User:Stephenfisher2001/sandbox/NBN

North by Northwest is a 1959 American spy thriller film produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, and James Mason. The screenplay was by Ernest Lehman, who wanted to write "the Hitchcock picture to end all Hitchcock pictures".

Plot
In 1958, an ad-man becomes involved in a bewildering cross-country chase involving enemy spies, the police, and a beautiful woman.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) TBA.

Trivia

 * Alfred Hitchcock initially considered Jimmy Stewart for the role of Roger Thornhill but concluded that his demeanor was too serious. Eventually he had cast Cary Grant in the part.
 * Cyd Charisse was considered for the character of Eve Kendall, but Hitchcock preferred Eva Marie Saint, who ultimately won the role.
 * The famous crop-dusting scene originated from Hitchcock wanting the opposite of standard espionage dramas. Typically, the hero in jeopardy is on a dark city street with danger behind every corner – but the character Roger Thornhill was instead placed in a completely open field, in broad daylight, with no avenue of escape or cover.
 * Alfred Hitchcock used hidden cameras to photograph Cary Grant and Adam Williams walking up the steps to the entrance of the U.N. building. The production designer was allowed to tour and sketch the inside of the building, but filming was prohibited in and outside of the U.N.
 * Cary Grant expressed confusion about the film’s plot, saying he found it unclear and implausible. He worried that the film was going to be a flop, but that changed when he saw the audience’s reaction to the movie.
 * The U.S. Department of the Interior was not pleased with the scenes of violence that take place at and around Mount Rushmore. They complained to MGM and the MPAA that the scenes were a violation of their agreement and requested that any acknowledgment of cooperation by the U.S. Department of the Interior or the National Park Service for these scenes be removed.
 * Alfred Hitchcock wanted a scene in which Roger Thornhill is hiding inside Abraham Lincoln’s nose on Mount Rushmore and is found out when he has a sneezing fit? Due to the objections of the U.S. government, they were not allowed to have anyone over the faces of Mount Rushmore, and the characters had to slide down the side of the heads.