Overview
A man caught in a web of espionage must navigate a deadly game of deception and survival.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- suspenseful
- urbane
- classic movie night
- hitchcock marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly regard it as a gripping, stylish, visually iconic, and highly entertaining late-period Hitchcock thriller.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Advertising executive Roger Thornhill becomes the target of spies because they believe he is George Kaplan.
The crop-duster sequence turns an empty rural road and field into an iconic arena of vulnerability.
Thornhill’s relationship with Eve Kendall is shaped by secrecy, mistaken assumptions, and espionage.
Thornhill’s advertising-man persona offers no protection after he is framed for murder and pursued by police and spies.
Films like North by Northwest, and why
The 39 Steps
shared mistaken identity, espionage, witty romance, and escalating cross-country pursuit
Charade
shared elegant spy intrigue, romantic tension, visual suspense, and urbane humor
The Wrong Man
shared Hitchcockian paranoia, false accusation, psychological uncertainty, and suspenseful pursuit
To Catch a Thief
shared glamorous espionage, double deception, and romance threaded through danger
Movie Details
- Director
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Release Date
- 1959-08-06
- Runtime
- 137 min
- Rating
- 8.0 / 10 (4655)
Cast
- Cary Grant
- Eva Marie Saint
- James Mason
- Jessie Royce Landis
- Leo G. Carroll
- Josephine Hutchinson
- Philip Ober
- Martin Landau
- Adam Williams
- Edward Platt
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, YouTube TV
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is North by Northwest about?
- An urbane advertising executive becomes a fugitive in a lethal espionage conspiracy built on mistaken identity, deception, and spectacular escapes.
- What is North by Northwest like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of North by Northwest as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is North by Northwest violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in North by Northwest as mild.
- What did critics think of North by Northwest?
- Critics broadly regard it as a gripping, stylish, visually iconic, and highly entertaining late-period Hitchcock thriller.
- Which films are like North by Northwest?
- Films with a similar feel include The 39 Steps, Charade, The Wrong Man, and To Catch a Thief.
- How long is North by Northwest?
- North by Northwest runs 137 minutes.
- Where can I watch North by Northwest?
- In United States, North by Northwest streams on Philo, YouTube TV.
