Scene Analysis: North by Northwest

The Shooting Scene: North by Northwest

In the film North by Northwest (1959), directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is about a successful new york advertiser is accused of being a government agent by a iniquitous group of spies, who pursue him cross country while he tries to stay alive and clean up the mess that’s been made. There is a superb use of mise-en-scene within this film, especially the gun shot scene, that catch the viewers attention, and make a much more noteworthy movie.
The significance of the gunshot scene in the café, at Mt. Rushmore in the film North by Northwest played a crucial role in the remainder of the movie and the events to come. At that point Phillip Vandamm had only one obstacle left in his way when it came to his flee from the country that night, and that was Roger Thornhill. So once Miss Kendall “shot” Thornhill, Vandamm didn’t have to worry about any type of exchange for the information, or worry about his plan being exposed. Also if there were any doubt in Miss Kendall’s loyalty to Vandamm, they were probably gone after she “shot” the man who was getting in the middle of everything, especially their lustful relationship. Its one of the more suspenseful scenes in the movie, and very unexpected. So it makes for an attention-grabbing turn of events. It is then apparent, that there was some type of planning before hand involved between Thornhill, the professor, and Miss Kendall, to devise the fake shooting. This scene contributes heavily to the central theme of the film, because it goes to show that Thornhill obviously cares a lot about Miss Kendall, otherwise he wouldn’t be putting himself through this when he wasn’t even guilty in the first place. Miss Kendall acted along with it all and continued the fake act that she didn’t want anything to do with this man (Thornhill), although they both knew how they really felt.

The visual and special aspects of the setting are astounding. The entire scene happens within the café, which is surrounded by spacious windows, exposing the picturesque landscape of Mt. Rushmore. This indicates that it is a high concept film. There is significance found in each of the characters costumes that identifies their personas as well, acting as symbols and motifs. Roger is always dressed in a nice grey suit, with a white collard shirt, and a tie, with his hair slicked to the side. Representing his businesslike/cunning lifestyle. Eve Kendall is always dressed in a dress and coat of some sort accompanied by heels, with accessories to add, and her hair up in pin curls. Her style of clothing represents her gorgeous looks and manipulating qualities. Miss Kendall is wearing black in this scene, which could very well represent her internal state; disordered and emotionally unstable.

There use of balance and symmetry within this scene is very well used. When Miss Kendall pulls her gun, the two of them are perfectly symmetrical in the middle of the frame, which is an open frame, but then they scatter and the placement of the two characters becomes uneven, suggesting chaos and conflict, which is surely the case. The composition of the frame when she shoots the gun, suggest that she has more power over Roger, because she is at the top of the frame, while he is lying at the bottom after being shot.

In the studied scene, a couple characters undergo tremendous physical as well as emotional changes to attain a goal. Roger Thornhill fell victim to a shooting in the café, in front of a large crowd, that included Vandamm, his posy, the professor, and Miss Kendall. Both of whom are stars on the screen, and act as method actors. From the audiences point of view, it would seem that Mr. Thornhill, went through an emotional change when Miss Kendall was very stand offish and didn’t want anything to do with him talking to her, and then she pulled the gun and the expression on his face clearly showed he was stunned and hurt, yet angry at the same time. Obviously it seemed that he underwent a physical change when he was shot and thought to be dead. For anyone who didn’t know about the plan, it was probably a shocking and horrific event to witness. As far as Miss Kendall is concerned to the observer of it all, she underwent some emotional changes when she shot him, she was dumbfounded and petrified about what she had just done, she stormed out of the café crying and screaming! The professor seemed alarmed as well, when he motioned that Thornhill was dead in front of the large crowd gathering around. Vandamm and his partner, were stunned and confused at what had just took place in front of them, you could tell they didn’t exactly know how to react, emotionally detached from it all. The bystanders and surrounding crowd watching the whole thing were clearly afraid and frantic initially after the shots, and quickly gathered around the scene in curiosity and concern for Mr. Thornhill. When the professor tends to Mr. Thornhill's care, and looks up at the crowd, you can see grief and disbelief on his face. You could tell by their facial and verbal expression that they were in disbelief. The goal they were trying to obtain was mutual. As far as the professor, Roger, and Miss Kendall were concerned; they were trying to stage the death of Roger, in order to make the escape seem more attainable for Vandamm and his crew. And to make it easier for them in the long run to save Miss Kendall from having to leave with him, and hopefully catching Vandamm red handed in his illegalities against the government. The entire room went silent when Miss Kendall pulled the gun, and everyone just stopped what they were doing and stared. Accompanied by non-diegetic sound, portraying the mood of the devastating and surprising event that just took place.

Miss Kendall’s emotional make up somewhat defines the films primary conflict in a way. Her emotions are what started the whole mess anyway, and the underlying plot of hers and Mr. Thornhill's romance. She was smitten by Roger Vandamm the first night she saw him at a party, and fell into a relationship with him. It wasn’t until after her emotions were involved that the professor came to her and informed her of the details about Mr. Vandamm and how she could be a very useful tool in their hands. This same emotional attachment was displayed again my Miss Kendall when she met Roger. She was easily swept off her feet by him, and they were very intimate from the beginning of their relationship, leaving feelings on the line and emotions to be dealt with through the entire scandal. This type of emotional attachment develops the underlying plot of the film, when she ends up doing all she can to either help out Roger for his own good, whether he knows it or not, or get back to him.

This film employs a somewhat cultural phenomenon to develop the story, boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, conflict arises, boy has to chase girl, boy ends up fighting off bad guys to get to the girl, boy ends up with girl in the end, and all is well! With the exception of a few particular turn of events that add to the storyline. This is a very common approach seen in films. We don’t notice it al lot of the time because the events and underlying plots are so different from each other, especially when it comes to the little details, such as actors/actresses, music selection, the type of conflict, location, and everything else that plays into a film. They are all so different! North by Northwest, exhibits the cultural phenomenon of the basic love story. It develops through a series of events through out the film, that leads the viewer to think otherwise, but then events are tied together, to bring the viewer back to the typical love story conclusion. I think the position adopted by this film on this particular cultural phenomenon is that it’s accepted and lifelike. The innocent Roger Thornhill, is taken and accused of being someone he is not, and along the way unknowingly falls in love with a girl that is tied into it all, putting him in the middle of all the chaos, and when he thinks he is finally free, he finds out the truth about his love, and decides he needs to go through with the rest of the plan and try to save her and catch the bad guys. He ends up being the hero, and they so to speak, “live happily ever after”, and justice is served.