I hadn’t seen the Cary Grant Vs. the Crop Duster scene from ‘North By Northwest’ in ages so I looked it up over lunch today and was surprised by how little of it I recalled. The long prelude–six minutes before the plane begins its attack–is Hitch at his methodical best, building tension (and an odd, discomforting humor) while Thornhill waits for…what? I can’t remember the set-up of this scene or how they contrived to stick poor Roger on an empty road in the middle of nowhere. Can you? The attack is both nail-biting and funny–in a way it could be described as ‘droll’, which Hitch’s sense of humor certainly was.. My favorite detail comes when Thornhill, lying for cover deep in the cornfield, is covered with dust and dirt after the plane buzzes the field. Thornhill coughs up the dirt. But most importantly, he coughs into a neatly folded hankerchief. This is a purely Hitchcock touch…and also a kind of smirking wink at Grant’s fastidious image. One has to wonder why the truck headed for Thornill at the end–the one he’s desperately trying to stop in order to save him–honks and refuses to stop, running him over when the driver  could simply have been civil and stopped and asked what the trouble. One wonders too why the crop duster crashes into the oil truck. And why, after Thorhill hijacks the car at the end, does the driver chase it by foot for as long as he does when it’s clearly a hopeless pursuit? One wonders if the shot was made after lunch and Hitch, noted for his unvarying diet of a large steak and french fries every day for lunch, simply dozed off. Well, no, one doesn’t have to wonder. But it helps kill some time whilst having the midday repast…