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North by Northwest
- 996 statements
- 197 feature instances
- 81 referencing feature instances
North by Northwest | type |
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North by Northwest | |
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NorthByNorthwest | |
North by Northwest | comment |
A classic 1959 thriller by Alfred Hitchcock, in which an innocent man is mistaken for a spy and pursued halfway across the USA by enemy spies searching for a MacGuffin. You may know it as "the one with the climax on Mount Rushmore." Or, better still, as "the one where Cary Grant gets chased by a crop duster," a scene which has often been homaged.Shortly after the film begins, Manhattan advertising executive Roger O. Thornhill (Grant) finds himself abducted by enemy agents working for the master foreign spy Phillip Vandamm (James Mason), who's currently masquerading as the UN diplomat Lester Townsend. Through a case of Mistaken Identity, Vandamm believes Roger to be George Kaplan, an American spy who's been tailing him. When Roger insists he isn't the spy, Vandamm orders him killed. His henchmen, led by the sinister Leonard (Martin Landau), decide to stage a fatal accident by forcing Roger to consume a full bottle of bourbon and then placing him at the wheel of a stolen car and sending him down a trecherously winding cliffside road.One car chase later, Roger escapes but is arrested for drunk driving. The following day, he takes the skeptical police—and his equally-skeptical mother (Jessie Royce Landis)—to the Townsend mansion where he was abducted, only to find Vandamm gone and the housekeeper, who's another Vandamm associate, claiming that Roger stole the car after getting drunk at a party there.To clear his name, Roger attempts to find George Kaplan. Accompanied by his mother, he searches Kaplan's vacant room at the Plaza Hotel, where he discovers little other than that Kaplan is a shorter man than he and that seemingly none of the hotel staff have ever met the elusive spy in person. After narrowly escaping another encounter with Vandamm's henchmen, Roger goes to the United Nations, where the real Townsend is giving a speech. Roger, surprised to discover it wasn't actually Townsend who abducted him, is even more surprised when Townsend's corpse falls into his arms, after one of Vandamm's mooks knifes the uncomprehending diplomat in the back. Roger's photo is taken on the spot, and now not only fearing for his life but finding himself Wrongly Accused of murder, he decides to flee New York.After a train journey to Chicago—during which Roger meets Femme Fatale Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint)—and another attempt on his life in the famous crop-duster attack, Roger eventually follows Eve to an art auction, where Vandamm is bidding on a statue. To escape the spy and his mooks, Roger disrupts the auction, deliberately getting himself arrested by the police.The police are ordered to take Roger to the Professor (Leo G. Carroll), an American spymaster, who explains the plot. George Kaplan never existed; he was only a red herring, meant to divert the enemy from the real agent. While Roger's actions initially provided a useful inadvertent distraction, he has ended up raising Vandamm's suspicions towards the real spy, so the Professor proposes a complex charade to resolve the situation.When this goes wrong, Roger and Eve end up being chased across Mount Rushmore by Leonard and Vandamm's other henchmen.One of Hitchcock's most popular films, North by Northwest was also a major stylistic influence on The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. (For one thing, that series had Leo G. Carroll playing a very similar character type in Alexander Waverly, and drew most of its "innocents getting caught up in international intrigue" schtick from this film.) And it has been seen by many as providing part of the template for the James Bond films.At two hours and 16 minutes, it's Hitchcock's longest film (other than the special extended DVD cut of Topaz).In 2015, it was adapted into a stage play in Australia; it played twice in Melbourne (2015–16), had a 2017 season in the UK (Bath) that traveled to Toronto later that year, and played once more in Australia (Adelaide) in 2018–19. | |
North by Northwest | fetched |
2024-05-07T06:46:09Z | |
North by Northwest | parsed |
2024-05-07T06:46:09Z | |
North by Northwest | processingComment |
Dropped link to Bowdlerise: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
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Dropped link to singinintherain: Not a Feature - ITEM | |
North by Northwest | isPartOf |
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North by Northwest / int_127fc252 | type |
Creator Cameo | |
North by Northwest / int_127fc252 | comment |
Creator Cameo: Alfred Hitchcock is seen getting a bus door slammed in his face, right after his name appears on the screen in the opening credits. Contrary to rumor, he didn't make a second cameo Disguised in Drag on the train. That was veteran character actress Jesslyn Fax (who does look a lot like a female Hitchcock). This is even included in the stage production: on his way to the fateful dinner meeting, Roger and his secretary steal a cab, claiming the woman is ill, from an ensemble member dressed and made up to imitate Hitchcock. (see Failing a Taxi) | |
North by Northwest / int_127fc252 | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
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North by Northwest / int_1392fbe7 | type |
Drunk Driver | |
North by Northwest / int_1392fbe7 | comment |
Drunk Driver: The bad guys force-feed Roger a quart of bourbon and put him behind the wheel of a car, sending him on his way. He somehow manages to avoid killing himself or anyone else, but gets thrown in jail. His mother and lawyer bail him out, taking these events to be his usual carousing hijinks over his frustrated explanation. | |
North by Northwest / int_1392fbe7 | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_1392fbe7 | |
North by Northwest / int_14ec1fb | type |
Symbolic Glass House | |
North by Northwest / int_14ec1fb | comment |
Symbolic Glass House: Roger climbs up a big house with vast windows which is an archetype of modernist architecture and is the hiding place for spies in search of Eve, who is working with the villains, and he manages to save her from there after he finds out that they're planning to have her killed. | |
North by Northwest / int_14ec1fb | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
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North by Northwest / int_14ed6ab7 | type |
Does This Remind You of Anything? | |
North by Northwest / int_14ed6ab7 | comment |
Does This Remind You of Anything?: After Roger rescues Eve and they marry, he helps her into the sleeping compartment of another train. We then see the train entering a tunnel. Why? No reason. | |
North by Northwest / int_14ed6ab7 | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest / int_16fdd774 | type |
Losing a Shoe in the Struggle | |
North by Northwest / int_16fdd774 | comment |
Losing a Shoe in the Struggle: Eve ditches her shoes in the Mount Rushmore chase and goes barefoot, in order to scale the chiselled rock better. | |
North by Northwest / int_16fdd774 | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_16fdd774 | |
North by Northwest / int_17ce80aa | type |
All There in the Manual | |
North by Northwest / int_17ce80aa | comment |
All There in the Manual: The names of the Vandamm henchmen who first abduct Roger (Valerian and Licht) are never stated on-screen but are given in the script, as is Roger's mother's first name (Clara). | |
North by Northwest / int_17ce80aa | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest / int_17ce80aa | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_17ce80aa | |
North by Northwest / int_18d15922 | type |
Title Drop | |
North by Northwest / int_18d15922 | comment |
Every location is north by northwest. For example, said Manhattan taxi ride, New York to Chicago and so on. | |
North by Northwest / int_18d15922 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_18d15922 | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_18d15922 | |
North by Northwest / int_1b395eea | type |
Standard Hollywood Strafing Procedure | |
North by Northwest / int_1b395eea | comment |
Standard Hollywood Strafing Procedure: The crop duster attacking Thornhill, though in this case, it's not an attack plane but a regular plane with a passenger wielding a gun | |
North by Northwest / int_1b395eea | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest / int_1b395eea | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_1b395eea | |
North by Northwest / int_1b68e2e2 | type |
The Chase | |
North by Northwest / int_1b68e2e2 | comment |
The Chase: The film turns into this when Thornhill starts running for his life. | |
North by Northwest / int_1b68e2e2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_1b68e2e2 | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_1b68e2e2 | |
North by Northwest / int_1d8733d3 | type |
Overly Narrow Superlative | |
North by Northwest / int_1d8733d3 | comment |
Overly Narrow Superlative: "You're the smartest woman I've ever spent the night with on a train." | |
North by Northwest / int_1d8733d3 | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_1d8733d3 | |
North by Northwest / int_1ed91e2a | type |
Revealing Hug | |
North by Northwest / int_1ed91e2a | comment |
Revealing Hug: Roger is on the lam, meets Eve on a train, they get on very well... as he holds her we see her cool, calculating face, having slipped a note to his pursuers in the next compartment. This moment provides the trope image. | |
North by Northwest / int_1ed91e2a | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest / int_1ed91e2a | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_1ed91e2a | |
North by Northwest / int_1f067b97 | type |
Invented Individual | |
North by Northwest / int_1f067b97 | comment |
Invented Individual: George Kaplan is a phony agent who attracts attention away from real operatives. | |
North by Northwest / int_1f067b97 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_1f067b97 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_1f067b97 | |
North by Northwest / int_1fb4d915 | type |
The Stool Pigeon | |
North by Northwest / int_1fb4d915 | comment |
The Stool Pigeon: Leonard reveals to Vandamm that the gun Eve shot Thornhill with was loaded with blanks, meaning Thornhill is not dead and Eve is a double agent. Vandamm is angry enough by this news to punch Leonard in the face. | |
North by Northwest / int_1fb4d915 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_1fb4d915 | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_1fb4d915 | |
North by Northwest / int_1fe36347 | type |
Take My Hand! | |
North by Northwest / int_1fe36347 | comment |
Take My Hand!: The end of the film where Thornhill and Eve are hanging off of Mount Rushmore. | |
North by Northwest / int_1fe36347 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_1fe36347 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_1fe36347 | |
North by Northwest / int_22cf536c | type |
Chekhov's Gun | |
North by Northwest / int_22cf536c | comment |
Chekhov's Gun: A literal one. The gun Eve uses on Thornhill in the diner scene is first revealed as loaded with blanks after Thornhill is revealed to still be alive. It's later revealed by Leonard to Vandamm to be loaded with blanks. Later on the housemaid uses it on Thornhill, and the blasts from inside the house give Eve the chance to grab the MacGuffin statue and escape with Thornhill. Could also count as a Chekhov's Boomerang. Also, the ROT matchbook. Thornhill shows it to Eve first of all on the train to Chicago, then he later uses it near the end of the film to scribble a message inside to warn Eve of the attempt about to be made on her life. | |
North by Northwest / int_22cf536c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_22cf536c | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_22cf536c | |
North by Northwest / int_26ac510e | type |
Mythology Gag | |
North by Northwest / int_26ac510e | comment |
Mythology Gag: Intentionally or otherwise, James Mason playing the villain here recalls him being described in the earlier Hitchcock film Rope as an actor who could be "attractively sinister." | |
North by Northwest / int_26ac510e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_26ac510e | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_26ac510e | |
North by Northwest / int_26eb6287 | type |
Funny Background Event | |
North by Northwest / int_26eb6287 | comment |
Funny Background Event: During the scene where Eve pretends to shoot Thornhill, you can clearly see a kid in the background (he's wearing a blue shirt) plug his ears in anticipation. Eva Marie Saint notes in the making of special that there were other good takes, and she has no idea why that one was used. Given Hitchcock's subversive sense of humor and love of Easter Eggs, he may well have chosen to use that take because of the boy. | |
North by Northwest / int_26eb6287 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_26eb6287 | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_26eb6287 | |
North by Northwest / int_27690f66 | type |
Literary Allusion Title | |
North by Northwest / int_27690f66 | comment |
Literary Allusion Title: From Hamlet: | |
North by Northwest / int_27690f66 | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest / int_27690f66 | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_27690f66 | |
