Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 spy thriller North by Northwest is a wonderfully lighthearted cocktail of action, comedy, romance, intrigue, and suspense. Advertising executive (and committed bachelor) Roger Thornhill, played by the effortlessly charming and impeccably dressed Cary Grant, is mistaken for a secret agent in possession of government secrets worth killing for. Aided by the enchanting Eve Kendall, played by luminous Eva Marie Saint, Thornhill attempts to clear his name while fending off his dastardly pursuers.

North by Northwest is such a distillation of Hitchcockian cinema that it verges on self-parody. Bursting with confidence and style, North by Northwest is recognized as one of the most visually iconic films of all time. All pretence to narrative logic is summarily dropped in favour of staging one dazzling set-piece after another, crowned by a tour-de-force sequence atop Mount Rushmore. Hitchcock was at the height of his powers as a director here, and it shows.