Creation Of Suspense In Alfred Hitchcock’s Film North By Northwest

The film “North by Northwest” by Alfred Hitchcock is an intriguing and captivating movie as shown by its sequel of events. Hitchcock is a renowned filmmaker known for his movies which captivate the audience by impacting great suspense. North by Northwest’s most noticeable facets are from the unbelievable camera work and techniques. The film employs specific camera techniques throughout the film so as to create a feeling of danger and suspense. The medium shots, close-up shots, shot-reverse-shots, and establishing shots all play an important role in conveying the suspense to the audience while also creating continuity and adding a plausible element. These camera techniques that are used in North by Northwest help promote the feeling of suspense by which this film is best known for. Without the diverse use of camera techniques throughout the film, the feeling of suspense which has been generated by the environment and the characters’ interaction with the environment would be lacking.

The shot that most caught my attention was from the scene of the art auction. I believe it to be quite shrewd and interesting. The scene starts off with a musical passage as Thornhill is entering the building, this helps to create a smooth transition instead of stopping and starting again. The camera then cuts to a close-up of a gentlemen’s hand dominating around a lady’s back, neck, and shoulder. This signifies the man’s masculinity and control that he has over this woman that is equivocal. The part of the scene almost reminds me of a puppet show, with Vandamm’s hand starting off with a gentle stroke of Eve’s back to his hand clasping onto her neck and maneuvering the direction of her head for a moment in the scene. During this particular shot, the camera starts to zoom out only to discover the man caressing the woman’s back and neck is Vandamm, and the lady sitting is Eve. The camera then starts panning over the crowd revealing that they are at an auction. The camera continues to pan and lands right on Thornhill standing in the entrance way. Thornhill then goes and addresses Vandamm, Leonard, and Eve, which instantly causes Eve to feel very uncomfortable revealing the worry in her eyes. Eve is now surrounded by three men – she is concealed and represented as weak and small. The art auction scene is a ‘set piece’ which is a technique continuously used by Hitchcock in his films, as he tries to include three of them in every movie. The ‘set piece’ is usually in a particular closed setting which forms and/or responds to certain questions, and leads to a pinnacle represented visually on screen, and often a turning point in the story, which sometimes leaves the protagonist in a precarious situation.

I was most interested in the very beginning of the scene that includes a close-up shot of Vandamm rubbing/stroking Eve’s back and neck. This gives the impression of possession, with Vandamm establishing that Eve is his woman. You can hear the auctioneer in the background, and at this point the viewers are unaware of whose hand is resting and caressing upon Eve’s back. Hitchcock employs a crane shot with the audience finally allowing the audience to recognize that it is Vandamm and Eve taking part in an auction. The camera then withdraws from the close-up shot of the back of Eve’s neck with the camera panning out into an establishing shot of the room. The camera continues to pan showing the surroundings and stops at the entrance where we see Thornhill standing. My most favoured part of this scene was how the camera panned over the array of people bidding and stopped to reveal Thornhill standing at the entrance intensely gazing over at Eve with a very stern and serious look on his face. I found Hitchcock’s use of camera work in this particular shot quite stirring and visually satisfying. This scene definitely assists in the development of the characters. With the facetious converse between Thornhill, Vandamm, and Eve it helps to reveal some of their characteristics to the audience, as well as it being quite amusing and wonderfully placed in the film. We learn that Thornhill’s character is quite smooth and very quick-witted. It is also revealed how hurt Thornhill is watching Vandamm and Eve together as he seems to have developed some kind of feeling toward her. I believe this shot includes an unmotivated lighting source. Although there would be an element of motivated lighting coming from the auction room lights themselves, however, there aren’t any confirmed forms of motivated lighting in this particular shot that we can see, which brings me to the belief that the shot contains a small unmotivated lighting source to accentuate Thornhill’s facial expression, especially focusing on the unimpressed slouch of his mouth and stern look in his eyes when staring over at Eve. Without this specific unmotivated lighting source Thornhill’s face would not be as clear and possibly have dark undertones which would leave the audience in question as to what he is looking at and what his intentions are moving forward.

In a review posted by the New York Times, A. H. Weiler notes that the film has a “witty and sophisticated style” and appears to have some of the most enjoyable qualities of a chase, being “scenic, intriguing, and merry”. This part of Weiler’s critique on the film is certainly true. The films accomplishments transpire from its taste and class, amusing and entrapping the viewer by providing just enough interest and curiosity to keep the audience’s attention, whilst also trying not to reveal too much in one go. As unforeseen, unconventional, and thrilling as North by Northwest is, it advocates numerous conventions that kept it obtainable and well-received by the audience. The ups and downs of the plot are almost incessant, constantly keeping the viewers on the edges of their seats, and the actors in control, even when they are at their most vulnerable. Hitchcock was lucky enough to make a career out of keeping his viewers and fans in constant suspense and on the tips of their toes, patiently waiting for the most favorable time to release the curtain and unveil what shocking thing was hiding behind. Through Hitchcock’s use of camera techniques and clever interchange, he was able to uncover and develop the scene and the characters interactions. Within the seven-minute auction scene and ten-second Thornhill shot, the viewers are able to get a clearer understanding of who the characters are and how they help power the narrative. North by Northwest encompasses all the best elements of Hitchcock’s opus, transforming an intriguing, nail-biting but surprisingly humorous script into quite possibly the most enjoyable Hitchcock film ever.