North by Northwest / int_27d19c47 | type |
Landmarking the Hidden Base | |
North by Northwest / int_27d19c47 | comment |
Landmarking the Hidden Base: The villains have a house on Mount Rushmore's peak. | |
North by Northwest / int_27d19c47 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_27d19c47 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_27d19c47 | |
North by Northwest / int_29f510be | type |
Auction | |
North by Northwest / int_29f510be | comment |
Auction: In Chicago, Roger makes a public nuisance of himself at an art auction (claiming that the paintings are fake, bidding $12 when the highest preceding bid was $1000, etc.) so that the police will arrest him, thus keeping Vandamm from getting his hands on him. It is subsequently revealed that Vandamm used the auction house as a cover to smuggle microfilm out of the country. | |
North by Northwest / int_29f510be | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_29f510be | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_29f510be | |
North by Northwest / int_2b7d29e1 | type |
Artifact Title | |
North by Northwest / int_2b7d29e1 | comment |
Artifact Title: Early drafts of the script called for the final showdown to take place in Alaska, but no one could come up with a better replacement title after the climactic scene was changed to Mount Rushmore. Actually, "North by Northwest" doesn't even exist on the compass. The only valid directions similar are North by West, Northwest by North, and North-Northwest. Although, at one point, Roger does get on a Northwest Airlines plane, and apparently goes north. | |
North by Northwest / int_2b7d29e1 | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest / int_2b7d29e1 | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_2b7d29e1 | |
North by Northwest / int_2bdae2ae | type |
Awesome, but Impractical | |
North by Northwest / int_2bdae2ae | comment |
Awesome, but Impractical: Deconstructed. All of Vandamm's schemes to kill Thornhill are creative and choreographed well, but have glaring flaws that ultimately allow Thornhill to survive relatively unscathed; Vandamm's trick to get Thornhill drunk and drive him off the cliffs and into the ocean is incredibly convoluted and full of holes, not the smallest of them being he does nothing to actually check Thornhill's story that he isn't Kaplan. Vandamm contrives getting a member of the UN's house to himself and has it outfitted to account for Thornhill surviving and informing the police of what happened, but doesn't think to simply eliminate Thornhill in the house via drowning after getting the man drunk before then putting the corpse in the car to drive off a cliff. Additionally, the scheme is so poorly hidden because of the high-profile man connected to the house that the Professor casually mentions he knew from the start what Vandamm was trying to pull. Vandamm's men attempting to kill Thornhill with a throwing knife in the middle of the UN lobby goes pear-shaped immediately. Not only does the knife predictably miss its target, it kills Townsend, which causes Thornhill to get caught up in a police manhunt - the exact opposite of what Vandamm wanted. Frankly, it's a miracle this stunt didn't entirely blow Vandamm's scheme out of the water because, somehow, no one in the building saw Vandamm's button man throw the knife. Attacking Thornhill with a crop duster is gloriously over-the-top, and Vandamm has no one but the pilot to blame for managing to run right into an oil truck, but the overkill nature of the attempt on Thornhill's life has it fall apart. Not only did Eve arrange for Thornhill to be at an exact place at an exact time, where he could have easily been quietly disposed of with no one the wiser, Vandamm's primary goons were in the general area and actively communicating with Eve - and may have even given her the coordinates to send Thornhill to. Even if Vandamm had managed to rub Thornhill out with the crop duster, it would have been obvious the man was murdered, defeating the entire purpose of Vandamm's first attempt on Thornhill's life. | |
North by Northwest / int_2bdae2ae | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest / int_2bdae2ae | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_2bdae2ae | |
North by Northwest / int_2ea2942b | type |
Conspicuously Light Patch | |
North by Northwest / int_2ea2942b | comment |
Conspicuously Light Patch: The climax takes place on the front of Mt. Rushmore. If you look very carefully in the moments in which you can see the full monument, you can see the blue-tinted line. | |
North by Northwest / int_2ea2942b | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest / int_2ea2942b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_2ea2942b | |
North by Northwest / int_2f187e89 | type |
It Works Better with Bullets | |
North by Northwest / int_2f187e89 | comment |
It Works Better with Bullets: Happens; Vandamm's housekeeper holds Roger at bay with a gun she's picked up. Unfortunately for her, it's the same gun Eve used to fake shooting him earlier; it's only loaded with blanks, and he knows it. | |
North by Northwest / int_2f187e89 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_2f187e89 | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_2f187e89 | |
North by Northwest / int_2f1fa94c | type |
Mysterious Middle Initial | |
North by Northwest / int_2f1fa94c | comment |
Mysterious Middle Initial: Roger O. Thornhill. Turns out the O doesn't stand for anything. | |
North by Northwest / int_2f1fa94c | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest / int_2f1fa94c | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_2f1fa94c | |
North by Northwest / int_2f50c5bf | type |
Theme Music Power-Up | |
North by Northwest / int_2f50c5bf | comment |
Theme Music Power-Up: Inverted. Both times the soundtrack cuts loose with the main theme are the times Roger is exceptionally screwed — drunk out of his mind careening out of control in a stolen car, and being chased by gunmen across Mount Rushmore. | |
North by Northwest / int_2f50c5bf | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest / int_2f50c5bf | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_2f50c5bf | |
North by Northwest / int_30d43197 | type |
Remonstrating with a Gun | |
North by Northwest / int_30d43197 | comment |
Remonstrating With a Knife: Lester Townsend is surreptitiously stabbed in the back by Valerian as he talks with Thornhill at the UN. As he falls forward, Thornhill catches him, and seeing the knife pulls it out of Townsend's back. Only then does the large crowd around them notice what's happened, and the trope is duly invoked. | |
North by Northwest / int_30d43197 | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest / int_30d43197 | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_30d43197 | |
North by Northwest / int_3255968b | type |
Implied Death Threat | |
North by Northwest / int_3255968b | comment |
Implied Death Threat: This exchange: | |
North by Northwest / int_3255968b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_3255968b | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_3255968b | |
North by Northwest / int_32da548d | type |
Arch-Enemy | |
North by Northwest / int_32da548d | comment |
Arch-Enemy: Phillip Vandamm to Roger O Thornhill. | |
North by Northwest / int_32da548d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_32da548d | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_32da548d | |
North by Northwest / int_3403abfc | type |
Mugged for Disguise | |
North by Northwest / int_3403abfc | comment |
Mugged for Disguise: Thornhill is able to slip out of the train station in Chicago, despite being the object of a huge manhunt, by dressing in a Red Cap's uniform. Later, the REAL Red Cap is seen in his longjohns, being questioned by the police about the man who stole his uniform (but then it turns out that he wasn't really "Mugged For Disguise" so much as "Bribed For Disguise," because we see him counting a wad of cash, presumably paid to him by Thornhill). | |
North by Northwest / int_3403abfc | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest / int_3403abfc | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_3403abfc | |
North by Northwest / int_340e75cb | type |
Writing Indentation Clue | |
North by Northwest / int_340e75cb | comment |
Writing Indentation Clue: Thornhill is able to figure out where Eve is going by finding the impression of an address she wrote. | |
North by Northwest / int_340e75cb | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest / int_340e75cb | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_340e75cb | |
North by Northwest / int_3678a36a | type |
Curves in All the Right Places | |
North by Northwest / int_3678a36a | comment |
Curves in All the Right Places: | |
North by Northwest / int_3678a36a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_3678a36a | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_3678a36a | |
North by Northwest / int_369a1bf6 | type |
Death Faked for You | |
North by Northwest / int_369a1bf6 | comment |
Also later on when Vandamm punches Leonard after the latter proves to the former that Eve didn't really shoot Thornhill. | |
North by Northwest / int_369a1bf6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_369a1bf6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_369a1bf6 | |
North by Northwest / int_381855db | type |
Five-Second Foreshadowing | |
North by Northwest / int_381855db | comment |
Five-Second Foreshadowing: Courtesy of the man waiting for the bus, just before he leaves Thornhill to face a certain iconic danger... | |
North by Northwest / int_381855db | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest / int_381855db | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_381855db | |
North by Northwest / int_38869708 | type |
The Precarious Ledge | |
North by Northwest / int_38869708 | comment |
The Precarious Ledge: Thornhill escapes the Professor's custody in the Rapid City hospital by navigating one of these. Then later, he and Eve are forced into scaling the top of Mount Rushmore to escape Vandamm and co. | |
North by Northwest / int_38869708 | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest / int_38869708 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_38869708 | |
North by Northwest / int_3c3b5c27 | type |
Vehicular Assault | |
North by Northwest / int_3c3b5c27 | comment |
Vehicular Assault: Roger gets strafed by a crop-duster. The attack ends when Thornhill gets the plane to crash into a gasoline tanker. | |
North by Northwest / int_3c3b5c27 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_3c3b5c27 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_3c3b5c27 | |
North by Northwest / int_3f0b2f50 | type |
Make It Look Like an Accident | |
North by Northwest / int_3f0b2f50 | comment |
Make It Look Like an Accident: The enemy spies' first attempt to kill Thornhill plays this straight, when they force him to drink a whole bottle of bourbon, stick him in a car, and drive it toward a cliff so it will appear he killed himself drunk-driving. A stray comment by Leonard at their first meeting with Roger suggests they disposed of a previous government agent this way. | |
North by Northwest / int_3f0b2f50 | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest / int_3f0b2f50 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_3f0b2f50 | |
North by Northwest / int_3f319f89 | type |
WronglyAccused | |
North by Northwest / int_3f319f89 | comment |
Wrongly Accused: Thornhill, like many of Hitchcock's protagonists, although he is probably the most famous example. | |
North by Northwest / int_3f319f89 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_3f319f89 | |
North by Northwest / int_40bb59d0 | type |
Blatant Lies | |
North by Northwest / int_40bb59d0 | comment |
Blatant Lies: Thornhill's explanation to Eve for why the cops are combing the 20th Century Limited for him? Seven unpaid parking tickets. | |
North by Northwest / int_40bb59d0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_40bb59d0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_40bb59d0 | |
North by Northwest / int_424b665e | type |
Heroes Gone Fishing | |
North by Northwest / int_424b665e | comment |
Heroes Gone Fishing: Before being kidnapped by Valerian and Licht at the Plaza, Thornhill had plans to attend a performance at the Winter Garden Theatre. He is a little annoyed he doesn't make it there. | |
North by Northwest / int_424b665e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_424b665e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_424b665e | |
North by Northwest / int_437820dc | type |
Villainous Crush | |
North by Northwest / int_437820dc | comment |
Villainous Crush: Leonard apparently for Vandamm. | |
North by Northwest / int_437820dc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_437820dc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_437820dc | |
North by Northwest / int_443b78cd | type |
Tranquil Fury | |
North by Northwest / int_443b78cd | comment |
Tranquil Fury: Happens when Leonard reveals to Vandamm that the gun that Eve used to shoot Roger with contained only blanks. He even shoots at Vandamm to prove it. Upon realizing what's happened, Vandamm reacts with a few seconds of silence before he gets enraged and punches Leonard in the face. | |
North by Northwest / int_443b78cd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_443b78cd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_443b78cd | |
North by Northwest / int_447d9e50 | type |
Xanatos Speed Chess | |
