Ever since I was a little kid Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest has been a thrill ride that I always love taking a ride on.

Not only an influential thriller, its a high stakes espionage caper and a beautiful romantic adventure that continues to prove Hitchcock’s genius to film lovers even decades after its release in 1959.

The movie follows Roger O. Thornhill (the O stands for nothing) played by Cary Grant as a suave and playful advertising executive who gets caught in a deadly game of espionage after a case of mistaken identity. What follows is a daring escape from his kidnappers by a comically inebriated Grant along stormy ocean cliff sides, a cat and mouse train ride, a chase across the face of Mount Rushmore and much, much more. During the iconic opening titles designed by no other than graphic design legend Saul Bass we hear the first rumble of Bernard Herrmann’s pulse pounding score and we immediately know we’re in for something special.

For me, movies today never have the great openings of Hitchcock’s movies, that start with an authoritative voice and make you sit back and know that for the next two hours, you are in the hands of a master story teller. From the crowded streets of Manhattan to the sprawling cornfields of the Midwest, Hitchcock masterfully orchestrates tension, romance and suspense like no other director. Every scene builds on the tension of the last, whether it’s the unsettling calm before the crop-duster attack or the nerve-shattering climax atop Mount Rushmore Hitchcock draws us in, grabs us by the heart strings and never lets go. One of my favourite things about North by Northwest is Hitchcock’s ability to inject a light-heartedness into the most dangerous of situations. Cary Grant’s Roger Thornhill is a character facing death at every turn, yet he handles it with a tongue in check sense of humour and self deprecating wit, Grant delivers a great performance, elevating the film’s action with his humour and charisma. Its no wonder he came out of retirement to take on such a role as it seems that he was built to play this part. The chemistry between Grant and Eva Marie Saint, who plays the mysterious Eve Kendall, is also wonderful. Their sexy and provocative love scenes are filled with a seductive intrigue that keeps you guessing all the way through, who is holding all the cards. I can’t imagine a better suited actress in the role. Watching as a kid, this blend of romance and suspense seemed sophisticated and I knew I was watching a filmmaker that not only was a technical genius, but he was smart as heck and capable of thrilling audiences in the most stylish way possible, appealing to all of our senses. There’s still no one who has mastered this like Hitchcock. For all of the legendary Hitchcock glamour and charm that he put into the movie, as with all of his work, the film is a technical marvel. Its the work of a filmmaker who leaves nothing to chance and knows the camera movement, lens, depth of field and framing long before he calls action on set. The iconic crop duster chase when Grant is accosted by an aeroplane while on a quiet country rode is proof of Hitchcock’s genius, playing with our expectations by placing the action in broad daylight and out in the open, which when the action starts thrills us, as we know Grant has no where to run. Hitchcock was a master at inventing new ways to keep us on the edge of our seats.

The film came from Hitchcock’s ambition to create a chase film on a huge scale, a cross country adventure filled with daring escapes and iconic locations. But at its centre is the one thing Hitchcock always came back to in his stories, the innocent man or wrong man thriller that he revisited throughout his career. Writer Ernest Lehman said Hitchcock told me “I always wanted to do a thriller where a man is talking at the united nations and says ‘I refuse to continue until the delegate from Peru wakes up’ and when they reach over to wake him up, there is a knife in his back” and from that basic idea North By Northwest was born. North by Northwest is one of Hitchcock’s most entertaining thrillers. Its a masterful mix of suspense, humour and romance that was designed to tick all the right boxes by a filmmaker at the top of his game. In an era where thrillers often rely on puzzling the audience and grossing us out with horrific crime stories and disturbing special effects, North by Northwest is a reminder that true tension lies in storytelling. Hitchcock knew how to play his audience like he was conducting an orchestra, each scene building to an unforgettable crescendo.

For anyone out there in The Boneyard looking for a truly classic cinematic experience, this film is a journey worth taking time and time again.