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Three year before 007 made his heavy - screen debut inDr . No , Alfred Hitchcock lay the groundwork by make a movie occupy with James Bond DNA : North by Northwest . Cary Grant star as an advertising executive on the tally after a font of false indistinguishability . He is pursued by foreign undercover agent and falls for a mysterious adult female with ill-defined motives . The bright and exciting action - thriller is known for iconic sequences in which Grant , as Roger Thornhill , is chased by a harvest duster and battles the film ’s antagonists atop Mount Rushmore . One ofmany Hitchcock and Grant collaborations , North by Northwestwas a monolithic hit that clearly work what was to come in the character of popcorn entertainment and Britain ’s greatest super undercover agent .
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Hitchcock’sNorth by Northwestbecame a prototype for James Bond movies to come , particularly the first Sean Connery instalment . The fundamental fictitious character in the 1959 thriller is a suave case - fag out British man who is irresistible to women . He is charming and promptly - witted . The girl he pursues , Eve Kendall , played by Eva Marie Saint , is overly coquettish but is conceal her loyalty , which is a staple trait of nigh all Bond girls . The villain are also posh strange agents , chase after a MacGuffin , which in this case , is valuable microfilm . When all of these ingredients are put together , along with some spectacle like a few in force pursuit and crusade sequences , the result is a undercover agent thriller that could easily swap Connery andRoger Moore ’s variant of Bondin favor of Grant ’s Roger Thornhill .
The 2nd James Bond movie , 1963’sFrom Russia With Love , actually takes direct divine guidance fromNorth by Northwestwith its helicopter chase modeled after the latter ’s crop duster sequence , as well as its extensive train sequence . A lot of Hitchcock ’s picture also train place on a train , and the master key of suspense knows how to pass intensity out of such confined scenes . The biggest link betweenNorth by Northwestand the James Bond franchise , though , is Cary Grant . Because of his performance in Hitchcock ’s film , Grant was actually offer the 007 role before other actors , likeConnery , who come along in seven Bond movies . But a deal was not strike , since the wizard only wish to look in one installing as opposed to multiple subsequence .
Ultimately , it ’s hard to imagine James Bond film be withoutNorth by Northwest . While it ’s likely they would have been produced sometime in the sixties irrespective , it was this 1959 spy thriller that proved this type of motion picture could work and be an immense hit . Had it not befall , early Bond movies may have looked and felt up different or taken far longer to try and get hold their tone and style . Alfred Hitchcock followed upNorth by Northwestwith his most iconic and versed project , Psycho , but it was his over - the - top spy love undertaking that may just have had the biggest influence in cinema .
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