North by Northwest / int_447d9e50 | comment |
However, it could be something else going on here. They were clearly following Thornhill, because He Knows Too Much and they'd already failed to kill him, so were waiting for another opportunity. Thornhill confronts the real Townsend and might have told him that somebody was impersonating him and occupying his house. Killing Thornhill at this point would just make Townsend even more suspicious. Thornhill already knows he's being chased, so the best solution at that moment is to get rid of Townsend. | |
North by Northwest / int_447d9e50 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_447d9e50 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_447d9e50 | |
North by Northwest / int_44db43ce | type |
Staged Shooting | |
North by Northwest / int_44db43ce | comment |
Staged Shooting: Eve shoots Roger in the Mt. Rushmore restaurant with blank cartridges. | |
North by Northwest / int_44db43ce | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_44db43ce | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_44db43ce | |
North by Northwest / int_4583a262 | type |
Shirtless Scene | |
North by Northwest / int_4583a262 | comment |
Shirtless Scene: At one point we see Roger in a hospital room wearing only a white towel. | |
North by Northwest / int_4583a262 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_4583a262 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_4583a262 | |
North by Northwest / int_461038e6 | type |
Mistaken for Spies | |
North by Northwest / int_461038e6 | comment |
Mistaken for Spies: The entire basis of the film. | |
North by Northwest / int_461038e6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_461038e6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_461038e6 | |
North by Northwest / int_47fea76b | type |
Butt-Monkey | |
North by Northwest / int_47fea76b | comment |
Butt-Monkey: Thornhill is very much this, thanks to Vandamm (who wants him dead) and the police (who want him arrested). | |
North by Northwest / int_47fea76b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_47fea76b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_47fea76b | |
North by Northwest / int_4814d132 | type |
Big Fancy House | |
North by Northwest / int_4814d132 | comment |
Big Fancy House: Townsend's Long Island estate. Vandamm's Frank Lloyd Wright-esque house on Mount Rushmore counts, too. | |
North by Northwest / int_4814d132 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_4814d132 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_4814d132 | |
North by Northwest / int_48b9731f | type |
Paper-Thin Disguise | |
North by Northwest / int_48b9731f | comment |
Paper-Thin Disguise: To try and hide his identity in Grand Central Terminal, Thornhill dons a pair of sunglasses. The man at the counter guesses who he is and quickly calls security, but Thornhill manages to escape. | |
North by Northwest / int_48b9731f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_48b9731f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_48b9731f | |
North by Northwest / int_4a6dda60 | type |
If We Survive This | |
North by Northwest / int_4a6dda60 | comment |
If We Survive This: Roger promises Eve that if they survive the final confrontation on Mount Rushmore, they'd go back to New York on the train. | |
North by Northwest / int_4a6dda60 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_4a6dda60 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_4a6dda60 | |
North by Northwest / int_4e7c4536 | type |
Wham Line | |
North by Northwest / int_4e7c4536 | comment |
Wham Line: "How could he get mistaken for George Kaplan when George Kaplan doesn't even exist?" | |
North by Northwest / int_4e7c4536 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_4e7c4536 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_4e7c4536 | |
North by Northwest / int_4f76852c | type |
Badass on Paper | |
North by Northwest / int_4f76852c | comment |
Badass on Paper: Thornhill is just an ordinary Madison Avenue executive, yet over the course of the film, he manages to survive three attempts made on his life, causes the death of one of the perpetrators and manages to save Eve from certain death. | |
North by Northwest / int_4f76852c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_4f76852c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_4f76852c | |
North by Northwest / int_53407671 | type |
Action Survivor | |
North by Northwest / int_53407671 | comment |
The film make it clear that a government spy agency, even the "good" guys, really do value the mission and intelligence gathering and they will be willing to let innocent people die rather than compromise the cover of their mission. Both the US government and Eve Kendall herself were willing to leave Roger to die by Van Damm's forces to better preserve Eve's cover. The only reason they resort to help Roger at the end, is because he's attracted too much heat and attention, and is phenomenally lucky as an Action Survivor. | |
North by Northwest / int_53407671 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_53407671 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_53407671 | |
North by Northwest / int_537dd8fe | type |
Affably Evil | |
North by Northwest / int_537dd8fe | comment |
And the Affably Evil Vandamm more than keeps up with him, leading to some fabulous one-liners and plenty of Snark-to-Snark Combat. | |
North by Northwest / int_537dd8fe | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_537dd8fe | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_537dd8fe | |
North by Northwest / int_53f5119f | type |
The Dragon | |
North by Northwest / int_53f5119f | comment |
The Dragon: Leonard. | |
North by Northwest / int_53f5119f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_53f5119f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_53f5119f | |
North by Northwest / int_56725578 | type |
Driving a Desk | |
North by Northwest / int_56725578 | comment |
Driving a Desk: Used seamlessly in the crop-duster scene. | |
North by Northwest / int_56725578 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_56725578 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_56725578 | |
North by Northwest / int_571833a | type |
Aren't You Going to Ravish Me? | |
North by Northwest / int_571833a | comment |
Aren't You Going to Ravish Me?: The woman, whose hospital room Thornhill intrudes through, certainly seems to have this attitude. | |
North by Northwest / int_571833a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_571833a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_571833a | |
North by Northwest / int_58030b25 | type |
Visual Innuendo | |
North by Northwest / int_58030b25 | comment |
Visual Innuendo: This film concludes with the "train going into a tunnel" version. Here! | |
North by Northwest / int_58030b25 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_58030b25 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_58030b25 | |
North by Northwest / int_59907e4f | type |
Police Are Useless | |
North by Northwest / int_59907e4f | comment |
Police Are Useless: Unusually for a Hitchcock film, this is averted. The police save Roger's life twice by arresting him, for drunk driving on Long Island and for disrupting the auction in Chicago. A third time, a man in uniform (not clear if he's a Park Ranger, Sheriff, or State Trooper) shoots Leonard as he's about to make Roger fall from Mount Rushmore. | |
North by Northwest / int_59907e4f | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_59907e4f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_59907e4f | |
North by Northwest / int_5a15b2e9 | type |
Mischief for Punishment | |
North by Northwest / int_5a15b2e9 | comment |
Mischief for Punishment: Thornhill intentionally gets himself arrested for disorderly conduct to escape the men at the auction who want to kill him. | |
North by Northwest / int_5a15b2e9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_5a15b2e9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_5a15b2e9 | |
North by Northwest / int_5b01a021 | type |
The Calls Are Coming from Inside the House | |
North by Northwest / int_5b01a021 | comment |
The Calls Are Coming from Inside the Hotel: Thornhill gets a call from the bad guys while casing Kaplan's room at the Plaza. He then finds out from the hotel's switchboard operator that the call came from the lobby. | |
North by Northwest / int_5b01a021 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_5b01a021 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_5b01a021 | |
North by Northwest / int_5b565147 | type |
Meaningful Background Event | |
North by Northwest / int_5b565147 | comment |
Meaningful Background Event: The whole plot is kicked off because of one that's very easy to miss unless you're looking for it. Listen very closely to the background noise in the opening scene where Thornhill is sitting in the hotel bar with his associates, you can hear a bellboy announcing there's a page for "George Kaplan." Thornhill puts his hand up for an unrelated reason (he wants to send a telegram), and the spies assume he's Kaplan, because from their vantage point it looks like he's answering the page. This is made much clearer in the stage production. | |
North by Northwest / int_5b565147 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_5b565147 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_5b565147 | |
North by Northwest / int_5bdcc85a | type |
Disney Villain Death | |
North by Northwest / int_5bdcc85a | comment |
Disney Villain Death: Valerian and Leonard (although Leonard was already dead from the bullet). Also, when Leonard tells Vandamm that Eve is revealed to be a mole, Vandamm tells him they will kill her by pushing her out of the plane when it's flying over water. Thankfully, Eve never makes it to the plane. | |
North by Northwest / int_5bdcc85a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_5bdcc85a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_5bdcc85a | |
North by Northwest / int_5d397b9c | type |
The Mountains of Illinois | |
North by Northwest / int_5d397b9c | comment |
The Mountains of Illinois: The film features a treacherous drunken car chase along the Cliffs of Glen Cove, played in this picture by the cliffs of the California coastline. The north shore of Long Island is rocky, but not THAT rocky. Also, the crop-duster scene was filmed near Bakersfield, California, not in the middle of an Indiana cornfield, although the appropriate highway signs were transplanted. Indiana doesn't look as dry as it does in the movie, even during droughts. Hitchcock had someone scout locations in Indiana and Iowa, but it was decided that Reality Is Unrealistic and the California setting was closer to what Hitchcock wanted. | |
North by Northwest / int_5d397b9c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_5d397b9c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_5d397b9c | |
North by Northwest / int_5d9b8c3a | type |
Femme Fatale Spy | |
North by Northwest / int_5d9b8c3a | comment |
Femme Fatale Spy: Eve Kendall. Doubly so once it's revealed she's the mole working for the United States government. | |
North by Northwest / int_5d9b8c3a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_5d9b8c3a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_5d9b8c3a | |
North by Northwest / int_5e1ecc50 | type |
Mistaken for Badass | |
North by Northwest / int_5e1ecc50 | comment |
Mistaken for Badass / Mistaken for Murderer: Valerian tries to kill Thornhill with a knife in the United Nations, but it hits the real Townsend and Thornhill makes the mistake of picking up the knife in front of the crowd, making it appear he is the perpetrator. | |
North by Northwest / int_5e1ecc50 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_5e1ecc50 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_5e1ecc50 | |
North by Northwest / int_5e68bb61 | type |
Gayngster | |
North by Northwest / int_5e68bb61 | comment |
Gayngster: Leonard, though this being the 1950s, it's only implied. | |
North by Northwest / int_5e68bb61 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_5e68bb61 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_5e68bb61 | |
North by Northwest / int_5efcf52f | type |
Missed the Bus | |
North by Northwest / int_5efcf52f | comment |
Missed the Bus: In his cameo, Hitchcock narrowly misses his bus. | |
North by Northwest / int_5efcf52f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_5efcf52f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_5efcf52f | |
North by Northwest / int_60194b82 | type |
Spanner in the Works | |
North by Northwest / int_60194b82 | comment |
Spanner in the Works: Thornhill screws up both plans (see below) before being incorporated into them. | |
North by Northwest / int_60194b82 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_60194b82 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_60194b82 | |
North by Northwest / int_61375e57 | type |
BigDamnKiss | |
North by Northwest / int_61375e57 | comment |
Big Damn Kiss: Quite a few between Thornhill and Eve on the train. Thornhill and Eve again in the woods in South Dakota after the diner scene. Thornhill and Eve again in the final scene. | |
North by Northwest / int_61375e57 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_61375e57 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_61375e57 | |
North by Northwest / int_62518d4a | type |
Sorry Ociffer | |
North by Northwest / int_62518d4a | comment |
