FFF # 92 - Thriller-AMA!! North by Northwest v. Charade

This week on Fabulous Film & Friends we’re going to back to the late 1950’s early 1960’s when men smoked heavily, recklessly enjoyed sophisticated cocktails and liked their women the way they wore their suits: skinny and tight! A time when spies and cold wars were the talk of the town, and all the cool cats admired two preeminent and influential thrillers. We’re talking 1959’s North by Northwest directed by the Master of Suspense himself, Alfred Hitchcock and starring Carey Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Jessie Royce Landis, Ned Glass, and Marin Landau against 1963’s Charade, directed by Stanley Donen and starring Carey Grant again, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, James Coburn, Ned Glass again, and the mighty George Kennedy.

I’m your host Gino Caputi and joining me this week are two of suave, millionaire Men’s Men in their own right, David Johnson DMD and Author/Producer George Young.

Before we break out the martinis: the synopses:

North by Northwest follows the exploits of slightly mild-mannered ad agency owner Roger Thornhill who is mistaken for a government agent and abducted. After that, he is thrown into a world of shadow-y art dealers and fast-talking female special agents who will do anything to protect and advance their positions. Roger’s only way out is to follow the trail of mystery to its presidential conclusion.

In Charade, Regina Lambert, a soon to be divorcee quickly finds out she’s a widow whose ex-husband has hidden a fortune, by 1963 standards. With both the government and four of her husband’s former associates following her to find the money, she falls s hopelessly in love with one of them, though his identity is never quite known.

Which is the coolest caper?