Briefly explain how Hitchcock blended genres in North by Northwest, using the crop duster scene from Ernest Lehman’s script to illustrate your main points

What will be an ideal response?

Answer: The ideal answer should include:
1. Alfred Hitchcock was a master at mixing genres. This film is an espionage thriller, but it’s also a comedy and a love story. The love story revolves around the character played by Eva Maria Saint, who is glamorous, sleek, and seductive. And sometimes treacherous.
2. Much of the comedy of this movie is due to Cary Grant’s performance as Roger O. Thornhill (the “O” stands for nothing), who’s a little too slick for his own good. Only an actor of Grant’s great skill could handle the comedy of his role without sacrificing credibility as a person who is being put through a living hell.
3. One excellent example of how the script blends the thriller aspect of the film with comedy is in the crop duster scene.
4. The brief dialogue exchange between Thornhill and a stranger waiting for a bus starts out humorously:

Thornhill: Then your name isn’t . . . Kaplan.

Man (glances at him): Can’t say it is, ’cause it ain’t. (He looks off up the highway). Well—here she comes, right on time.