North by Northwest

This trip was inspired by the 1959 Alfred Hitchcock Spy thriller, which later served as inspiration for a wave of spy movies in the 1960’s, including the James Bond series. An ad-executive is mistaken for a counter-intelligence agent by enemy spies, and is forced to go on the run when he is implicated in a murder.  Hitchcock loved to use famous locations in his movies as a backdrop to climactic scenes. Often it was not possible to shoot at the site as he was denied access to the United Nations, and limited access to Mount Rushmore. Most of North by Northwest’s main locations are featured below. I filled out the itinerary with some other interesting spots, because otherwise it would make for a pretty short trip. A notable omission is the famous crop duster scene, which was supposed to have occurred somewhere in Indiana in the film, but was shot just outside of Bakersfield California. Sadly, the famous Frank Loyd Wright style house shown near the film’s conclusion never existed, and was constructed on a studio back-lot, as were the close-up views of Rushmore, and the interior views of its cafeteria.

Film Locations are in Bold

New York

Chicago