Great Moments From Cinema - 13

The Killer Pesticide
Movie: North By Northwest (MGM-USA; 1959)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Screenplay: Ernest Lehman
Major Cast: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, and James Mason

Film Synopsis: Cary Grant plays an executive who is mistaken for an international spy and is framed for murder of a diplomat. This sets up a thrilling cross-country chase culminating in an unforgettable sequence on top of Mt. Rushmore.

My Favorite Moment: Cary Grant in an open cornfield in Indiana, being chased by a crop-dusting plane.

Why I Like It: I cannot help but like a Hitchcock film. Only he can make a movie be suspenseful and yet entertaining at the same time. With this film, Hitchcock managed to combine an adventure through the heartland of America, the excitement of a chase, the suspense of an innocent man being framed and of course Cary Grant. This may not be his best film, but it is the one which never fails to draw an audience from the young to the old. A Saturday afternoon spectacle if there ever was one.

This particular scene has immaculate composition. A flat countryside, clear skies, roads winding down miles on both sides, and the solitary figure of Grant waiting by the roadside to meet a stranger. Another person approaches, but he is just a passenger waiting for the bus. He mentions something to Grant about the lone crop-dusting plane in the distance. Once he leaves, Grant is alone again and notices the plane getting too close for comfort following which, he is chased and shot at by this mysterious pilot. To see the polished Cary Grant run around and get his expensive suit dirty is a rare event worth seeing in any movie. The scene ends in a big explosion as the plane hits an oil tanker and Grant escapes by the skin of his teeth.

Cary Grant, a full 3 years before Sean Connery’s 'Bond', lends a certain element of gentlemanly sophistication to this predicament of a man about to be killed in the middle of nowhere. He is worried yes, but nevertheless graceful as he avoids the bullets as well as the plane itself by throwing himself in the dirt. Finally, as the tanker and the plane explode, thus causing passerby’s to stop; he is calm and collected as he steals a ride back to town.

The movie itself is supremely enjoyable; well any movie that has actors crawling on ex-President’s noses is a must-see. Eva Marie Saint plays the role of femme fatale to perfection and traveling through America has never been so much fun. The scene in question has been parodied in some movies, which is a tribute in itself. This remains my favorite Hitchcock movie and Grant’s immaculate dialogue delivery and one-liners are worth the price of admission by themselves. Each time I see a cornfield, either on screen or driving through one myself, I cannot help but think of this film.