The Making of North by Northwest

I watched the “Making of North by Northwest” documentary included, narrated by Eva Marie Saint. Many of the anecdotes I had heard before, but some were new to me.

Here are a couple of them:

— Hitchcock was denied permission to shoot at or around the UN Building. So there’s a couple of master shots — one of Cary Grant getting out of a cab and walking up the steps to go inside – and one of the two thugs following him. They filmed this secretly – just like really low-budget films do today, when they don’t have the money to get permission. Hitchcock hid across the street in the back of a cleaning-supply truck he had rented, and then Cary Grant would do his thing from all the way across the street, as Hitchcock filmed it. So the people on the steps, coming and going, are not extras, but actual real people who work at the UN. I heard a couple of stories of people recognizing Cary Grant as he did his 2-second walk up the steps, not realizing that a movie was being filmed. Hitchcock still got his shot, even though he was denied permission.

— Hitchcock only gave Eva Marie Saint 3 pieces of direction:
1. Keep your voice low.
2. Always look directly at him.
3. Stop moving your hands so much.

— In the crop-duster scene: Cary Grant gets off the bus, and stands on that lonely highway. 8 minutes go by before anything happens. It’s extraordinary how absolutely NOTHING can be filled with so much tension and ominous anticipation.

— In the dinner on the train scene: Eve Kendall had this line: “I never make love on an empty stomach.” The studio thought this was a bit racy (even though Roger Thornhill moments before has his line about, “I don’t like beautiful women, because the second I meet one, I have to pretend I don’t want to make love to her …”) Maybe that’s a bit more oblique, and Eve’s line is an out-and-out proposition. Or maybe it’s because he’s a man and she’s a woman, and women aren’t supposed to talk like that. Bah. Anyway, the studio said No to that, but the scene was already shot, and done – so they called Eva Marie Saint back, and had her dub “I never discuss love on an empty stomach” over that original. But if you watch it with the sound turned down, it is so obvious what she is REALLY saying.

— They also were denied permission to shoot at Mount Rushmore. The Department of the Interior didn’t like the thought of people murdering one another across a national monument. Hitchcock was disappointed – but they ended up building replicas back in the Studio – and also massive set paintings as backdrop – which, honestly, are probably better than the original would have been. Because Hitchcock could control the images a bit more, he could create the angles he wanted to create … Really an amazing piece of production design. Blows my mind.

— Cary Grant thought the right side of his face far superior to his left. (Because of his small mole on the left-hand side). If you look at studio shots of him, or publicity photos – they usually favor the right side of his face. Once he became a massive star, he could control all of that – HE was the one who dictated to cinematographers, photographers, etc., how he would be portrayed. He had his say in everything: wardrobe, lighting, camera angles. That’s the prerogative of being a huge star. But anyway: if you notice: In North by Northwest he is almost ALWAYS on the left-hand side of the screen. Think of every big scene, and you’ll see it’s true. In any face-to-face scene, he’s on the left-hand side, because that would then present the right-side of his face to the camera.

— And finally: you know the scene in the tourist cafeteria at Mount Rushmore where Eve shoots Roger? Well, Eva Marie Saint pointed something very funny out: In the background of the scene, are tourists having lunch. About 2 or 3 seconds BEFORE she pulls the gun and shoots Roger, you can see a little boy in the background put his fingers in his ears. hahahaha He obviously knew the shot was coming, because this was the 3rd or 4th take. Here’s the image: look back and to the right, and there’s a little boy, with a blue shirt, fingers in his ears. Funny.

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