest until being bought by Delta Airlines. At the airport, there were Northwest and TWA aircraft at the terminal. A bit of random info.

James bond before james bond

Great commentary of another classic Alfred Hitchcock movie!

You should wear themed shirts to your reactions. Never quite understood the light changes. Great movie, great reaction

LOL! I really never want to find a fridge that somebody used to go to the bathroom! That's just cold!

Notice: at 26:09/26:10 the young kid covers his ears BEFORE she shoots him, and Hitchcock left it in, they had shot the scene a few times and the young kid was tired of hearing the sound I guess. LOL *The marriage was consumated with the train entering the tunnel* ...ole Hitch !! That transition is one of the best movie shots ever taken, its Prince charming saves girl and marries her all in ONE SHOT, and the train then goes in the tunnel, that is brilliant dude, you are overthinking it. Remember, this was Hitch, he pre planned every shot via drawing them on boards first, he got it right, IMHO.

Like you said: fun film. After "Vertigo" (which was heavy with symbolism and experimentation) he wanted to do something light, entertaining and commercial. Which he clearly did! The following year he made "Psycho". So congrats because you now have bragging rights to discuss this classic period of his career! Although "North By Northwest" isn't my favorite Hitchcock movie, it definitely is fun. (And ANY chance to see James Mason act is a plus for me!)

This was not your first explosion in a Hitchcock film, you just saw an explosion in The Birds one week earlier.

Just stumbled across your channel and really enjoy your reviews so far, Glad you like North by Northwest its a great movie, for me thought its definatly a 5/5

Bernard Hermann scored all the Hitchcock American movies.

Same composer both films. the multifaceted Bernard Herrmann. Also did Vertigo. Leo G Carrol has been in many Hitchcock films. watch for Carroll in Spellbound.

Funny about that Psycho music, how this was before Psycho 1960

Martin Landau reported that James Mason was upset that Hitchcock directed him (Landau) to play Leonard as homosexual because that would imply that Mason's character to be bisexual.

While Vertigo (1958) is a bloated and boring mess, North By Northwest (1959) is Sir Alfred Hitchcock's tightest script. A master class in efficient storytelling. Fun Fact: This movie has been referred to as "the first James Bond film" due to its similarities with splashily colorful settings, secret agents, and an elegant, daring, wisecracking leading man opposite a sinister yet strangely charming villain. The crop duster scene inspired the helicopter chase in From Russia With Love (1963).

Cary and James Mason in the same film! The 2 coolest, suavest men in film! Try the early b&w Hitchcock films… 😎😎😎

Check out Amadeus. It's the story of Mozart. It won Oscars. Fantastic movie. You'd love it.

15:05 R. O. T. are his initials Roger O Thornhill.

Ooooh, you should react to "Charade" with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. Especially if you liked this movie.

Thank you, Oliver! 🛩 I got to see this one on the big screen in the late '90s. I see you've watched lots of Hitchcock movies... as many are excellently crafted. I also recommend THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY (1955) and FAMILY PLOT (1976). ❧ If you're interested in seeing a romantic comedy with Cary Grant, I've always enjoyed THAT TOUCH OF MINK (1962).

Cary Grant and James Mason were considered for James Bond.

In his later movies Hitchcock wanted to get his appearance out of the way because he felt it was a distraction to the story since it became such a famous trade mark.

They wanted Cary Grant for James bond but couldn't afford him for Dr no . His $6000 fee was more than the film cost .

BERNARD HERMANN COMPOSED THE SCORES OF BOTH PSYCO AND N. BY NW.

If you want to see an unusual Hitchcock movie watch The Trouble With Harry.

You might enjoy the Mel Brooks spoof of Hitchcock films, "High Anxiety".

Why did you cut the exact moment the plane hits the truck

One suggestion... angle your room lighting so you don't have a reflection on your TV screen.

Excuse me, but have you realised that the « screen » on witch we watch the movie is transparent and that we can see your bed and your plush toy on it ? this is VERY DISTURBING !

Also check out, Al Capone (Rod Steiger & Martin Balsam) The List of Adrian Messenger (George C. Scott & Kirk Douglas) Passage to Marseille (Humphrey Bogart) The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (Humphrey Bogart) Key Largo (Humphrey Bogart) The Maltese Falcon (Humphrey Bogart) Double Indemnity (Edward G. Robinson) The Asphalt Jungle Seven Days in May (Burt Lancaster & Kirk Douglas) A Slight Case of Murder (Edward G. Robinson)

It is often compared to a Bond film, which Hitchcock thought of doing but did this instead..

Both psycho and north by north were scored by Bernard Herman.

one suggestion. next time move Yoda

Cary Grant's performance in this put me off at first with his transatlantic accent and him not really reacting to all this crazy shit with much urgency but as the film went on his deadpan, casual delivery in this began to grow on me.

Popcorn movie

You've got a Andy Warhol T on! Check out some Warhol films, Like Trash, Heat and his masterpiece "Chelsea Girls". James Mason is under used in this film, He is a great actor. Check him out in Stanley Kubrick"s "Lolita!"

After PSYCHO many critics panned Hitchcock's later movies and VERTIGO got terrible reviews and bombed at the box office.

If you want to see an abrupt ending, watch "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry". 😅

Her name is pronounced eevah mahree Saint, Check her out in "On The Waterfront" with Brando! She had a long and diverse career in film and theatre. She is in a wonderful comedy "The Russians are Coming!, The Russians are Coming!,

You should watch the film again and again and then right a reaction to this, your first reaction.

One of my top favorite Hitchcock movies. While you're in this time period, I thought you could do reactions to some James Dean. 1954 East of Eden and 1955 Rebel Without a Cause. That would be awesome because I don't think anyone on RU-vid has done a reaction to them. Reviews yes, reactions no.👍😄

Excellent

If you’d like to see a great crime caper movie you should see the Italian Job with Michael Caine.

Be nice if you did not makke the video of the movies always transparent, Makes it had to watch. And why so blurry ? Kind of annoying.

Thanks for the video!! See you later!! Stay safe.😉

The pesticide would have been DDT most likely.💨💨💨🛩💨💨💨

Please do a reaction to the butterfly effect, it came out in 2004. It’s a mind blowing film.

"Pay the two dollars" is what Ollie said to himself at the barber. JK, shaggy looks good on you.

birds was my favorite so far of hithcock i would like to see it re done todays budget but not mess up the story like they do with a lot of re makes just enhance it a bit then i like psycho ok