Sorry Ociffer: Thornhill is force-fed a quart of bourbon and put behind the wheel of a car on a cliffside road to kill himself. He manages to escape his foes, but gets caught by the police. At the station he absolutely admits that he's drunk, but can't get them to believe the circumstances. | |
North by Northwest / int_62518d4a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_62518d4a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_62518d4a | |
North by Northwest / int_63d861f8 | type |
Even Evil Has Loved Ones | |
North by Northwest / int_63d861f8 | comment |
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Vandamm really was genuinely fond of Eve. He does not take her betrayal well. Not at all. Towards the end, we find out he has a sister, too, who played the role of the fake Mrs. Townsend earlier in the film. | |
North by Northwest / int_63d861f8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_63d861f8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_63d861f8 | |
North by Northwest / int_6404635 | type |
Dramatic Shattering | |
North by Northwest / int_6404635 | comment |
Dramatic Shattering: When Leonard is shot, he drops the statue containing the microfilm before falling off the mountain. When the statue hits the rock, it shatters, revealing the microfilm inside. | |
North by Northwest / int_6404635 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_6404635 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_6404635 | |
North by Northwest / int_658854ee | type |
I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder | |
North by Northwest / int_658854ee | comment |
I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder: "I'm an advertising man, not a red herring." | |
North by Northwest / int_658854ee | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_658854ee | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_658854ee | |
North by Northwest / int_65acf9db | type |
He Knows Too Much | |
North by Northwest / int_65acf9db | comment |
He Knows Too Much: Vandamm believes Thornhill is guilty of this trope, believing him to be George Kaplan, despite Thornhill's arguments to the contrary. Of course, once Thornhill has become too involved, it hardly matters anyway. | |
North by Northwest / int_65acf9db | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_65acf9db | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_65acf9db | |
North by Northwest / int_663f35c0 | type |
Only One Name | |
North by Northwest / int_663f35c0 | comment |
Only One Name: Thornhill's secretary Maggie, Leonard, Valerian and Licht. Subverted with Vandamm, his first name is revealed to be Phillip. | |
North by Northwest / int_663f35c0 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
North by Northwest / int_663f35c0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_663f35c0 | |
North by Northwest / int_66755d29 | type |
Author Avatar | |
North by Northwest / int_66755d29 | comment |
Author Avatar: You can make a case that The Professor is the closest Hitchcock came to having one of these in a film, since he's a droll, wily Englishman with a dry sense of humor who excels in challenging situations, and, in his role as Mr. Exposition, knows how to tell a story and properly convey a scenario. | |
North by Northwest / int_66755d29 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_66755d29 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_66755d29 | |
North by Northwest / int_6bda9a30 | type |
Meaningful Name | |
North by Northwest / int_6bda9a30 | comment |
Meaningful Name: Two. Emile Klinger, the officer who arrests Thornhill for drink-driving after the first attempt on his life. The man's surname refers to Thornhill's attempts to cling to reality as at first he doesn't know what is going on. Also doubles as Foreshadowing to the Mount Rushmore scenes at the end of the film. Townsend. The murder of the real Lester Townsend (Town-Send) sends Thornhill from New York to Chicago to South Dakota. | |
North by Northwest / int_6bda9a30 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_6bda9a30 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_6bda9a30 | |
North by Northwest / int_6de438eb | type |
The Everyman | |
North by Northwest / int_6de438eb | comment |
Cary Grant as Roger Thornhill is The Everyman and not a super-spy. Likewise, espionage is generally treated realistically. Eve Kendall points out that she was a wealthy socialite who knew Vandamm in social occassions and the US Government turned her as a spy for them by largely continuing as his girlfriend and remaining close to him. Most espionage usually happens in social conditions and spies largely pose as civilians. It is the elaborate and baroque plot that really forces characters into action sequences. | |
North by Northwest / int_6de438eb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_6de438eb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_6de438eb | |
North by Northwest / int_6e27397 | type |
Missed Him by That Much | |
North by Northwest / int_6e27397 | comment |
Missed Him by That Much: On the train, Eve warns Thornhill that the train is making an unscheduled stop and two police officers (looking for him) are making their way onboard. They both leave the dining car just as said officers enter the car from the other end. | |
North by Northwest / int_6e27397 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_6e27397 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_6e27397 | |
North by Northwest / int_6fb4d332 | type |
Invulnerable Knuckles | |
North by Northwest / int_6fb4d332 | comment |
Invulnerable Knuckles: When Vandamm wallops Leonard, he has to reset his knuckles before continuing. | |
North by Northwest / int_6fb4d332 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_6fb4d332 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_6fb4d332 | |
North by Northwest / int_70b840b6 | type |
Giving Them the Strip | |
North by Northwest / int_70b840b6 | comment |
Giving Them the Strip: Eve discards her scarf, jacket, and shoes in succession during the Mount Rushmore chase. | |
North by Northwest / int_70b840b6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_70b840b6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_70b840b6 | |
North by Northwest / int_71098e78 | type |
Hammer and Sickle Removed for Your Protection | |
North by Northwest / int_71098e78 | comment |
Hammer and Sickle Removed for Your Protection: The movie never mentions exactly who Vandamm and his associates are passing government secrets on to, although it's vaguely implied to be some foreign country. The line "War is hell, Mr. Thornhill. Even when it's a cold one." is as close as the movie comes to spelling it out. | |
North by Northwest / int_71098e78 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_71098e78 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_71098e78 | |
North by Northwest / int_72778cf | type |
Luxurious Liquor | |
North by Northwest / int_72778cf | comment |
Luxurious Liquor: Various upper-class characters are shown with different "libations" frequently, it becomes a plot point when Leonard forces a bottle of bourbon down Thornhill's throat. | |
North by Northwest / int_72778cf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_72778cf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_72778cf | |
North by Northwest / int_7286e96d | type |
Idiot Ball | |
North by Northwest / int_7286e96d | comment |
Idiot Ball: Not once, but twice the villains choose an overly elaborate method to try and kill Thornhill, from which he is easily able to escape: first by getting him drunk and putting him behind the wheel of a car so that he'll drive into the ocean and it'll look like an accident, and the second being the entire scene with the crop duster. Hitchcock did acknowledge that the crop-duster scene is needlessly complex, but pointed out that no one thinks that while they're actually in the cinema. When Valerian kills Townsend with the knife, Thornhill grabs it, making it appear as if he is the murderer. Now he has the police to worry about. Also defied, as when he calls his mother after that, he says taking the train is safer than taking a plane as if someone was looking for him, it would be easier to hide on a train. | |
North by Northwest / int_7286e96d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_7286e96d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_7286e96d | |
North by Northwest / int_7335ffa9 | type |
Grey-and-Gray Morality | |
North by Northwest / int_7335ffa9 | comment |
Grey-and-Gray Morality: Vandamm and Leonard are up to no good but the US government is indifferent to the plight of Thornhill, even though his life gets screwed over because of their misinformation campaign. Later, the government even tells Eve Kendall to sacrifice Thornhill for the greater good, leading Eve to send Roger out to get killed in the cornfield. The government finally decides to step in and save Thornhill but tell him that Eve will be married to Vandamm and serve as The Mole which makes Roger angry telling the government (as an Audience Surrogate) that if that was their way of fighting the Cold War, maybe they should lose it. | |
North by Northwest / int_7335ffa9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_7335ffa9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_7335ffa9 | |
North by Northwest / int_733e007a | type |
Unwitting Pawn | |
North by Northwest / int_733e007a | comment |
Unwitting Pawn: Thornhill, up to a certain moment, is this to both the Professor's and Vandamm's plans. | |
North by Northwest / int_733e007a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_733e007a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_733e007a | |
North by Northwest / int_74b85afd | type |
If You're So Evil, Eat This Kitten! | |
North by Northwest / int_74b85afd | comment |
If You're So Evil, Eat This Kitten!: Eve Kendall, the spy, proves her loyalty to Vandamm by shooting Roger Thornhill, or so it seems until Leonard figures out the truth. This is averted earlier, where Eve earlier did betray Thornhill to Vandamm after meeting him on the train and the US government were indifferent to Thornhill getting killed. Eve, still under her cover as spy, hugs Thornhill upon finding out that he was alive. | |
North by Northwest / int_74b85afd | featureApplicability |
-1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_74b85afd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_74b85afd | |
North by Northwest / int_77195de1 | type |
Contagious Laughter | |
North by Northwest / int_77195de1 | comment |
Cue the bad guys deflecting the question by breaking into laughter, which then spreads to the rest of the elevator passengers, including Mrs. Thornhill. | |
North by Northwest / int_77195de1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_77195de1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_77195de1 | |
North by Northwest / int_79a60aec | type |
For Want of a Nail | |
North by Northwest / int_79a60aec | comment |
For Want Of A Nail: If Roger had remembered to tell his secretary that his mother was playing bridge that night, he would not have had to send a telegram and thus would not have been mistaken for George Kaplan. | |
North by Northwest / int_79a60aec | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_79a60aec | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_79a60aec | |
North by Northwest / int_7ac5c1de | type |
Unishment | |
North by Northwest / int_7ac5c1de | comment |
Unishment: Roger causes an uproar in the midst of an auction by placing outlandish bids and getting confrontational with anyone who outbids him. Eventually, security is called to escort him out of the building — which is exactly what he wanted, since there were two men in the room who were planning to kill him. | |
North by Northwest / int_7ac5c1de | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_7ac5c1de | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_7ac5c1de | |
North by Northwest / int_7e1eccce | type |
Orbital Kiss | |
North by Northwest / int_7e1eccce | comment |
Orbital Kiss: Played with. The train car in which Roger and Eve perform their first kiss proved too small to allow a cameraman to rotate around them, so the actors turned around while kissing. | |
North by Northwest / int_7e1eccce | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_7e1eccce | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_7e1eccce | |
North by Northwest / int_7eebe99c | type |
The Alcoholic | |
North by Northwest / int_7eebe99c | comment |
The Alcoholic: Thornhill himself is hinted to be one. Though he insists (when on the phone with his mother following the drunken chase in Glen Cove) that he wasn't trying to get drunk this time, the latter's verbal scoffing indicates she's not convinced; she already has a habit of sniffing his breath "like a bloodhound," and at the Oak Bar, his colleagues joke that he "may be slow in starting, but there's nobody faster coming down the home stretch." He later tells the Professor that he has "several bartenders that depend upon me." | |
North by Northwest / int_7eebe99c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_7eebe99c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_7eebe99c | |
North by Northwest / int_7fbb2a3 | type |
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! | |
North by Northwest / int_7fbb2a3 | comment |
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Thornhill didn't mean to do it, but his getting involved with Eve while Vandamm thinks Thornhill is after him aroused Vandamm's suspicion of her and put her life at risk. Thornhill has an Oh, Crap! when the Professor tells him so. To save her, Thornhill has to pretend to actually be Kaplan. | |
