How to escape by auction bidding  

The movie

North by Northwest is a 1959 thriller movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The cast includes Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason.

The film, which is a typical Hitchcock film of the 1950s, is listed among the greatest films of all time.

The advertising executive Roger Thornhill (played by Grant) is in the Plaza Hotel’s Oak Room restaurant, New York City. He is mistaken for George Kaplan and kidnapped by two thugs who work for Phillip Vandamm, a Cold War spy (played by Mason).

After several adventurous scenes, Thornhill manages to survive but he becomes even more involved in unexpected complexities. Thornhill is considered to be the murderer of a United Nations Diplomat, who in fact was killed by the thugs.

Thornhill manages to take the train to Chicago where he meets Eve Kendall (played by Saint), a woman who works for Vandamm. She hides him from the police. They establish a relationship, and Thornhill does not know that Kendall works for Vandamm. The plot is unfolded with many adventurous scenes.

The scene

Thornhill, having understood that Kendall is not sincere to him, follows her. He manages to track her at an art auction. There he finds Vandamm who is purchasing a Mexican statue. Thornhill realizes that Vandamm’s thugs are placed all over the auction hall. As a result it will be very hard for him to escape.

Thornhill decides to take part in the auction. But he behaves abnormally. He breaks all the auction rules. He questions the authenticity of the art items and offers prices that are lower than the previous bid.

When the auction organizers try to take him out, he punches one of them, thus forcing the policemen to arrest him. He then asks the policemen “What took you so long?”.

This scene is really very enjoyable. It combines in the most perfect way what Hitchcock offered to the audience, i.e., suspense and humor. And yes, Cary Grant was the ideal star to play such a role.

North by Northwest has influenced the James Bond filmography, not to mention that Grant was also himself considered for playing James Bond. He would have been an ideal Bond.

The film has also influenced the subsequent action-thriller filmography.

One can see this movie again and again.

It is a must for a home cinema library.