12:40 AM
Many years after his passing, Albert Hitchcock is still held in high esteem by many individuals who are enthusiastic about the movies and one of his biggest contributions to theatre was the thriller.
Perhaps Hitchcock's high point in this category was North By Northwest, which was released in 1959 and stared Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. The plot centres round the mistaken identity of an advertising executive who is drawn into the shady arena of espionage and undercover organisations. It is no wonder when the film was initially released that James Bond writer Ian Fleming saw the film was a prototype for putting 007 on the big screen, which regardless of efforts on his part, had so far didn't materialise.
In fact following North By Northwest Hitchcock became concerned in consultations about a potential Bond Movie, while it finally fell though. It took Albert "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman to form their corporations EON Productions and Danjaq before a Bond film went into production and Doctor No was released in 1962..
While the early James Bond films were spy thrillers in the line of North By Northwest in some respects, more recent additions to the series became action flicks.
North By Northwest has a few classic moments, including the screen when Roger Thornhill, played by Cary Grant, is attacked by a crop-duster plane. The film also includes a finale on Mount Rushmore, where the faces of one or two American presidents have be carved into the rock face - George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
The film was terrifically successful, both commercially and critically when it was initially released and influenced thrillers that came after it, including the early Bonds. It remains to be seen if the next film - rumoured to be called Skyfall - will be more in the line of a thriller.
Perhaps Hitchcock's high point in this category was North By Northwest, which was released in 1959 and stared Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason. The plot centres round the mistaken identity of an advertising executive who is drawn into the shady arena of espionage and undercover organisations. It is no wonder when the film was initially released that James Bond writer Ian Fleming saw the film was a prototype for putting 007 on the big screen, which regardless of efforts on his part, had so far didn't materialise.
In fact following North By Northwest Hitchcock became concerned in consultations about a potential Bond Movie, while it finally fell though. It took Albert "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman to form their corporations EON Productions and Danjaq before a Bond film went into production and Doctor No was released in 1962..
While the early James Bond films were spy thrillers in the line of North By Northwest in some respects, more recent additions to the series became action flicks.
North By Northwest has a few classic moments, including the screen when Roger Thornhill, played by Cary Grant, is attacked by a crop-duster plane. The film also includes a finale on Mount Rushmore, where the faces of one or two American presidents have be carved into the rock face - George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
The film was terrifically successful, both commercially and critically when it was initially released and influenced thrillers that came after it, including the early Bonds. It remains to be seen if the next film - rumoured to be called Skyfall - will be more in the line of a thriller.
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For more information on the James Bond films including up to date Bond 23 news see The James Bond Dossier.
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