Eva Marie Saint North by Northwest | Your 1959 Hitchcock Blonde Inspiration
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Eva Marie Saint North by Northwest, is your go-to for late 1950’s Hitchcock Blonde inspiration.
This post is all about Eva Marie Saint North by Northwest
Eva Marie Saint plays the ultimate Hitchcock blonde as Eve Kendall in North By Northwest—the icy and dangerous Eve Kendall who seduces Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) then sends him into danger.
What is a Hitchcock Blonde?
A Hitchcock Blonde is basically the vintage version of a bond girl…or perhaps more fitting, the 50’s version of the film noir era’s femme fatales.
They are perfectly coiffed and dressed, cool and aloof, always sexy and sometimes dangerous.
Other well-known Hitchcock blondes include Tippi Hedren in The Birds and Marnie, Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief, Rear Window, and Dial M for Murder, and Kim Novak in Vertigo.
According to The Take, a Hitchcock blonde is:
“…a beautiful, sophisticated, poised woman who carries with her an air of mystery and indirect sex appeal. She carries the film as an unexpected source of duplicity, and can be a cunning and intelligent adversary. She also represents Hitchcock’s idea of a perfect woman.”
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North by Northwest synopsis (spoiler alert!)
Cary Grant plays Roger Thornhill, an advertising executive who is mistaken for a fictional spy by some other spies led by Philip Vandamm (James Mason).
While on the run for a murder he didn’t commit, he runs into the beautiful and icy Eve Kendall who helps him escape the Police.
Not everything is as it seems as in a twist, she sends him on an errand that almost gets him killed and he finds out she is actually Vandamn’s girl.
In another dramatic twist, it turns out that Eve Kendall is actually a good spy, going after the bad spy Vandamm and she had to put Roger Thornhill in danger to protect herself.
Roger Thronhill with his feelings hurt, had actually been putting her in danger by harrasing her angrily.
In order to help clear her name, they set up a fake shooting, where it looks like she shoots him when he corners her.
Now, on the run from justice the plan is that Vandamm will have to take her with him out of the country.
But, Vandamm’s sidekick Leonard (Martin Landau) finds the gun in her bag and the blanks she shot Thornhill with.
In a suspenseful ending set on Mount Rushmore, Roger has to help her escape.
In a happy ending, the final scene shows them back on a train for their honeymoon.
Eva Marie Saint Style
The Hitchcock blonde wouldn’t exist without an impeccable wardrobe.
According to classiq.me, Hitchcock didn’t like any of the sketches that came out of the studio for the fashion, and so he took Eva Marie Saint shopping at Bergdorf Goodman.
We wouldn’t mind having Hitchcock along for a shopping buddy if the following wardrobe is any example of the results!
Eva Marie Saint North by Northwest: Black Suit with silk top
By the time Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) meets Eva Marie Saint’s character Eve Kendall, he’s already on the run from both the Police and the spies that have already tried to kill him.
He ducks onto a train that is about to depart without having a ticket and runs into Eve.
She’s wearing a black suit with a white silk top, and perfectly styled hair. Simple and classic.
Their first encounter is an awkward side-step as he’s not paying attention as he’s trying to evade the Police, and almost runs into her.
He ducks inside a room and she tells the Police he went the other way. When he comes out, he tells her that he’s wanted for too many parking tickets.
He checks her out as she walks away in her black suit with matching black pumps.
Later, as Roger Thornhill comes into the dining car, he is seated at Eve Kendall’s table.
She tells him that she tipped the steward to have him seated there if he should come in.
She also flirts with him while cooly letting him know that she knows he’s a wanted man…but she’s bored and it’s going to be a long night on the train.
When he pulls out his matches to light her cigarette she notices the peculiar initials ROT which he says is his trademark, even though ‘“o” isn’t his middle name.
She saves him again from the Police by warning him that the train made an unscheduled stop and Police are getting aboard to search it. Before she leaves she tells him her room number.
She’s still wearing the same black suit, but now we can see her slim watch accessory as she smokes.
Of course, being pre-smart phone days, watches were more of a necessity and also quite a classic accessory.
