North by Northwest

Bartell Film Series Classics
(1959)
2h 16m

This is Hitchcock’s iconic “wrong man” thriller. Cary Grant stars as a sophisticated advertising executive who is mistakenly identified by foreign spies as a nonexistent U.S. intelligence agent. Pursued by dangerous enemies led by James Mason and Martin Landau, he is thrust into a deadly cross-country chase. Along the way, he encounters the alluring Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint), sparking one of cinema’s most famously cleverly staged romantic embraces.

 The film delivers a string of unforgettable moments: a murder at the United Nations, the legendary crop-duster attack across an empty cornfield, and a breathtaking climax atop Mount Rushmore. Combined with Ernest Lehman’s witty screenplay and Bernard Herrmann’s exhilarating score, it remains one of the most entertaining and influential suspense films ever made.

General Seating. Presented on the Drury Stage.