During the mid to late fifties, Hitchcock was at his prime, churning out classics like it was easy for him. North By Northwest, which came along toward the end of this peak, is the ultimate culmination of his "innocent man thought guilty" films, combining suspense, mystery, and intrigue into an immensely satisfying whole. It was a trend setting film, one of my personal favorites, and provided much of the inspiration for the early James Bond films that would come along a few years later. The crop duster sequence is as infamous and prized as Psycho's shower scene. One of Hitchcock's favorite actors, Cary Grant, plays the lead and is excellent as usual; Bernard Herrmann, who scored many a Hitchcock film, provides an exceptionally effective, thunderous composition.