'North by Northwest' trivia and fun facts
#55
In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked this as the #55 Greatest Movie of All Time.
James Stewart's disappointment
While filming 'Vertigo', Alfred Hitchcock described some of the plot of this project to frequent Hitchcock leading man and 'Vertigo' star James Stewart, who naturally assumed that the director meant to cast him in the Roger Thornhill role, and was eager to play it. Actually, Hitchcock wanted Cary Grant to play the role. By the time Hitchcock realized the misunderstanding, Stewart was so anxious to play Thornhill that rejecting him would have caused a great deal of disappointment. So Hitchcock delayed production on 'North by Northwest' until Stewart was already safely committed to filming Otto Preminger's 'Anatomy of a Murder' before "officially" offering him the role. Stewart had no choice; he had to turn down the offer, allowing Hitchcock to cast Grant, the actor he had wanted all along.
Cary Grant Scrooge
While on location at Mt. Rushmore, Eva Marie Saint discovered that Cary Grant would charge fans 15 cents for an autograph.
On the left
Thornhill appears on the left side of the screen for almost the entire movie.
Aren't you too old?
Cary Grant was initially reluctant to accept the role of Roger Thornhill since at 55 he was much older than the character.
The last time
This is the only film Alfred Hitchcock made for MGM.