When Thornhill's abducted, he's about to send a telegram to his mother to remind her about their plans to go to the theater. This detail seems insignificant but turns out to provide an unexpected clue to the meaning of North by Northwest. How so? Well, even though Thornhill doesn't attend the performance he planned to attend, he does give a series of performances, each with higher stakes than the last. Sometimes he doesn't mean to be performing, but at other times (like when he lies to Eve Kendall about his identity when they first meet), he knows he's acting. The turning point in his journey comes when he knowingly agrees to act a part, accepting the Professor's request that he play the non-existent spy, George Kaplan.
Thornhill's no stranger to constructed reality—he's an ad man, after all.
Questions about Appearances
- What's the significance of Thornhill's plan to go to the theater with his mother?
- Why does Vandamm keep praising Thornhill for his "play-acting"?
- Who else plays parts in North by Northwest, besides Thornhill?
- Does the film suggest that performing is good, bad, or neither?
Chew on This
By emphasizing the role of "play-acting" in espionage, North by Northwest blurs the boundaries between art and life, film and politics.
North by Northwest suggests that appearances are deceiving, but also that there may be no reality apart from appearances. In other words, Hitchcock suggests that everything is appearance.