North By Northwest Analysis

North by Northwest, is a 1959 American archetypal thriller film directed by auteur Alfred Hitchcock. This espionage neo-noir film follows protagonist Roger O.Thornhill who is mistaken for the fabricated George Kaplan. In an effort to clear his name, and demonstrate his guiltlessness, Thornhill is chased across the United States, and framed for the murder of U.N diplomat Lester Townsend. Thornhill is then forced to acquire Kaplan 's identity; whilst being confronted with a mysterious femme fatale named Eve Kendall. Through Hitchcock 's explicit usage of mis-en-scene and complex cinematic structures such as establishing shots, and point of view shots, this neo-noir film, draws intensely on the context of the 1950s era, by delivering stories

Hitchcock, who was an auteur renowned for casting cool, devious and manipulative women, cast Eva Saint, to take on the role of 'Eve Kendall ' in North By Northwest. More so, this added Saint to the allusive line of blondes in his films, as he perceived them as "the best victims" (Moral,2013). In North by Northwest, Eve 's character is portrayed as one that switches her role persistently, from being Thornhill 's apparent lover to Vandam 's accomplice and mistress. The initial scenes in the film, depict Eve as an elegant yet mysterious blonde who appears to be fairly innocuous; as Hitchcock was compelled to position the viewers into suspecting that she was guiltless from the beginning of the film. A

Hitchcock who had been influenced by an American journalist Otis. C. Guernsey, makes several references to the cold war in his film. The most notable reference in the neo-noir film is when Roger had stated; "If you fellas can 't lick the Vandam 's without asking girls like her (Eve) to bed down with them, fly away and never come back alive, then maybe you better start learning to lose a few cold wars". (shmoop,2018) In this scene, Thornhill objects to the lengths that Vandam goes in violating Eve 's safety, just to gain crucial information that will benefit other people. The scene at Vandam 's house, just before the climactic scene at Mount Rushmore, all the more delineates Eve 's character, as one that is under prominent threat with Vandam. When Thornhill is peering down at Eve who is in the living room below the second floor of Vandam 's house, Hitchcock alludes to the audience an imagery of Eve 's entrapment in a lower world that threatens to destroy her. All the more, Hitchcock, who was renowned for utilising popular mise-en-scène, utilises them to divert the viewer 's expectations, by imbuing them with segments of suspenseful danger. In the climactic scene at Mount Rushmore, Hitchcock displays a sense of human vulnerability in the melodramatic setting, by delineating people in conflict, against the backdrop of overpowering political forces. Additionally,