Image: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
The story of the film begins in this city that never sleeps. What US city is this?
New Orleans
New Hampshire
New York City
North by Northwest starts its journey on the East Coast. The film opens in New York City, and shows the city's daily hustle and bustle during the first sequences.
New Jersey
Where is Hitchcock's signature cameo appearance in this film?
missing the bus at the opening credits
Spotting Hitchcock's signature cameo is always a fun sport to play when watching his films. In North By Northwest, look for him during the opening credits, as he's the one who just missed the bus on the street.
inside a phone booth making a call
seen from a window winding a clock
His outline is seen as a shadow along the city skyline.
Which Hollywood hunk stars in North By Northwest?
Cary Grant
Cary Grant played Roger Thornhill. He also appeared in other Hitchcock classics like Suspicion, Notorious and To Catch a Thief.
James Dean
Montgomery Clift
Rock Hudson
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Who played the blonde leading lady in this film?
Janet Leigh
Grace Kelly
Eva Marie Saint
Eva Marie Saint played Eve Kendall, a duplicitous character. Hitchcock loves blondes in his movies, as apparent here.
Tippi Hedren
North By Northwest carries a popular Hitchcock storytelling trope of the character-switching type. What trope is this?
the blonde as the evil character
schizophrenia
mistaken identity
The trope of mistaken identity is one popular device used by Hitchcock in his films. It's no wonder his characters are always tense, and their scenarios are always tension-filled!
wrong place at the wrong time
In what kind of establishment was Roger Thornhill initially mistaken for George Kaplan?
at the airport
inside a ferry ride
along Fifth Avenue
inside a restaurant
Reservations for a certain George Kaplan were being called out by the waiter when Roger Thornhill raised his hand to call for a waiter himself. That's when the mistaken identity switch happened, as the bad guys thought Thornhill was responding to the Kaplan call.
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When Roger Thornhill was first mistaken for George Kaplan, what did the bad guys do to him at the restaurant?
They shot him.
They knocked him out.
They kidnapped him at gunpoint.
Roger suddenly faced two goons who carried guns. They made him take a ride with them, and he called the act kidnapping.
They begged him for money.
Thornhill was led to a mansion to meet with a certain Mr. Townsend. What did they do to him there?
forced him to down a bottle of bourbon
When Thornhill insisted that he wasn't Kaplan, Mr. Townsend ordered his goons to get rid of him. So they forced a bottle of bourbon down his system and put him inside a car -- to drive himself off a cliff.
made him watch silent films
gagged him
killed him
Roger Thornhill insisted that he's not George Kaplan, since he's a man who worked in this industry. Which industry is this?
hedge fund industry
advertising industry
Roger Thornhill is an advertising executive. By the looks of it, he's an important one, if he walks around being followed by his secretary to jot down his busy work tasks.
stock market brokers
military industry
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When Roger escaped the Townsend mansion and his goons while dead drunk, what happened to him on his way out?
He fell off a cliff.
He crashed into a tree.
The police picked him up for drunk driving and speeding.
Thornhill was able to maneuver the car even if he's drunk. But when he abruptly stopped at an intersection, the police car that was chasing him for speeding crashed into his car, and they discovered that he was drunk!
He ran out of gas.
When taken into custody at the police station, who did Roger call to bail him out?
his wife
his secretary
his mother
Roger called up his mother to bail him out. While she did do that, she still didn't believe her son's seemingly tall tales of abduction and being mistaken for George Kaplan.
his boss
In trying to find Mr. Townsend, the man who apparently ordered his abduction, where did Thornhill's search lead him?
at the United Nations
Apparently, Mr. Townsend works at the United Nations General Assembly. So Thornhill went there to search for him, to find answers.
at the FBI office
at the CIA office
at the office of the city mayor
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Yes or no: Did Thornhill find the right Mr. Townsend at the United Nations?
yes
no
yes and no
Thornhill met Mr. Townsend alright, but a different man appeared to be Mr. Townsend. Apparently, the Townsend he met at the mansion is an impostor, and the UN one was the real deal. But he's not what he's looking for. So confusing!
none of the above
The kidnapping goons were also in the UN when Thornhill met the real Mr. Townsend. What did they do to the UN diplomat?
They also kidnapped him.
They made him believe that Thornhill was Kaplan.
They killed him.
The real Mr. Townsend was killed by a knife thrown at his back, thanks to the aim of the fake Mr. Townsend's goons. But Thornhill tried to get the knife off, which made him appear to be the killer!
They made him drink bourbon, too.
True or false: George Kaplan is a real person.
true
false
George Kaplan feels like he exists when Roger Thornhill tried to go to his hotel room and snoop around this things. But in reality, it's an elaborate scheme to present a non-existent person.
only in the newspapers
only when not working undercover
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What kind of agency created the George Kaplan character?
the police
Chinese gangsters
the mafia
an intelligence agency
A "US intelligence agency" was seen discussing how they created George Kaplan to fool certain people. What this agency is was quite unclear, but there's a hint that it's the CIA.
When dubbed as the "UN diplomat killer," where did Thornhill go to get a ride out of town?
at the train station
Thornhill tried to buy a ticket from the train station while wearing sunglasses indoors. Talk about not attracting attention to yourself -- which miserably failed for him.
at the ferry station
at the subway station
at the bus station
Thornhill encounters Eve Kendall inside a train. What does she do to help him evade the authorities?
stopped the train so he could get out
pushed the police agents looking for him
hid him in her coach
Eve Kendall was alone in her train couch so she hid Thornhill there from the police agents looking for him. Worked like a charm!
kicked him outside the train
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Who is George Kaplan supposed to be?
a US senator
an ordinary man
a government agent
George Kaplan was supposed to be a government agent after the trail of a spy. But the spy spied this ploy, so they went to look for the non-existent agent, and mistook Thornhill for him.
a gangster
In reality, George Kaplan was a decoy agent to cover up the real agent working undercover. Who is this agent?
