North by Nothwest (1959)

This was my first Hitchcock movie, although I have great respect for the guy even without having watched any of his movies. He's not known as the master of suspense for nothing. Classic tale of mistaken identity & undercover-spies. Plus a suave Cary Grant, & I'm really enjoying the show.

The thing that attracted me most, is the humour and debonair characters. I saw the colored version of this movie, a 50th anniversary special edition. But, I can easily imagine the effect of the movie and its character would have had in its time. The death-defying stunts, Roger Thornhill's pickup lines, the beautifully written conversations. I remember reading somewhere - Cary Grant is one of those actors that a filmgoer either falls in love with or deeply envies. & I deeply envy his handsomeness.

There were certain things that didn't make sense. Like why did Vandamm want Kaplan to be blamed for Townsend's murder? & Vandamm's sister address Roger as Roger, not Kaplan... which was confusing. I don't see any logic there.

Favourite scenes include: The entire Train ride, the auction scene, the cropdusting plane, mother-son scenes, the sarcastic dialogues throughout the movie. "the way some people use a flyswatter."

Alternate Ending: The Rushmore monument ending was a bit too exaggerated, it could have been trimmed down a bit. Also, I would like to clear up the Kaplan investigation a bit more.

First Viewed: Alone at home in Doha.

Rating-3.5