Bring on the tough stuff. There’s not just one right answer.
- What kind of a hero is Roger Thornhill? Is he the kind of hero we imagine will be at the center of a spy movie? If so, what qualities make him seem heroic? If not, what makes him different from the hero we'd expect?
- What about the film's villains? Do they seem like typical spy-movie bad guys and gals? Why or why not?
- What is the significance of Thornhill's relationship with his mother? Why does she disappear from the film so early on, and who (if anyone) takes her place?
- For a spy movie about international intrigue (fun fact: in Italian, the film was released as Intrigo internazionale), North by Northwest is remarkable for remaining within the confines of the continental US. Though far flung, the film's settings are all domestic, not international. What do you make of this apparent contradiction?
- Another riddle-us-this contradiction: the plot of North by Northwest has been called implausible in the extreme—"breathtakingly slender" in one critic's phrase. And yet the film is almost universally admired by serious film lovers. How can a film be great and yet depend on the flimsiest of narrative pretexts?