Cary Grant Thought North By Northwest Had A 'Terrible Script'

An actor doesn't have to like a script to perform it. As detailed by Turner Classic Movies, while shooting "North by Northwest," Alfred Hitchcock used this to the picture's advantage. Both he and screenwriter Ernest Lehman had Cary Grant as their first choice for the film's lead Roger Thornhill, a Madison Avenue ad man mistaken for the spy George Kaplan. Roger stumbles his way into heroism, ultimately thwarting a Soviet spy ring run by Phillip Vandamm (James Mason). Only someone as simultaneously dashing and comic as Grant could correctly pull off the part.

Hitchcock and Lehman obviously got their wish, but Grant didn't have confidence in the project they did. During production, Grant vented to Hitchcock, "It's a terrible script. We've already done a third of the picture and I still can't make head or tail of it." Per TCM, Hitchcock was "amused" by this comment; Grant was confused by the events unfolding around him as Thornhill was. Thornhill's confusion comes through onscreen and as I've written about before, it makes "North by Northwest" a stronger movie. Knowing the confusion wasn't entirely acting makes it even better.

While his feelings may have wound up strengthening the movie, the question remains: why did Grant consider "North by Northwest" a terrible script? Part of it might have to do with the obtuse mystery. During the first act, every clue only leads to a bigger question mark. It turns out there is no George Kaplan, he was a fiction created by American intelligence to confuse Vandamm. However, the audience learns this far before Thornhill does, so his befuddlement endures.

Another part of Grant's complaints may go back to the script's structure. "North by Northwest" feels like a precursor to how in blockbusters today,  the set pieces — from Thornhill being chased by a crop duster to the Mount Rushmore climax — are the priority. The narrative is merely the thread to weave them together.

However, these don't register as flaws because "North by Northwest" is farcical. The movie is less of a spy thriller than an absurdist comedy disguised as one, the joke being that the main character doesn't belong in the movie he found himself in. Grant, who appeared in Hitchcock's "Notorious," may have expected a less comical spy film in that ilk. Regardless, contemporary critics picked up on the tone of "North by Northwest," with the New York Times praising, "a tongue-in-cheek attitude and a breezy sense of humor."

While Grant wasn't fond of the "North by Northwest" script, I doubt he regretted accepting it. As documented by TCM, the movie took longer than expected to complete, meaning Grant got a pay raise for shooting and a percentage of the movie's gross. If he'd let his feelings on the script rule his judgment, he would've missed out on a hefty payday. In the entertainment business, it's not easy to predict what stories people will respond to.