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From a murder at the United Nations to a climactic battle on the giant stone faces of four U.S. presidents, North by Northwest has been thrilling audiences with its improbable but highly entertaining story for nearly 60 years. Released in 1959, it was one of a string of hits for Alfred Hitchcock, who had just scored with The Man Who Knew Too Much and Vertigo and would next strike gold with Psycho. Watch out for that crop duster and enjoy these behind-the-scenes facts about an enduring classic.
1. IT WAS CONCEIVED WHILE ITS WRITER AND DIRECTOR WERE SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING ON SOMETHING ELSE.
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MGM hired Ernest Lehman (Sweet Smell of Success) to write the movie version of a novel called The Wreck of the Mary Deare, with Alfred Hitchcock assigned to direct. But Lehman got stuck on the adaptation and told Hitch he needed to find a new writer. Hitchcock, who liked working with Lehman, said, “I have this other idea …” He’d been working on a story where a man is mistaken for a spy (who turns out not to exist), and about doing a chase sequence across Mount Rushmore. Hitchcock and Lehman developed North by Northwest from there but neglected to tell MGM that they’d changed courses. When the studio bosses found out, they wisely let Hitch and Lehman do their own thing and reassigned The Wreck of the Mary Deare, which came out a few months after North by Northwest.
2. THE MOVIE WOULDN’T HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT BERNARD HERRMANN.
The legendary film composer, a Hitchcock collaborator since 1955’s The Trouble with Harry, is the one who introduced Hitchcock to Ernest Lehman, thinking they’d hit it off. They did.
3. JAMES STEWART WANTED TO PLAY THE LEAD.
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Stewart had been in four Hitchcock movies at this point, and he wanted North by Northwest to be the fifth. But while Hitch loved him, he didn’t think he was right for the glibly debonair Roger Thornhill. He wanted Cary Grant for the part. Not wanting to hurt Stewart’s feelings, Hitchcock waited until Stewart was committed to another film (Bell, Book and Candle) before casting the role.
4. CARY GRANT HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS GOING ON.
The star found the screenplay baffling, and midway through filming told Hitchcock, “It’s a terrible script. We’ve already done a third of the picture and I still can’t make head or tail of it!” Hitchcock knew this confusion would only help the film—after all, Grant’s character had no idea what was going on, either. Grant thought the film would be a flop right up until its premiere, where it was rapturously received.
5. PART OF IT WAS SHOT SECRETLY.
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You wouldn’t expect Hitchcock to have to sneak around, but even the Master of Suspense was no match for the United Nations, which did not allow filming at its New York headquarters, not even in the plaza outside. So to get the shot where Grant walks into the building, Hitchcock hid a camera in a nondescript truck and filmed in secret from across the street.
6. ALFRED HITCHCOCK OFFENDED THE POLICE.
Cinematographer Robert Burks recalled how the director, frustrated with the inefficiency and costliness of paying for police protection again and again when shooting on location, referred to New York’s finest as “New York’s worst” in an interview. Well, when the crew arrived at their next location, The Plaza Hotel, there was no police protection. That’s what you get, Hitch.