North by Northwest / int_7fbb2a3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_7fbb2a3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_7fbb2a3 | |
North by Northwest / int_8042e814 | type |
Actually Pretty Funny | |
North by Northwest / int_8042e814 | comment |
Actually Pretty Funny: During the auction scene, Thornhill bids $13 when the auctioneer had just set the bid at $1300. The other auction attendees, who were initially flustered at his previous oddball statements, actually laugh at this one. | |
North by Northwest / int_8042e814 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_8042e814 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_8042e814 | |
North by Northwest / int_810c980e | type |
Serial Spouse | |
North by Northwest / int_810c980e | comment |
Serial Spouse: Thornhill mentions having two ex-wives a few times. At the end, Eve is his third. | |
North by Northwest / int_810c980e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_810c980e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_810c980e | |
North by Northwest / int_81a1960f | type |
Silence Is Golden | |
North by Northwest / int_81a1960f | comment |
Silence Is Golden: Except for some small talk between Thornhill and the guy waiting for the bus, the crop duster scene doesn't have dialogue or background music up until the plane crashes into the truck. | |
North by Northwest / int_81a1960f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_81a1960f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_81a1960f | |
North by Northwest / int_82e40acf | type |
Whammy Bid | |
North by Northwest / int_82e40acf | comment |
Whammy Bid: Thornhill places comically-low bids at the auction and gets confrontational about it, in order to get himself arrested and thus get a police escort away from his enemies. | |
North by Northwest / int_82e40acf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_82e40acf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_82e40acf | |
North by Northwest / int_863fa679 | type |
What Happened to the Mouse? | |
North by Northwest / int_863fa679 | comment |
What Happened to the Mouse?: Licht, Vandamm's henchman wearing a hat, disappears without explanation midway through the film. In the script, he was one of the two men in the cropduster but there's nothing in the film to suggest this. We never see Thornhill's mother again after he flees from the hotel. We do not see what happens to Vandamm's housekeeper but we can assume Roger overpowered her when he realized the gun was the one Eve had used on him. | |
North by Northwest / int_863fa679 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_863fa679 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_863fa679 | |
North by Northwest / int_87ab7f69 | type |
Sharp-Dressed Man | |
North by Northwest / int_87ab7f69 | comment |
Sharp-Dressed Man: Thornhill dresses in the same grey suit for much of the film, only changing his attire near the end after being provided with fresh clothes. Vandamm, Leonard, Valerian and Licht also all dress in suits. | |
North by Northwest / int_87ab7f69 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_87ab7f69 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_87ab7f69 | |
North by Northwest / int_89102272 | type |
Artistic Title | |
North by Northwest / int_89102272 | comment |
Artistic Title: The opening sequence, designed by Saul Bass, depicts the credits sliding up and down the glass facade of a Manhattan office building. | |
North by Northwest / int_89102272 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_89102272 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_89102272 | |
North by Northwest / int_8a295a46 | type |
Cool Car | |
North by Northwest / int_8a295a46 | comment |
Cool Car: That Mercedes convertible they try to kill Thornhill in. | |
North by Northwest / int_8a295a46 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_8a295a46 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_8a295a46 | |
North by Northwest / int_8ca89acb | type |
I Need to Go Iron My Dog | |
North by Northwest / int_8ca89acb | comment |
I Need to Go Iron My Dog: When Thornhill warns Eve that Vandamm and Leonard know of her duplicity, she tells them she left her earrings in her room and goes up there, where Thornhill tells her the statue Vandamm bought at the art auction has microfilm inside it, something she didn't previously know. | |
North by Northwest / int_8ca89acb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_8ca89acb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_8ca89acb | |
North by Northwest / int_8cb844c6 | type |
Mr. Exposition | |
North by Northwest / int_8cb844c6 | comment |
Mr. Exposition: The Professor has an important role in the story, but his main function is to explain to other characters (and the audience) what exactly the deal is with George Kaplan and Vandamm. | |
North by Northwest / int_8cb844c6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_8cb844c6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_8cb844c6 | |
North by Northwest / int_8ee710e7 | type |
Better Manhandle the Murder Weapon | |
North by Northwest / int_8ee710e7 | comment |
Better Manhandle the Murder Weapon: Conveniently, a newspaper photographer is present to take an incriminating photo at the exact moment the real Townsend falls on Thornhill. Not getting what's happening, Thornhill pulls the knife out of the Townsend's back, right when the photographer takes the picture. The look on Roger's face doesn't help, either. Then his guilty-looking mug is plastered on the front page of every newspaper in the country. | |
North by Northwest / int_8ee710e7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_8ee710e7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_8ee710e7 | |
North by Northwest / int_90d44f44 | type |
Karmic Death | |
North by Northwest / int_90d44f44 | comment |
Karmic Death: Leonard gets shot by a sniper and falls over the edge of Mount Rushmore when he tries to cause Thornhill and Eve to fall off by stepping on Thornhill's fingers. | |
North by Northwest / int_90d44f44 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_90d44f44 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_90d44f44 | |
North by Northwest / int_970c790a | type |
Big Bad | |
North by Northwest / int_970c790a | comment |
Big Bad: Phillip Vandamm. | |
North by Northwest / int_970c790a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_970c790a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_970c790a | |
North by Northwest / int_973ba076 | type |
Safety in Muggles | |
North by Northwest / int_973ba076 | comment |
Safety in Muggles: Thornhill in Grand Central Terminal after being wrongly suspected of the murder of the real Lester Townsend, and again during the auction scene. | |
North by Northwest / int_973ba076 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_973ba076 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_973ba076 | |
North by Northwest / int_97ee273 | type |
Momma's Boy | |
North by Northwest / int_97ee273 | comment |
Momma's Boy: Thornhill, at least to the extent that it's his mother who he calls to bail him out of jail and assist him in casing "Kaplan"'s room at the Plaza. To some extent, the plot is also kicked off due to him calling for a bellboy to have a telegram safely delivered to her. | |
North by Northwest / int_97ee273 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_97ee273 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_97ee273 | |
North by Northwest / int_9843be73 | type |
As You Know | |
North by Northwest / int_9843be73 | comment |
As You Know: The truth about Kaplan is explained incredibly awkwardly by the Professor to the only other people in the world who already know about it. | |
North by Northwest / int_9843be73 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_9843be73 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_9843be73 | |
North by Northwest / int_987be393 | type |
Gambit Roulette | |
North by Northwest / int_987be393 | comment |
Gambit Roulette: Roger is abducted and nearly killed by someone pretending to be Townsend, whom Roger later learns is a UN diplomat. After narrowly surviving the attempt on his life, Roger visits the UN General Assembly building to confront Townsend. Townsend turns out to be someone he has never seen before, and shortly after Roger arrives, is killed by one of the men who tried to kill Roger. Roger was manipulated into meeting Townsend so that Townsend's enemies could kill him in a way that would look like Roger was responsible. But how did they know Roger would seek Townsend out? And if they needed Roger as a patsy, why try to kill him? And how did they know the attempt to kill Roger would fail? However, it could be something else going on here. They were clearly following Thornhill, because He Knows Too Much and they'd already failed to kill him, so were waiting for another opportunity. Thornhill confronts the real Townsend and might have told him that somebody was impersonating him and occupying his house. Killing Thornhill at this point would just make Townsend even more suspicious. Thornhill already knows he's being chased, so the best solution at that moment is to get rid of Townsend. | |
North by Northwest / int_987be393 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_987be393 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_987be393 | |
North by Northwest / int_9a9eb4dd | type |
Hand Stomp | |
North by Northwest / int_9a9eb4dd | comment |
Hand Stomp / Hanging by the Fingers: The climax sees Roger holding onto the edge of a cliff while attempting to help up Eve. Then Leonard appears. When Roger asks him for help, Leonard decides to step on his fingers and get them to fall. Although he is later shot by a sniper in the distance. | |
North by Northwest / int_9a9eb4dd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_9a9eb4dd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_9a9eb4dd | |
North by Northwest / int_9ae0ead1 | type |
Villains Out Shopping | |
North by Northwest / int_9ae0ead1 | comment |
Villains Out Shopping: When we first see Leonard at Townsend's estate, he's playing a game of croquet before Licht interrupts him. Subverted. Vandamm and his men (plus Eve) attend the art auction in Chicago, but only so they can get hold of the statue they intend to hide microfilm in. | |
North by Northwest / int_9ae0ead1 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
North by Northwest / int_9ae0ead1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_9ae0ead1 | |
North by Northwest / int_9cad69bf | type |
Depraved Homosexual | |
North by Northwest / int_9cad69bf | comment |
Depraved Homosexual: Leonard is implied to be one. | |
North by Northwest / int_9cad69bf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_9cad69bf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_9cad69bf | |
North by Northwest / int_9ce83619 | type |
The Corpse Stops Here | |
North by Northwest / int_9ce83619 | comment |
The Corpse Stops Here: The style in which Lester Townsend is killed, turning Thornhill into a fugitive. | |
North by Northwest / int_9ce83619 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_9ce83619 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_9ce83619 | |
North by Northwest / int_9d12bbc1 | type |
Foreshadowing | |
North by Northwest / int_9d12bbc1 | comment |
Emile Klinger, the officer who arrests Thornhill for drink-driving after the first attempt on his life. The man's surname refers to Thornhill's attempts to cling to reality as at first he doesn't know what is going on. Also doubles as Foreshadowing to the Mount Rushmore scenes at the end of the film. | |
North by Northwest / int_9d12bbc1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_9d12bbc1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_9d12bbc1 | |
North by Northwest / int_9dfd7154 | type |
Fridge Logic | |
North by Northwest / int_9dfd7154 | comment |
Not once, but twice the villains choose an overly elaborate method to try and kill Thornhill, from which he is easily able to escape: first by getting him drunk and putting him behind the wheel of a car so that he'll drive into the ocean and it'll look like an accident, and the second being the entire scene with the crop duster. Hitchcock did acknowledge that the crop-duster scene is needlessly complex, but pointed out that no one thinks that while they're actually in the cinema. | |
North by Northwest / int_9dfd7154 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_9dfd7154 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_9dfd7154 | |
North by Northwest / int_9e9203e1 | type |
Dramatically Missing the Point | |
North by Northwest / int_9e9203e1 | comment |
Dramatically Missing the Point: Also used as a darkly comical element as well, but Vandamm, who tries to come off as clever and shrewd, doesn't get that the person he assumes is deceiving him (Roger) is on the level, while the person closest to him (Eve) is the deceptive one. | |
North by Northwest / int_9e9203e1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_9e9203e1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_9e9203e1 | |
North by Northwest / int_a042bfb | type |
Sex–Face Turn | |
North by Northwest / int_a042bfb | comment |
Sex–Face Turn: Eve, although technically since she was a mole all along she never really loved her crime boss partner in the first place. | |
North by Northwest / int_a042bfb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_a042bfb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_a042bfb | |
North by Northwest / int_a3912d0e | type |