Eva Marie Saint North By Northwest Red Dress
It’s a few scenes later when Roger Thornhill runs into Eve Kendall again.
She had given him instructions that sent him out to a corn field when a crop duster plane started shooting at him (classic scene!)
He narrowly escaped by running towards a truck and the plane crashed into the truck.
Knowing he was set up he sees her in the hotel where the man he was looking for was supposed to be staying and he follows her to her room.
They play a game of cat and mouse. He knows she’s somehow connected with the spies that are out to get him and refuses to let her out of his sights.
Unknown to him, she is a spy herself and has a job to do—stay close to Vandamm—Thornhill is getting in the way and also putting her into danger.
She agrees to have dinner with him but insists that he take a shower first and have his suit cleaned. Those chemicals from the crop-duster can’t smell too good and he also fell into the dirt a couple times.
While he pretends to take a shower, she sneaks out the door and he follows her.
Eve is dressed up to go to an art auction with her boyfriend Vandamm, wearing a classic 1950’s style dress that has a deep v in the back. A red choker necklace and ring complete the look.
Eva Marie Saint North By Northwest Black Dress
Roger Thornhill made himself such a nuisance at the art auction that the CIA or whoever it is that Eve Kendall is working for had to step in and tell him that she was working for them.
Since he has been so persistent, Vandamm has begun to have is doubts about Eve Kendall. In order to regain his trust, they devise a plan where Roger Thornhill corners her in a cafe and she shoots him then runs from the cafe.
After the fake murder scene they meet in the woods near Mount Rushmore. He apologizes for the nasty comments he made and she accepts his apology.
He then finds out that the plan is for her to leave the country with Vandamm which doesn’t make him too happy.
Eve is wearing a simple black dress with black pumps, pearls and a hat. She has also accented the waist with a slim belt.
Eva Marie Saint North By Northwest Orange Dress
Here we are at Vandamm’s house above Mount Rushmore, waiting for the plane that will take Vandamm and Eve out of the country.
Now that she is a fugitive from justice, she has to go with Vandamm which was part of the plan.
For the staged murder, Eve’s gun had been filled with blanks, which made a lot of noise but didn’t harm Roger at all.
Roger had fallen, pretending to be wounded and then another agent had pretended to be a doctor and whisked him away in an ambulance.
Something interesting about their fake murder setup was they didn’t even bother with fake blood. No wonder Vandamm’s assistant Leonard got suspicious.
He went through her bag and found the gun with the blanks, where he dramatically ‘shoots’ Vandamm with it in order to make him understand that she was a spy.
They have just found out that she is a spy and Roger, hiding outside heard their conversation.
Remember on the train when he had lit her cigarette and she noticed the initials on the matchbook?
Now, in order to get her attention, he drops his matchbook from the balcony down on the ground near where she’s sitting. Leonard sees it on the ground and puts in on the coffee table.
She notices it, and recognizes it instantly. Roger had written a note inside it for her to meet him in her room.
Once in her room, he convinces her that they’re onto her and that she cannot get on the plane with them.
For her planned flight she’s wearing an orange dress that has a matching orange jacket.
Eva Marie Saint North By Northwest Pajamas
Before getting on the plane, Eve grabs the statue that contains the microfilm and makes a run for it with Roger.
There is a dramatic scene on Mt. Rushmore where they are climbing across the faces of the statues and she almost falls off. He’s trying to help her up then it cuts to the final scene of the movie where he’s helping her up onto the a bed in a train.
For her final outfit she’s wearing white long-sleeved silk pajamas and with cute little matching white ballet flats.
This post was all about Eva Marie Saint North by Northwest
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What did you think of Eva Marie Saint in North by Northwest?
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Last updated: Sep 05, 2024
North by Northwest is an all-time classic and Eva Marie Saint perfect as the Hitchcock blonde. Her clothes are timeless and just as relevant today as they were back then. Attention to detail in jewellery and accessories gives a fascinating insight into the great director himself.
I would love to buy the red and black silk dress for my wife.
Also love this dress! Not sure where to find something like this today though, let us know if you have any luck.