North by Northwest

Perhaps Hitchcock’s most consistently entertaining movie, this romantic thriller comprises many of his most memorable set-pieces. Thanks to a paging announcement, New York advertising man Roger O Thornhill (Grant) falls victim to a deadly case of mistaken identity; to clear his name and stay alive, he leaves town, first for Chicago, then South Dakota. En route, protection from his pursuers is provided by the intriguingly named Eve (Marie Saint). Famous for superb scenes set in claustrophobic or agoraphobic locations – the UN building, a crop field, an auction room, Mount Rushmore – the film charts Thornhill’s progress from cynical detachment (the ‘O’ stands for ‘nothing’) through vulnerability to commitment. Witty, impudent, suspenseful, this is Hollywood filmmaking at its most urbane and glamorous.