Sexy Discretion Shot | |
North by Northwest / int_a3912d0e | comment |
Sexy Discretion Shot: The film ends with a shot of a train entering a tunnel as Roger and Eve are about to make love. Knowing Hitchcock's sense of humour, this was deliberate. | |
North by Northwest / int_a3912d0e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_a3912d0e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_a3912d0e | |
North by Northwest / int_a4905771 | type |
Double-Meaning Title | |
North by Northwest / int_a4905771 | comment |
Double-Meaning Title: As well as the Hamlet reference, it's also about how the protagonist has to go north on Northwest Airlines. | |
North by Northwest / int_a4905771 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_a4905771 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_a4905771 | |
North by Northwest / int_a588cd12 | type |
Cool House | |
North by Northwest / int_a588cd12 | comment |
Cool House: Vandamm's Frank Lloyd Wright-style abode on Mount Rushmore. | |
North by Northwest / int_a588cd12 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_a588cd12 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_a588cd12 | |
North by Northwest / int_a632f7fa | type |
Cool Train | |
North by Northwest / int_a632f7fa | comment |
Cool Train: The 20th Century Limited. | |
North by Northwest / int_a632f7fa | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_a632f7fa | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_a632f7fa | |
North by Northwest / int_a6c69bd | type |
MacGuffin | |
North by Northwest / int_a6c69bd | comment |
MacGuffin: Both the microfilm and George Kaplan, since the first two acts of the movie are about Thornhill and Vandamm both looking for the nonexistent spy. | |
North by Northwest / int_a6c69bd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_a6c69bd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_a6c69bd | |
North by Northwest / int_a6cda066 | type |
Rule of Three | |
North by Northwest / int_a6cda066 | comment |
Rule of Three: Happens a few times. First, three attempts are made by the enemy spies on Thornhill's life: getting him drunk by forcing a whole bottle of bourbon down his throat, putting him behind the wheel of a car so that he'll drive into the ocean and it'll look like an accident, a knife is thrown at him, but it misses and kills the real Lester Townsend instead, and finally the crop-duster sequence. The film takes place in three main locations: New York, Chicago and South Dakota. Roger uses a bathroom as a hiding place three times, two of them during the train sequence. At the end of the film, Eve has become Thornhill's third wife. | |
North by Northwest / int_a6cda066 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_a6cda066 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_a6cda066 | |
North by Northwest / int_a796d2a6 | type |
Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy | |
North by Northwest / int_a796d2a6 | comment |
Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: The crop duster plane is evidently equipped with guns that its occupants fire at Roger to try and kill Roger, but barely miss him. | |
North by Northwest / int_a796d2a6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_a796d2a6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_a796d2a6 | |
North by Northwest / int_a7aef9ff | type |
Obfuscating Stupidity | |
North by Northwest / int_a7aef9ff | comment |
Obfuscating Stupidity: Thornhill does this during the auction scene to make himself look like an idiot, causing the police to be called and escort him past Vandamm's goons covering the exits. | |
North by Northwest / int_a7aef9ff | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_a7aef9ff | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_a7aef9ff | |
North by Northwest / int_a8660c25 | type |
Soft-Spoken Sadist | |
North by Northwest / int_a8660c25 | comment |
Soft-Spoken Sadist: Vandamm and Leonard are calm and methodical, relying on menace and intimidation to achieve their goals. | |
North by Northwest / int_a8660c25 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_a8660c25 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_a8660c25 | |
North by Northwest / int_aa9fcfed | type |
Embarrassing Middle Name | |
North by Northwest / int_aa9fcfed | comment |
Embarrassing Middle Name: Roger Thornhill's middle initial is O, making his initials R.O.T. Doesn't stop him from having his matchbooks monogrammed, though. This is actually a subversion, as Roger explains that the O doesn't stand for anything, he just added it so it looked like he had a middle name. | |
North by Northwest / int_aa9fcfed | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_aa9fcfed | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_aa9fcfed | |
North by Northwest / int_ab1659d5 | type |
Hero Stole My Bike | |
North by Northwest / int_ab1659d5 | comment |
Hero Stole My Bike: After the crop-duster crashes, Thornhill steals the truck of a passer-by to get back to Chicago. | |
North by Northwest / int_ab1659d5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_ab1659d5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_ab1659d5 | |
North by Northwest / int_ab5eea65 | type |
Dramatic Irony | |
North by Northwest / int_ab5eea65 | comment |
Dramatic Irony: As the second act begins, the Professor explains to his subordinates (and the audience) that Kaplan doesn't actually exist, and is a carefully-maintained fiction that serves as the cover for their real spy. Later, the audience sees Eve tip off Thornhill's enemies, revealing that she is part of Vandamm's spy ring. The two coincide in the crop duster attack, where Thornhill cluelessly goes to a rendezvous Eve claims to have set up after calling Kaplan, meaning we know he's walking into a trap but not the form. | |
North by Northwest / int_ab5eea65 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_ab5eea65 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_ab5eea65 | |
North by Northwest / int_ac2094ca | type |
Red Shirt | |
North by Northwest / int_ac2094ca | comment |
Red Shirt: The real Lester Townsend, who only serves to show that the man Thornhill thought was Townsend is not who he thought he was, and to be killed so that Thornhill now has to clear his name of a crime he didn't commit. | |
North by Northwest / int_ac2094ca | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_ac2094ca | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_ac2094ca | |
North by Northwest / int_ad1db87c | type |
Oh, Crap! | |
North by Northwest / int_ad1db87c | comment |
Oh, Crap!: Thornhill after the murder of Lester Townsend and realizing everyone thinks he's done it because he has the murder weapon in his hand. Thornhill on the train when Eve warns him that the train is making an unscheduled stop and two police officers are boarding it. They both promptly leave the dining car. Thornhill when he sees the crop-dusting plane bearing down on him. And then again when it looks like the truck he is flagging down is about to run him down. Thornhill, accompanied by a slow zoom into his face and him saying "Oh, no" when the Professor tells him that his getting close to Eve has put her life at risk because Vandamm is now suspicious of her and could find out she's working against him. Towards the end, Eve has one when she sees and recognises Thornhill's matchbook he had thrown down to her, and again when she reads the message inside it. Then a third time when Thornhill tells her that Vandamm and Leonard know of her duplicity and plan to kill her. In the climax, Eve again when she sees Valerian about to attack Thornhill on Mount Rushmore. | |
North by Northwest / int_ad1db87c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_ad1db87c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_ad1db87c | |
North by Northwest / int_ad7a381d | type |
P.O.V. Cam | |
North by Northwest / int_ad7a381d | comment |
P.O.V. Cam: When a park ranger slugs Thornhill in the face on the Professor's orders, to prevent his detaining Eve. Also later on when Vandamm punches Leonard after the latter proves to the former that Eve didn't really shoot Thornhill. | |
North by Northwest / int_ad7a381d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_ad7a381d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_ad7a381d | |
North by Northwest / int_ae3d6438 | type |
Deadpan Snarker | |
North by Northwest / int_ae3d6438 | comment |
Deadpan Snarker: Roger Thornhill. He is played by Cary Grant, after all. And the Affably Evil Vandamm more than keeps up with him, leading to some fabulous one-liners and plenty of Snark-to-Snark Combat. Roger's mother is one, too. | |
North by Northwest / int_ae3d6438 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_ae3d6438 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_ae3d6438 | |
North by Northwest / int_aebae11c | type |
Viewers Are Morons | |
North by Northwest / int_aebae11c | comment |
Viewers Are Morons: The entire scene in which government officials explain in an extreme As You Know mode to tell the audience what those officials already knew, including the fact Kaplan doesn't exist. | |
North by Northwest / int_aebae11c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_aebae11c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_aebae11c | |
North by Northwest / int_b09c818 | type |
"Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word | |
North by Northwest / int_b09c818 | comment |
"Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word: After Thornhill's secretary scolds him for lying to get a cab (see Failing a Taxi, below) he informs her that "in the world of advertising, there's no such thing as a lie; there's only the expedient exaggeration." | |
North by Northwest / int_b09c818 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_b09c818 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_b09c818 | |
North by Northwest / int_b25eb401 | type |
Exposition Cut | |
North by Northwest / int_b25eb401 | comment |
Exposition Cut: When Roger is brought up to speed, the exposition is drowned out by the noise of the plane engines, since we already know this stuff. | |
North by Northwest / int_b25eb401 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_b25eb401 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_b25eb401 | |
North by Northwest / int_b63019a5 | type |
High-Heel–Face Turn | |
North by Northwest / int_b63019a5 | comment |
High-Heel–Face Turn: Eve, although it turns out that she was a mole all along. | |
North by Northwest / int_b63019a5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_b63019a5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_b63019a5 | |
North by Northwest / int_b6699566 | type |
His Own Worst Enemy | |
North by Northwest / int_b6699566 | comment |
His Own Worst Enemy: Ultimately what does Vandamm in. As a spy he has no equal, and he's proven to be incredibly effective at keeping the US government off his back, but his Complexity Addiction, paranoia regarding Kaplan, and overestimation of Thornhill's capabilities cause him to continually squander easy opportunities to just have Thornhill shot stone dead in a quiet place where he could be easily disposed of in favor of increasingly convoluted and risky methods that ultimately lead Thornhill to bumble his way into actually undoing Vandamm's schemes. | |
North by Northwest / int_b6699566 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_b6699566 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_b6699566 | |
North by Northwest / int_b7c45771 | type |
Single Malt Vision | |
North by Northwest / int_b7c45771 | comment |
Single Malt Vision: Played disconcertingly straight - after Roger is force-fed a quart of bourbon and put behind the wheel of a car, he's trying to escape his pursuers, and seeing the road before him go two different directions. | |
North by Northwest / int_b7c45771 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_b7c45771 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_b7c45771 | |
North by Northwest / int_b800a2e0 | type |
Failing a Taxi | |
North by Northwest / int_b800a2e0 | comment |
Failing a Taxi: In the opening scene — a man hails a cab, and Thornhill cuts in with his secretary and takes it, claiming she's "a very sick woman." After she chides him, he assures her his lie let the guy think he was doing them a favor. | |
North by Northwest / int_b800a2e0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_b800a2e0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_b800a2e0 | |
North by Northwest / int_bc3b029b | type |
Impairment Shot | |
North by Northwest / int_bc3b029b | comment |
Impairment Shot: Roger is force-fed a bottle of bourbon and put behind the wheel of a car – as he makes a getaway we see the road from his seeing-double perspective, curving and going straight at the same time. | |
North by Northwest / int_bc3b029b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_bc3b029b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_bc3b029b | |
North by Northwest / int_bc3cb7ff | type |
Clear My Name | |
North by Northwest / int_bc3cb7ff | comment |
Clear My Name: Roger sets out to do this when he's accused of murder. This is a Hitchcock film, after all. | |
North by Northwest / int_bc3cb7ff | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_bc3cb7ff | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_bc3cb7ff | |
North by Northwest / int_bd0230fb | type |
Ambiguously Bi | |
North by Northwest / int_bd0230fb | comment |
Ambiguously Bi: Vandamm. "... I think you're jealous. No, I mean it. I'm very touched, very." | |
