Cary Grant was a major star for many reasons including his sardonic wit and his command of every scene. Even in his later years, gray hair didn't lessen his charm. In North By Northwest he plays a twice-divorced playboy who unwittingly gets tangled in a scheme involving government secrets and double agents. Grant was also in my second favorite Hitchcock film, Notorious. (Third favorite is Rear Window. Big drop-off after that.)
Grant's character Roger Thornhill attracts attention at the wrong time. He ends up being kidnapped in broad daylight and taken to a remote location to meet a crime boss, James Mason. He, like all of his henchmen, is well-mannered and impeccably dressed. He plans to kill the agent Thornhill is being mistaken for, but there's no need to be vulgar about it. When Thornhill can't provide information he doesn't have, he is forcefed a bottle of liquor (his choice - these villains are classy) before being set up for a convenient accident. His escape may make modern audiences cringe, but you do have to wonder... what he else could he have done?
He ends up arrested, gratefully, and attempts to clear his name. This lands him into even more trouble as soon he is the prime suspect in a murder. There's literally a photograph of him with a knife, so even a smooth-talking advertising man would have a hard time with this one. He hits the road, now trying to avoid both the police and the gangsters. This is the day of the evening newspaper, so his picture is all over the media. He figures his best bet is to take a train to where he believes the wanted agent is headed. It takes quite a bit of trickery just to get on the right train.
On the road he meets the enigmatic Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint). She always seems to know more than she lets on. She helps Roger evade the police more than once, toys with him during a dinner meetup that she set up, identifies him by name, and promises to take over his investigation once they reach their destination. He's too smart not to be suspicious but needs her information. After they get off the train, she arranges a meeting between Roger and the man he's looking for in the middle of nowhere in Indiana. This leads to one of the most famous scenes in the movie - usually on the cover of the DVD. ("That plane's dusting crops where there ain't no crops.") Why go to all that trouble to kill one guy? Who cares? It's a movie... just watch.
Roger continues to outsmart the gangsters, even getting arrested when needed to get out of a jam. Eventually he draws the attention of the FBI, who have been impressed that he has lived this long. He finally gets a picture of what is going on and why the criminals want him dead. That's as far as I'll go describing the plot. Unlike dramas, giving away too much of a Hitchcock film really can ruin the fun of watching it. Suffice it to say, the final half hour is worth all of the build-up... and Grant never stops the one-liners.
If there's one drawback to the film, and there is, it's the tepid chemistry between Roger and Eve. It's excusable the first time, as they are still playing each other. But even after they're both fully aware, it's not much better. Didn't matter much to me. Anyone who goes to a Hitchcock film for romance hasn't done their homework. But I could see why fans of Cary Grant might be let down. It helps to know that Eva Marie Saint was much better in On the Waterfront from 1954. She really isn't as cold as she was here.
A caper film like this is a balancing act. There has to be enough danger involved and the protagonist has to use some skill to get by. It can't just be luck or pursuer's incompetence. That's what makes North By Northwest so memorable. Thornhill doesn't want to be a hero. All he wants is his next martini. That he's able to save himself and others with just his wits and his skills as an ad man is pretty remarkable. And it's classic Hitchcock.