Alfred Hitchcock Double Feature!

So, I'm setting a goal for myself to watch all of Hitchcock's American films ... I have still yet to find a definite list, but I managed to watch two of them this week.

North By Northwest (1959) - Cary Grant stars as Roger Thornhill, an advertising executive, who is having a lunch meeting at a hotel. While he steps away to make a phone call, he is kidnapped at gunpoint by two men. The two men take him to a mansion where he is confronted by Vandamm (James Mason). It is soon discovered by Thornhill that he is being mistaken for a man named George Kaplan. Thornhill denies he is Kaplan, and yet you know that Vandamm and his gang won't believe him. They end up pinning him down and pouring alcohol down his throat, making him drunk, forcing him into a stolen car to make some sort of accident take place. Instead, Thornhill hits a police car where he is taken into custody. He tells them what happened, but no one believes his far fetched story. The story continues to be a pretty good game of cat and mouse, with Thornhill escaping the law and running from the bad guys yet trying to figure out the mess he's in all at once.

We've all seen the famous scene of Grant running from the plane in the fields, probably a thousand times. However, seeing it in the context of the movie and plot, it still gave me chills. I guess that's why it's so famous.

The dialouge was witty; which i enjoyed. Grant seems to play his role as if "well, aren't I just in deep shit and confused as fuck - might as well have a sense of humor about it." He had some good one liners and comebacks.

Eva Marie Saint was Grant's love interest. At first you think she's such a whore (sure, I always hook up with random guys on trains too) but when you find out her true intentions she still didn't play a character I found to be believable. I don't know. She just left me cold.

Dial M For Murder (1954) - Wasn't as enjoyable to me as other Hitchcock films. You know I was about halfway throught the movie before I realized I had watched it before???? Crazy. Anyway, it stars Ray Milland, Grace Kelly and Bob Cummings. I found the story a bit unbelievable ... I couldn't see why someone as beautiful as Kelly's character would be in love with BOTH Milland & Cummings. I didn't find the story that creditible ... it was more of a drama than a suspense flick. Let's just say it wasn't my cup of tea.