CATCH A CLASSIC
Flight of the Innocent: ‘North by Northwest’ & ‘Saboteur’
TCM, beginning at 7 p.m.
A number of classic Alfred Hitchcock films deal with the theme of a man wrongly accused who is forced to go on the run as he tries to clear his name and avoid the baddies who actually are guilty. Two of Hitch’s foremost examples of this theme can be seen in tonight’s TCM double feature, which the network is fittingly airing under the thematic umbrella title “Flight of the Innocent.” First up is North by Northwest (pictured) (1959), which is not only one of Hitchcock’s finest “wrong man” films but also one of the best films ever, featuring plenty of wit, excitement and suspense. Here, Cary Grant’s ad exec Roger Thornhill is mistaken for a spy and must flee across the country (eventually accompanied
by Eva Marie Saint) as he is pursued by foreign agents (led by James Mason and Martin Landau) and the government, all leading to an iconic climax atop Mount Rushmore. Another thrilling ending atop a famed landmark — this time the Statue of Liberty — is featured in tonight’s second feature, the World War II thriller Saboteur (1942). Robert Cummings’ aircraft-factory worker Barry Kane is wrongly suspected of sabotage when a fire destroys his plant, and he is pursued by federal agents and the real saboteurs cross-country as he works to prove his innocence.