Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 thriller, North by Northwest is a movie about an advertising executive who gets caught up in the world of spies. A case of mistaken identity early in the movie sets Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) and the audience up for a thrilling journey across America. In this curation (and in the podcast), we…
One of the Most Famous Scenes in ANY Movie: Check out this scene that foretells something similar in From Russia With Love. It’s a crop duster, Roger – DUCK or you’ll lose your head. Fabulous photography and directing here. You can feel the tension and fear. As Hitchcock once said, “I just want to scare…
We’ve seen auction scenes in spy movies since North by Northwest (think Octopussy), but we can’t think of one before this movie. In this scene, Roger must use his wits and create a diversion to get out of a bad situation at an auction. The way he does this is both funny and brilliant. We…
This scene is short but impactfully funny. Roger is trying to escape and ends up cutting through this woman’s room. At first, she’s aghast. Then she sees Roger and changes her tune. She only utters the same word twice. Both times have very different meanings. Roger’s reaction is wonderful. This movie came out four…
Will Eve Shoot Roger? This scene in North By Northwest was shot on location at the Mount Rushmore restaurant. Another fabulous scene, where Hitchcock builds up suspense for a big finish to this scene. Little things, like Leonard (Landau) straightening his tie as he walks over to Eve and Philip Vandamm Also, pay close attention…
A great spy movie needs great scenery. Check out this clip of Roger & Eve as they try to escape Leonard (Martin Landau) on Mount Rushmore. Again, great tension, great anticipation, great photography – the hallmarks of a Hitchcock film, and this spy film! We will see lots of Bond films with great fight scenes…
The movie ends with Roger and Eve on Mount Rushmore. He’s just proposed but Leonard is still pursuing them. More tension, and then a great Hitchcock cut takes us to the final scene. Train through the tunnel . . . concludes the film that Hitchcock mastered as a very sensuous movie in 1959! We will…
Join Dan and Tom as they are cracking the code of spy movies!
Here, we’re taking a close look at the 1936 Alfred Hitchcock movie, Secret Agent, its influence on future spy movies, and how sometimes being a secret agent is not that secret!
Join Tom and Dan in our 2019 wrap-up podcast of our Cracking the Code of Spy Movies show! Here, we include clips from all of our 2019 podcasts – take a listen, find ones that interest you and subscribe (free) to our Cracking the Code of Spy Movies show and listen to the full episodes! We end the episode with a look ahead at the spy movies we are anticipating in 2020.
Have you ever thought about how events in the real world and other movies could affect and work their way into some of our favorite spy movies? Well, think about it a minute because that’s what we are going to explore today on Spy Movie Navigator.
Join Dan and Tom as they explore the unique connections between spy movies and the real-world impact on what goes into a spy movie! This is Part 1 of a multi-part series!
If you have any suggestions on what to include in a future podcast, send them to Dan@SpyMovieNavigator.com
The 39 Steps, directed by Alfred Hitchcock is considered by many to the first spy movie ever made! If you came to our site as a Bond, Bourne, Hunt, Smiley, or other spy movie fan, you might not have seen this film.
Join Dan Silvestri and Tom Pizzato as they examine how The 39 Steps, considered by many to be the first spy movie, has influenced other spy movies that came after it. We’ll also look at what happenings in the real world that influenced this spy movie.
Find out what we are doing at SpyMovieNavigator.com and how we are building a Worldwide Community of Spy Movie Fans!
Dan Silvestri and Tom Pizzato explain the roots of SpyMovieNavigator and how this whole thing got started, and how we are looking to you, our users and listeners, to contribute your ideas, discussions, photos, videos and more to this new community!
And here in Secret Agent, it is a man identified only as “R” who asks Brodie to undertake this new secret mission.
Secret Agent – 1936 film, is another very interesting spy movie from the 1930s, setting the tone, characters, and plots for many spy movies to come. In Secret Agent, British Intelligence fakes the death of Edgar Brodie (John Gielgud). He is a Captain and a novelist. But they want to send him on a mission…
And Their Connections to Other Spy Movies & Real-Life Events and Things Here, we will look at spy movies from 1935 to the present that are not in the Bond, Mission: Impossible or Bourne genre. Dozens and dozens of spy movies before Bond and after Bond give us deep glimpses into the spy world….
The film opens in a theater, in London, where a man on stage is about to answer virtually any questions the audience may ask.
Taking the first step in spy movies, The 39 Steps sets the bar for all future spy movies! The 39 Steps, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, released in 1935, is considered by many to be the first spy movie. So, if you are a spy movie fan, then we must take a close look at this…
After arriving in Switzerland, they stay at the Hotel Excelsior, where they were told the German spy was staying.
Hannay sees Smith come into his room in this flat, with a piece of paper, stumbling, and saying, “You’re next!” She falls, revealing a knife sunk halfway into her back.
A suspicious older, bearded man steps into a shop and is handed a note.
Because Hannay is now being watched the police for the murder he did not commit
The “wife,’ named Elsa Carrington, is having second thoughts about the mission
He heads for the train, the Flying Scotsman. In this clip, we see the death scene, but cuts to the train scene – Hannay is aboard and two are in pursuit of him.
Hannay finds the estate, rings the bell, the maid answers the door, he asks for the Master, and says to ask him if he knows Miss Annabella Smith (remember, she is the spy who was murdered in his flat in London).
A couple of scenes later, Ashenden is at the post office with The General
Back in London, Pamela goes to Scotland Yard – she had phoned from Scotland (unbeknownst to us).
Watch the last 13 minutes of the movie, the culmination of the movie , all on a train.
