I wasn’t sure if a two-hour movie from 1959 would hold my attention.

To be fair, it was an Alfred Hitchcock film, but it turns out it wasn’t anything like Psycho or The Birds. I’ve heard so many great things about North By Northwest from podcasts and Criterion Closet videos over the years. I’m also pretty sure it’s been referenced on The Simpsons a few times, but I just never got the jokes. In all that time, though, I never realised it was more of a romantic comedy than a suspenseful thriller until I heard this line at the start of the film.

Roger Thornhill: Say hi to the wife for me. 

Some random office worker: We're not speaking.

I actually stopped and wondered if I was watching the right movie. Was that a joke? In an Alfred Hitchcock movie? I was expecting someone to be murdered in the first few scenes or something sinister to reveal itself. Instead, I found myself laughing.

The plot follows Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant), a Manhattan advertising exec who is mistaken for a government agent and dragged into a spy conspiracy. He spends the whole movie dodging criminals and suspicious figures who never bother explaining why they want him. Along the way he meets Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint), who's equally mysterious and flirts with him non-stop. When I said North by Northwest resembled a romantic comedy, I didn’t mean something like Fool’s Gold or Crazy, Stupid, Love. Both of which I’m also late to the party on. I felt like it was Alfred Hitchcock's take on one, which still included moments of suspense and intrigue.

The back and forth between Roger and Eve was pretty funny. The cheesy one-liners were relentless, and it wasn’t just Roger. Eve held her own as well. It felt like watching a tennis match at times with Eve dropping a cheeky line and Roger volleying back something that would send any normal person to HR.

What really kept me interested was how the story played out. I found myself guessing what was going to happen next. The thing is, I was wrong every time. Hitchcock kept zigging when I was zagging. The pacing never dragged either, which is pretty good for a two-hour movie from the ‘50s. Every scene mattered, which is why I paused the movie when I went to refill my drink, so I didn’t miss anything important.

Hitchcock’s camera work is also worth a shoutout. Some of the shots made me do a double take. There’s an overhead shot of a crowd that captures total chaos perfectly after Roger is framed for murder. The famous crop duster scene is another standout. It begins with an isolated, desolate farm. There’s no music. Just the sound of the environment. Wind. Dust. Nothingness. It’s bizarre and a little creepy, which is exactly what I want from a Hitchcock film.

Then there’s the Mount Rushmore scene at the end.

This is where Hitchcock almost lost me. Watching Roger and Eve clinging to the noses and ears of former presidents while fleeing bad guys felt a bit ridiculous. I get Hitchcock wanted something visually unforgettable, and he got it, but maybe not in the right way. At the same time, the entire movie still held my attention. I may have rolled my eyes during the finale, but I didn’t tap the remote to see how much time was left.

I watched a documentary about Hitchcock last year that highlighted some of the innovations he brought to filmmaking, like having the camera follow characters through the door and shooting off-centre to illustrate something wasn’t quite right. His expertise was on full display in North by Northwest. It might not have been the suspenseful thriller that I thought I was signing up for, but I still got a good movie from a master filmmaker. Grant, Saint and the entire cast were fantastic to watch, and I liked that the story kept me guessing without ever over-explaining itself. Even some of the jokes were funny, which I wasn’t expecting from a Hitchcock film.

I still think Psycho and The Birds are better movies, but I also believe North by Northwest is worth your time.

Plus, now I finally get some of those Simpsons jokes.

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