One of Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpieces, North by Northwest turned 60 recently. A tale of mistaken identity woven round Roger Thornhill essayed with aplomb by Cary Grant ably supported by James Mason and Eve Marie Saint the film tells the tale of an innocent man pursued across the United States by agents of a mysterious organisation trying to prevent him from blocking their plan to smuggle out microfilm which contains state secrets.
This is one of several Hitchcock films which feature a music score by Bernard Herrmann and an opening title sequence by graphic designer Saul Bass, and it is generally cited as the first to feature extended use of kinetic typography in its opening credits. The screenplay was by Ernest Lehman, who wanted to write “the Hitchcock picture to end all Hitchcock pictures”.