Eve Kendall
Eve Kendall turned out to be the agent that they're covering up, that's why they created a George Kaplan persona. Since she's already inside the spy's circles, might as well try to make her a double agent.
The Professor
Mr. Townsend
Phillip Vandamm
The man who pretended to be Mr. Townsend who had Thornhill abducted turns out to be the spy Phillip Vandamm. Why is the government tailing him covertly?
He stole government secrets.
Phillip Vandamm is a spy who stole some secret government stuff. What that stuff is, is the stuff of Hitchcock's famous plot device called the "MacGuffin" which points to an object chased by his characters which has no real significance on the plot or story itself.
He assassinated the president.
He plans to bomb the UN.
He kidnapped the first lady.
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Why did the government agency need an undercover agent to tail Phillip Vandamm?
They want to know who his government mole is.
They want to know if he's part of a big syndicate.
They don't know how he smuggles the stolen government secrets out.
Apparently, the intelligence agency doesn't know how Vandamm smuggles the stolen government secrets out. Talk about lack of intelligence...
They want to know if it's really him.
This is that Hitchcock film with the famous scene on a deserted field where Roger Thornhill was being chased by a type of vehicle. What vehicle is this?
a crop dusting airplane
Thornhill found himself stranded on a street beside a vast dry field. Eve told her that he will meet the "real George Kaplan" there, but found himself being chased by a crop duster plane instead.
a bus
a tow truck
an oil tanker
The crop dusting airplane that chased Roger Thornhill was ignoring the dried-up crops on the field. What were these crops?
beets
rice
corn
The dried-up cornfield was useful for Roger to hide momentarily from the crop duster airplane chasing him. Luckily, he ran in front of an oil tanker, and the plane crashed onto that tanker!
potato
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When Roger Thornhill and Eve Kendall stepped out of the train, in which city did they find themselves in?
Detroit
Los Angeles
Chicago
Eve Kendall's train was going to Chicago. So Roger went down there, to hopefully evade the police, and find the "real George Kaplan."
Miami
Thornhill mentioned that he was married before. How many times was he married?
twice
Thornhill mentioned that he was married twice. Eve mentioned that maybe he's not really good at marriages, only in short-term romances -- like the one they had on the train.
once
five times
not really, he's lying
In what kind of gathering did Roger Thornhill fully discover that Eve Kendall was in cahoots with Phillip Vandamm and his cohorts?
in a dinner party
in an art auction
Roger followed Eve and found her inside an art auction house where Vandamm and his cohorts were actively participating. He tried to confront everyone, but he failed.
in a wedding
in a theater gala
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A pivotal element of identifying small items with Roger Thornhill is this trademark that he imprints in his personal effects like a hanky or a safety match. What is this trademark?
his face
his fingerprints
his shoe print
his initials
Roger O. Thornhill's initials are imprinted on a safety match packet that he threw to Eve during a crucial scene. That's his trademark, he says.
To get away from Phillip Vandamm's cohorts inside the auction house, Thornhill made a scene so that these kinds of people would arrive there. Who are these people?
the mafia
the prohibitionists
the army
the police
Roger wants the police to arrive so they can help him. That's the last thing Vandamm wants.
Thornhill finally met the head of the intelligence agency who explained things to him. What did they call him?
The Engineer
The Architect
The Doctor
The Professor
The Professor is what they called the intelligence agency person who helped Thornhill. He also orchestrated Eve's duties in Vandamm's circle.
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Thornhill and The Professor traveled to South Dakota to meet up with Phillip Vandamm and Eve Kendall. In which famous tourist spot there did they meet up?
Sears Tower
Yellowstone
Niagara Falls
Mount Rushmore
Vandamm brought Eve to South Dakota because he has a house there. They met up with Thornhill at the Mount Rushmore visitor center area so the other one won't make another public scene, hopefully.
So how does Phillip Vandamm smuggle out his stolen government secrets?
using a crop duster plane
inside Eve's purse
via the hem of his pants
inside the art statue he bought in the auction
Vandamm loves his artworks because he hides his goodies inside the art statue. The one he bought in the auction was useful.
The stolen government secrets are stored in what kind of medium?
ID pictures
cassette tapes
microfilm
The good old days of espionage always used microfilm to transport secret stuff, well, secretly. Since they're very easy to hide and they can store many information, they're very handy for all types of spy work.
diskettes
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In a staged scene to fool Phillip Vandamm, what did Eve Kendall do to Thornhill when they were negotiating at the Mount Rushmore visitor center?
She jumped off Mount Rushmore with him in tow.
She shot him, but with blanks.
Eve shot Thornhill using blanks, then escaped with Vandamm. The spy's cohort made sure that Thornhill was really shot, but The Professor took care of that part and made it appear that Thornhill was badly hurt -- but wasn't.
She fainted in his arms.
She pushed him toward Vandamm.
In the end, what happened to Eve Kendall and Roger Thornhill?
They married each other.
Roger and Eve eventually had their chemistry set on fire -- so they married each other. As a sentimental honeymoon, they were last seen inside the train coach where they first met.
They fell off Mount Rushmore.
They became government spies.
They were killed by Vandamm.
You Got:
/35
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer