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A classic turns 50

A thriller: North By Northwest

By 1938, producer-director Alfred Hitchcock felt he had nothing more to prove in his native England and was ready for Hollywood. Settling down in Southern California, ‘Hitch,' under contract to legendary producer, David O. Selznick, directed a number of successful films such as ‘Jamaica Inn,' ‘Rebecca,' ‘Foreign Correspondent,' and after World War II, ‘Spellbound,' ‘Notorious' and ‘The Paradine Case.'

Working with Selznick was not easy and Hitch was delighted once more to be on his own. From the 1940s, Hitchcock, now free, felt his creative juices flowing and did films which made news and brought in money. ‘Strangers on the Train,' ‘Dial M for Murder' and ‘Rear Window' set the pace and thus began one of the happiest and most productive phases of his career, particularly in the company of stars James Stewart, Grace Kelly and Cary Grant.

Era of masterpieces

Between 1954 and 1960, Hitchcock made nine films and two successful television shows and this was the era of masterpieces such as ‘Rear Window,' ‘To Catch a Thief,' ‘Vertigo,' ‘North By Northwest' and ‘Psycho.'

‘North By Northwest' almost never took off, because Hitch was committed to making for MGM, ‘The Wreck of Mary Deare'. But the script did not appeal to him, so he dawdled for a time and wriggled out of it. He had always wanted to film a chase across the face of Mount Rushmore, and also had the notion of setting up a murder scene in the United Nations building! All these ideas would be linked and was to end up in Alaska, which is in the north-west of the U.S. The project was initially named ‘In a North Westerly Direction'.

Hitch remembered a chat he had with a New York reporter, who had suggested the idea of the CIA inventing a man (who did not exist), whose name would be used as a decoy to put off the ‘enemy'. And that, clinched it. The film would have the United Nations, Mount Rushmore and a non-existent spy. One of the executives in the script department suggested that the title be changed to ‘North by Northwest.' And it was.

Script writer Lehman, spent weeks sitting in the UN building soaking up its atmosphere, went on a guided tour of Mount Rushmore, learnt details about police charges on drunken driving and began working on the script. Hitchcock, who had finished ‘Vertigo,' was not idle either. He worked into the script the bizarre and frightening scene where the hero is chased over a long, lonely terrain by a crop-spraying plane. He had conceived the idea during a long drive across the flat, featureless fields with its ‘sinister' crop dusting planes flying around in Bakersfield, Los Angeles. The sequence, when completed, became one of the immortal scenes in cinema. Since the United Nations was out of bounds for shooting, a mock U.N. was built on the studio sets and much of the action was shot in Plaza Hotel, where hero Cary Grant, had a permanent suite.

Cary Grant and Hitchcock worked intuitively, as each felt he knew what the other was thinking. Ideas were mutually exchanged and often introduced in the script. Hitch felt that the plot needed three villains, two of whom would be vicious side-kicks taking orders from their chief, the suave British actor, James Mason.

‘North By Northwest' had problems over casting of the heroine. Hitch's passion for icy cool blondes personified by Grace Kelly, who had retired by then after marrying Prince Rainier of Monaco, was well known. Hitch turned down MGM's suggestions and finally chose the blonde Eva Marie Saint, an intense, Oscar-winning actress, who had played opposite Marlon Brando in ‘On the Waterfront.' Saint was a ‘method' actor and Hitch had had problems with one such star, Montgomery Clift, during ‘I Confess'. But he found Eva Marie Saint delightfully accommodating, even to the choice of her costumes in the film.

The film ran for 136 minutes. The MGM bosses suggested cutting down a bit more but Hitch refused. He proved that his stand was right. There was a not a single dull moment in the film, which went on to become one of Hitchcock's biggest hits. To mark the golden jubilee year release of Alfred Hitchcock's ‘North By Northwest', AFI Fest and Warner Video screened a newly re-mastered digital print of the film recently.

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