North by Northwest / int_bd0230fb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_bd0230fb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_bd0230fb | |
North by Northwest / int_beb932ca | type |
Big Applesauce | |
North by Northwest / int_beb932ca | comment |
Big Applesauce: The story opens in New York City and most of the first section takes place there, specifically the Plaza Hotel, the United Nations, and Grand Central Terminal (most of which were replicated on Hollywood soundstages, with only few exteriors). | |
North by Northwest / int_beb932ca | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_beb932ca | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_beb932ca | |
North by Northwest / int_c16b3149 | type |
Going by the Matchbook | |
North by Northwest / int_c16b3149 | comment |
Going by the Matchbook: Roger writes a warning to Eve on his personal matchbook with his initials (R.O.T.) on them and secretly throws it next to her at Vandamm's house. When they first met on the train earlier Eve noticed his matchbook and asked what the "O" stood for. Roger's reply: "Nothing." This was a sly dig at producer David O. Selznick, with whom Hitchcock had regular battles for creative control; his middle initial also didn't stand for anything. | |
North by Northwest / int_c16b3149 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_c16b3149 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_c16b3149 | |
North by Northwest / int_c295cb84 | type |
Evil Minions | |
North by Northwest / int_c295cb84 | comment |
Evil Minions: Valerian, Licht, "Mrs. Townsend," etc. | |
North by Northwest / int_c295cb84 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_c295cb84 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_c295cb84 | |
North by Northwest / int_c3c77510 | type |
There Is Only One Bed | |
North by Northwest / int_c3c77510 | comment |
There Is Only One Bed: Roger hides out in Eve's room on a train ride to Chicago. As they make out passionately he observes there's only one bed, asking if she knows what that means. She knows - he's sleeping on the floor. | |
North by Northwest / int_c3c77510 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_c3c77510 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_c3c77510 | |
North by Northwest / int_c4e3afda | type |
Mum Looks Like a Sister | |
North by Northwest / int_c4e3afda | comment |
Mum Looks Like a Sister: Cary Grant was 55 years old at the time. Jessie Royce Landis, who played his mother, was 63 years-old, meaning she would have to have given birth when she was 8 years old. | |
North by Northwest / int_c4e3afda | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_c4e3afda | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_c4e3afda | |
North by Northwest / int_c5ccf60f | type |
Internal Reveal | |
North by Northwest / int_c5ccf60f | comment |
Internal Reveal: The audience learns the truth about Kaplan at the end of the first act. See Plot-Based Voice Cancellation for when Thornhill finds out. | |
North by Northwest / int_c5ccf60f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_c5ccf60f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_c5ccf60f | |
North by Northwest / int_c75df49a | type |
Shout-Out | |
North by Northwest / int_c75df49a | comment |
Shout-Out: Seeing Vandamm and Leonard together with Eve at the Chicago art auction leads Thornhill to comment, "The three of you together. Now that's a picture only Charles Addams could draw." In the same scene Vandamm tells Roger that with all the roles he's been playing, he could use "a little less training from the FBI and a little more from the Actors Studio." Eva Marie Saint and Martin Landau both studied there. Shout Out: To Shakespeare: Some theorize that the title refers to Hamlet's line that he's only pretending to be insane: "I am but mad north-northwest." When Roger is pretending to shower in the Chicago hotel room, he starts whistling "Singin' in the Rain." | |
North by Northwest / int_c75df49a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_c75df49a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_c75df49a | |
North by Northwest / int_c960826 | type |
Supporting Protagonist | |
North by Northwest / int_c960826 | comment |
Supporting Protagonist: Eve Kendall is the true spy hero of the film. It was on her behalf and for her sake, that the US Government Agency manufactured the George Kaplan identity which got Roger Thornhill involved in her case. She's the one who commits to her mission and decides to steal the microfilm from the bad guys at the end, and the entire plot is mostly driven by her actions. | |
North by Northwest / int_c960826 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_c960826 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_c960826 | |
North by Northwest / int_cf92fea8 | type |
Cassandra Truth | |
North by Northwest / int_cf92fea8 | comment |
Cassandra Truth: But of course. Vandamm refuses to believe Thornhill is anyone other than George Kaplan. Towards the end, Thornhill even has to willingly pretend to be George Kaplan for Eve's sake. | |
North by Northwest / int_cf92fea8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_cf92fea8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_cf92fea8 | |
North by Northwest / int_d5d976dd | type |
I Have Many Names | |
North by Northwest / int_d5d976dd | comment |
I Have Many Names: Invoked by Vandamm after Roger's confused response to being called "Kaplan" for the first time. | |
North by Northwest / int_d5d976dd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_d5d976dd | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_d5d976dd | |
North by Northwest / int_d7b34c31 | type |
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" | |
North by Northwest / int_d7b34c31 | comment |
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The Professor. | |
North by Northwest / int_d7b34c31 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_d7b34c31 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_d7b34c31 | |
North by Northwest / int_d9cf40fa | type |
Screw This, I'm Outta Here | |
North by Northwest / int_d9cf40fa | comment |
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Subverted twice when Thornhill makes an unsuccessful escape attempt. The first time, after Valerian and Licht escort him to the car, he goes for the door, only to find it locked. He tries again at Townsend's estate, only to find Valerian blocking the doorway. Double-subverted in the auction scene, where he tries to leave and finds the exits covered, so he makes an idiot of himself to get the police called and escort him out. Eve at the end does this when the gunshot rings out and she uses the distraction to snatch the statue from Vandamm and run. | |
North by Northwest / int_d9cf40fa | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
North by Northwest / int_d9cf40fa | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_d9cf40fa | |
North by Northwest / int_da75a16f | type |
Monumental Battle | |
North by Northwest / int_da75a16f | comment |
Monumental Battle: The end of the film takes place on Mount Rushmore. | |
North by Northwest / int_da75a16f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_da75a16f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_da75a16f | |
North by Northwest / int_db08fb56 | type |
Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are | |
North by Northwest / int_db08fb56 | comment |
Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are: Eve says this to Roger after the porter leaves to let him know he can come out from hiding in the bathroom. | |
North by Northwest / int_db08fb56 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_db08fb56 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_db08fb56 | |
North by Northwest / int_dbca2c99 | type |
Red Herring | |
North by Northwest / int_dbca2c99 | comment |
Red Herring: Thornhill becomes one in the film against his will and uses the phrase to the Professor: "I'm an advertising man, not a red herring!" | |
North by Northwest / int_dbca2c99 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_dbca2c99 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_dbca2c99 | |
North by Northwest / int_dc579c91 | type |
Contrived Coincidence | |
North by Northwest / int_dc579c91 | comment |
Contrived Coincidence: Several, beginning with Roger Thornhill summoning a hotel bellboy at the very moment said bellboy is paging "George Kaplan." | |
North by Northwest / int_dc579c91 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_dc579c91 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_dc579c91 | |
North by Northwest / int_dca70c44 | type |
Reasonable Authority Figure | |
North by Northwest / int_dca70c44 | comment |
Reasonable Authority Figure: The Professor is a calm, fatherly man. At first he seems a bit cruel in forcing Roger to fend for himself against Vandamm, until you learn that Eve is his deep cover Mole in Vandamm's cell but he eventually figures out ways to protect Roger in a potentially deadly predicament, gets Roger to cooperate through intelligent persuasion, and even manages to crack a couple of jokes to calm down an understandably-tense Roger. | |
North by Northwest / int_dca70c44 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_dca70c44 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_dca70c44 | |
North by Northwest / int_dcbe8a6e | type |
Chekhov's Gunman | |
North by Northwest / int_dcbe8a6e | comment |
Chekhov's Gunman: In the scene in the CIA after the scene in the United Nations where Thornhill is framed as the murderer of the real Lester Townsend, the Professor mentions "their own agent" who later turns out to be Eve. Literally, considering the diner scene. | |
North by Northwest / int_dcbe8a6e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_dcbe8a6e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_dcbe8a6e | |
North by Northwest / int_de9047ac | type |
Gambit Pileup | |
North by Northwest / int_de9047ac | comment |
Gambit Pileup: Vandamm, the Professor, Thornhill and Eve have their own elaborate plans, which clash constantly. | |
North by Northwest / int_de9047ac | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_de9047ac | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_de9047ac | |
North by Northwest / int_defabcb9 | type |
Creepy Blue Eyes | |
North by Northwest / int_defabcb9 | comment |
Creepy Blue Eyes: Leonard. | |
North by Northwest / int_defabcb9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_defabcb9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_defabcb9 | |
North by Northwest / int_df41acb | type |
Casual Danger Dialogue | |
North by Northwest / int_df41acb | comment |
Casual Danger Dialogue: At the climax, Roger and Eve engage in witty banter while dangling by their fingertips from Mt. Rushmore. | |
North by Northwest / int_df41acb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_df41acb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_df41acb | |
North by Northwest / int_df4b69d6 | type |
Uncomfortable Elevator Moment | |
North by Northwest / int_df4b69d6 | comment |
Uncomfortable Elevator Moment: Played for black comedy, as Vandamm's henchmen follow Roger and his mother into a crowded elevator at the Plaza Hotel. Cue the bad guys deflecting the question by breaking into laughter, which then spreads to the rest of the elevator passengers, including Mrs. Thornhill. | |
North by Northwest / int_df4b69d6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_df4b69d6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_df4b69d6 | |
North by Northwest / int_e34400ab | type |
Ambiguously Gay | |
North by Northwest / int_e34400ab | comment |
Ambiguously Gay: Leonard. "Call it my woman's intuition." | |
North by Northwest / int_e34400ab | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_e34400ab | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_e34400ab | |
North by Northwest / int_e35ab565 | type |
Indy Ploy | |
North by Northwest / int_e35ab565 | comment |
Indy Ploy: Thornhill quickly becomes adept at making escape plans on the fly. | |
North by Northwest / int_e35ab565 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_e35ab565 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_e35ab565 | |
North by Northwest / int_e37f19 | type |
Disguised in Drag | |
North by Northwest / int_e37f19 | comment |
Contrary to rumor, he didn't make a second cameo Disguised in Drag on the train. That was veteran character actress Jesslyn Fax (who does look a lot like a female Hitchcock). | |
North by Northwest / int_e37f19 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_e37f19 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_e37f19 | |
North by Northwest / int_e404c1ba | type |
Go Seduce My Archnemesis | |
North by Northwest / int_e404c1ba | comment |
Go Seduce My Archnemesis: Eve was supposed to seduce Thornhill for the explicit purpose of leading him to his death in a cornfield. It doesn't work. | |
North by Northwest / int_e404c1ba | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_e404c1ba | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_e404c1ba | |
North by Northwest / int_e63228a7 | type |
InfoDump | |
North by Northwest / int_e63228a7 | comment |
Info Dump: The government agency takes a few minutes to explain what we already know. | |
North by Northwest / int_e63228a7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_e63228a7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_e63228a7 | |
North by Northwest / int_e70127 | type |
The Mole | |
North by Northwest / int_e70127 | comment |
