North by Northwest (1959)

We return to the works of master storyteller Alfred Hitchcock for our this pairing, beginning with another of his iconic thrillers! Under Hitchcock's steady director's hand, and written by Ernest Lehman, 1959's "North by Northwest" is a blur of tale revolving around mistaken identity. Advertising executive Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) is kidnapped and delivered to a stately country home. He is there introduced to Lester Townsend (James Mason) and his valet Leonard (Martin Landau). Addressing Thornhill as "Mr. Kaplan," Townsend and Leonard accuse him of being someone he is not, and for actions he has never taken. After escaping their attempt to kill him, he returns to the scene of the attempt the following day, only to be told none of the previous evening's activities actually happened. This begin a twising and turning path to the truth that takes Thornhill from New York to Chicago to the farmlands of Illinois. Along the way he meets a charming but mysterious woman, Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint) who may or may not be part of the conspiracy to convince the world that Thornhill is Kaplan, and responsible for dire events that were, in all actuality, not perpetrated by Thornhill (or Kaplan)! The third act of the film is Hitchcock at his finest, weaving in and around three different shell-games all taking place simultaneously! Also starring Leo G. Carroll, Jessie Royce Landis, Joselphine Hutchinson, and Edward Platt!