Great Scene: “North by Northwest”

It was one of the scenes which inspired Hitchcock to make the movie.

I’m sure there are Hitchcock experts out there who can correct me if I’m wrong, but I seem to recall that the genesis of North by Northwest (1959), the classic thriller written by Ernest Lehman and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, began with two images from Hitchcock’s imagination: A chase scene atop Mt. Rushmore and the crop duster chase scene. The latter is today’s Great Scene.

A few things:

• First, note how closely the movie tracks per the script, almost shot for shot. Hitchcock was known for blocking out his movies, every shot beforehand — this sequence supports that point.