The Mole: Eve is made out to be Vandamm's mistress, but she's working for the government. She was originally a Socialite bogged with Rich Boredom and she genuinely did like Vandamm and admitted to falling for him, but then the US Government told her about Vandamm's shadiness and asked her to work as a mole. | |
North by Northwest / int_e70127 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_e70127 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_e70127 | |
North by Northwest / int_e8147834 | type |
Elevator Escape | |
North by Northwest / int_e8147834 | comment |
Elevator Escape: Roger needs to flee a hotel before the villain's goons come for him, and he reaches the elevator going down - just as they get out of the next elevator, and promptly follow him in. Roger has his mother in tow, who refuses to believe he's in any danger. | |
North by Northwest / int_e8147834 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_e8147834 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_e8147834 | |
North by Northwest / int_e9269f72 | type |
It Was Here, I Swear! | |
North by Northwest / int_e9269f72 | comment |
It Was Here, I Swear!: When Thornhill takes the county detectives back to the house where Vandamm and his two goons had detained him. For instance, there are a lot of books where he remembered the henchmen getting a bottle of bourbon. | |
North by Northwest / int_e9269f72 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_e9269f72 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_e9269f72 | |
North by Northwest / int_e9f517e1 | type |
Artistic License – Geography | |
North by Northwest / int_e9f517e1 | comment |
Artistic License – Geography: Roger is seen driving on a treacherous, winding coastal road along cliffs several hundred feet high... in Long Island, New York! While there are some small cliffs in parts of Long Island, there is no scenery or road there anywhere approaching the type of landscape he was driving in, which was clearly modeled after the California coast. Though in another scene, the movie got it right: when Roger and his secretary are riding in a taxi from his Madison Avenue office to the Plaza Hotel, the view through the taxi's back window is the actual route a vehicle would take between the two locations. | |
North by Northwest / int_e9f517e1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_e9f517e1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_e9f517e1 | |
North by Northwest / int_ea38ddd5 | type |
Sissy Villain | |
North by Northwest / int_ea38ddd5 | comment |
Sissy Villain: Leonard refers to his suspicion of who the double-agent is as his "woman's intuition" and Vandamm comments that he thinks Leonard is jealous of his relationship with Eve. | |
North by Northwest / int_ea38ddd5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_ea38ddd5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_ea38ddd5 | |
North by Northwest / int_ea8de006 | type |
Traitor Shot | |
North by Northwest / int_ea8de006 | comment |
Traitor Shot: The film contains one of the more complicated uses of this trope. It's true that Eve is working for the villain, but she turns out to be a double agent who is actually working for the US government, and she tries to balance betraying Roger with keeping him safe. | |
North by Northwest / int_ea8de006 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_ea8de006 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_ea8de006 | |
North by Northwest / int_eadeb4d6 | type |
Climbing Climax | |
North by Northwest / int_eadeb4d6 | comment |
Climbing Climax: The final fight on Mount Rushmore. | |
North by Northwest / int_eadeb4d6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_eadeb4d6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_eadeb4d6 | |
North by Northwest / int_ebb3c390 | type |
Crash-Into Hello | |
North by Northwest / int_ebb3c390 | comment |
Crash-Into Hello: Roger and Eve meet this way on the train. Turns out this was all part of the plan. | |
North by Northwest / int_ebb3c390 | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_ebb3c390 | |
North by Northwest / int_ed503b22 | type |
Match Cut | |
North by Northwest / int_ed503b22 | comment |
Match Cut: One comes at the very end, as Roger goes from offering his hand to Eve on the cliff to pulling her onto the overhead bunk in a train cabin. | |
North by Northwest / int_ed503b22 | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest / int_ed503b22 | |
North by Northwest / int_edebe3c8 | type |
Plot-Based Voice Cancellation | |
North by Northwest / int_edebe3c8 | comment |
Plot-Based Voice Cancellation: The Professor explains the whole "George Kaplan" scenario to Thornhill at the airport, and his voice is drowned out by the roar of plane engines. This is actually a rather clever inversion of the trope, in that we the viewers already know about the stuff he's talking about, so making the conversation inaudible is sparing us from the redundancy. | |
North by Northwest / int_edebe3c8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_edebe3c8 | |
North by Northwest / int_f0e340fd | type |
Lost in the Maize | |
North by Northwest / int_f0e340fd | comment |
Lost in the Maize: The crop-duster attack takes place in and around an Indiana cornfield. | |
North by Northwest / int_f0e340fd | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_f0e340fd | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_f0e340fd | |
North by Northwest / int_f0e85546 | type |
Unbuilt Trope | |
North by Northwest / int_f0e85546 | comment |
Unbuilt Trope: This film was a huge inspiration on many spy films and series, such as James Bond and The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and yet seeing North by Northwest reveals a lot more original touches: Cary Grant as Roger Thornhill is The Everyman and not a super-spy. Likewise, espionage is generally treated realistically. Eve Kendall points out that she was a wealthy socialite who knew Vandamm in social occassions and the US Government turned her as a spy for them by largely continuing as his girlfriend and remaining close to him. Most espionage usually happens in social conditions and spies largely pose as civilians. It is the elaborate and baroque plot that really forces characters into action sequences. The film make it clear that a government spy agency, even the "good" guys, really do value the mission and intelligence gathering and they will be willing to let innocent people die rather than compromise the cover of their mission. Both the US government and Eve Kendall herself were willing to leave Roger to die by Van Damm's forces to better preserve Eve's cover. The only reason they resort to help Roger at the end, is because he's attracted too much heat and attention, and is phenomenally lucky as an Action Survivor. More importantly, Hitchcock and Lehman, denounce the entire profession of espionage and the Cold War. Roger Thornhill's main motivation in the final scene isn't stopping the Big Bad, it's rescuing Eve Kendall. Eve is the one who cares about the mission. The Big Bad gets captured, The Dragon gets killed by a random sergeant: | |
North by Northwest / int_f0e85546 | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest / int_f0e85546 | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_f0e85546 | |
North by Northwest / int_f1176f36 | type |
Second-Person Attack | |
North by Northwest / int_f1176f36 | comment |
Second-Person Attack: Happens twice. The first time occurs when Roger is knocked out by one of The Professor's men in the woods. The second time occurs when Leonard reveals to Vandamm that the gun Eve used contained blanks. Upon realizing this, an enraged Vandamm punches Leonard. | |
North by Northwest / int_f1176f36 | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_f1176f36 | |
North by Northwest / int_f16da697 | type |
Undying Loyalty | |
North by Northwest / int_f16da697 | comment |
Undying Loyalty: Eve Kendall has this for the US Government. She notes that she was a bored rich Socialite who was charmed by Vandamm until the Government told her about his shady past and recruited her. She tells Roger in their conversation outside Mount Rushmore, that she saw it as the first time she was doing something worthwhile. She is fully committed to her mission for the greater good and even after her cover is blown on learning the "Pumpkin" has the microfilm, she insists on recovering it first, at the cost of her life if need-be. | |
North by Northwest / int_f16da697 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_f16da697 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_f16da697 | |
North by Northwest / int_f1d6144a | type |
War Is Hell | |
North by Northwest / int_f1d6144a | comment |
War Is Hell: The Professor references this in a line to Thornhill towards the end: "War is hell, Mr. Thornhill, even when it's a cold one." | |
North by Northwest / int_f1d6144a | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_f1d6144a | |
North by Northwest / int_f247d841 | type |
Intoxication Ensues | |
North by Northwest / int_f247d841 | comment |
Intoxication Ensues: The first plan to kill Thornhill involves pouring a whole bottle of bourbon down his throat and trying to make it look like he killed himself drink-driving. Thornhill manages to escape, but, being extremely drunk, he almost collides with several motorists, then he overtakes a police car and gets arrested for drunk driving. | |
North by Northwest / int_f247d841 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_f247d841 | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_f247d841 | |
North by Northwest / int_f2d29e14 | type |
Evil Brit | |
North by Northwest / int_f2d29e14 | comment |
Evil Brit: Vandamm, as played by James Mason at his most coldly malicious. | |
North by Northwest / int_f2d29e14 | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest / int_f2d29e14 | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_f2d29e14 | |
North by Northwest / int_f4379d92 | type |
Double Reverse Quadruple Agent | |
North by Northwest / int_f4379d92 | comment |
Double Reverse Quadruple Agent: Eve. When Roger first meets her, she seems to be merely a smart and coy civilian woman who is not involved in Roger's whole mess and simply helps him out because she's attracted to him. Then we find out that she's actually working for Vandamm and is even his mistress. And then we find out that she's really working for the government and is actually The Mole in Vandamm's entourage. | |
North by Northwest / int_f4379d92 | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest / int_f4379d92 | featureConfidence |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_f4379d92 | |
North by Northwest / int_f511ea9b | type |
Product Placement | |
North by Northwest / int_f511ea9b | comment |
Product Placement: Northwest Airlines has a sign at Midway Airport. Which makes for a very subtle, nonverbal Title Drop: Thornhill and the Professor fly north by Northwest from Chicago to Rapid City. Also, a quick but clear shot of a Bergdorf Goodman label inside Eve Kendall's purse. | |
North by Northwest / int_f511ea9b | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest / int_f511ea9b | |
North by Northwest / int_f6f2ff1 | type |
Insult Backfire | |
North by Northwest / int_f6f2ff1 | comment |
Insult Backfire: During the auction scene, Thornhill loudly asserts that one painting up for bidding "looks like a fake." An annoyed woman sitting near him says, "You're no fake. You're a genuine idiot." To which Thornhill simply says, "Thank you." | |
North by Northwest / int_f6f2ff1 | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_f6f2ff1 | |
North by Northwest / int_fa6bfde9 | type |
Have a Gay Old Time | |
North by Northwest / int_fa6bfde9 | comment |
Have a Gay Old Time: During the scene where Vandamm meets with Thornhill at the Mount Rushmore cafeteria: | |
North by Northwest / int_fa6bfde9 | featureApplicability |
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North by Northwest / int_fa6bfde9 | |
North by Northwest / int_fada6ffa | type |
Lost in a Crowd | |
North by Northwest / int_fada6ffa | comment |
Lost in a Crowd: As his train arrives in Chicago, Roger evades detection by the waiting police by dressing as a redcap (railroad baggage handler) — by the time the police find the real redcap onboard without his uniform (which Roger paid him for), Roger has disappeared into a sea of redcaps. | |
North by Northwest / int_fada6ffa | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_fada6ffa | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_fada6ffa | |
North by Northwest / int_fdf7d23d | type |
Lady in Red | |
North by Northwest / int_fdf7d23d | comment |
Lady in Red: Eve wears a backless red dress when Thornhill confronts her after the crop-duster sequence, and during the auction scene. | |
North by Northwest / int_fdf7d23d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest / int_fdf7d23d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
North by Northwest | hasFeature |
North by Northwest / int_fdf7d23d | |
North by Northwest / int_ffad4e9f | type |
Shown Their Work | |
North by Northwest / int_ffad4e9f | comment |
Shown Their Work: When Thornhill and his secretary ride in a taxi from his Madison Avenue workplace to the Plaza Hotel, the rear-projected view shown through the back window is of the actual route between the two locations. Every location is north by northwest. For example, said Manhattan taxi ride, New York to Chicago and so on. | |
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North by Northwest |
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