Hitchcock's Strong Suit

I'm not sure exactly how serious to take it, but I enjoyed reading this essay about my favorite Alfred Hitchcock film, North by Northwest.

The author's thesis is given in the first sentence: "North by Northwest isn't a film about what happens to Cary Grant, it's about what happens to his suit."

He addresses something that has always bothered me about that film--Cary Grant goes so long without showering, and yet Eva Marie Saint doesn't seemed put off at all until they're in her hotel room in Chicago (and even then she's just putting up a front to protect him). Granted, it is Cary Grant. But after all that running around, fleeing malevolent aircraft, getting nearly roasted by an exploding fuel truck, etc., when he does get a chance to bathe, he passes up the opportunity. Surely, he had to be reeking to high heaven.

But the article also points out something I hadn't thought of before: just how magnificent the suit looks, despite all the abuse it takes. Clearly, there's some Hollywood magic involved, here.

One other thing that has always bothered me about this film is its title--what does it have to do with the story? The characters move almost exactly due west, not north by northwest. Someone once suggested to me that it refers to the direction that the villains plan to go as they make their exit from the United States. But since they're leaving from Rapid City, South Dakota, that would mean they were heading to...where, exactly? I have a hard time believing that superspy James Mason would be heading to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.