NORTH BY NORTHWEST
TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
I was having an editorial meeting with a member of the TVWW staff recently (okay, it was a phone call, with Linda), and I insisted that, no matter whether I owned a DVD of a film or had seen it dozens of times, whenever I recommended a film in Bianculli’s Best Bets, I was likely to watch it again that night on TV. Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 masterpiece of whimsical mystery, starring Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint, is repeated tonight at 8 p.m. ET on TCM – and even though I watched it the last time I recommended a TCM telecast, I’m likely to be there tonight as well. And yes, I watch differently each time, looking for different things. I always love to look, however, for the scene in the tourist restaurant overlooking (or, technically, underlooking) Mount Rushmore, as Saint and Grant are arguing just before the gun goes off (pictured). Look for the kid in the background, at the right of the screen, who covers his ears just before the “surprise” gunshot. Turns out it was the second take for that scene, and the child extra, on the set, knew a loud noise was imminent. So much for the master of suspense…