North by Northwest by Hitchcock (and Ernest Lehman)

When I think of Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959), I think of the iconic set pieces (the crop duster chase, the Mount Rushmore scenes, Cary Grant's brilliant performance, but also the screenplay, written with Hitchcock’s occasional feedback, by Ernest Lehman.

Recently, in a commentary written for Turner Classic Movies, Guillermo del Toro calls it cinema's only flawless action movie:

North by Northwest, 1959 by Alfred Hitchcock, is a perfect perpetual motion machine and is made by one of the greatest clockwork makers in cinema history – a filmmaker that could blend seamlessly comedy, drama, action, and suspense. … This is one of the canonical films of Alfred Hitchcock, The most perfect action film ever made, in my opinion.

The film follows Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant), a suave yet hapless advertising executive who is mistaken for a government agent and is subsequently thrust into a web of espionage, deceit, and danger. Thornhill's journey—from a mistaken identity at the Plaza Hotel to the climax atop Mount Rushmore—is packed with twists, yet the pacing never feels overwhelming. Lehman’s transitions between action, comedy, and romance are seamless. Thornhill’s evolution from a complacent Madison Avenue executive to an unwilling yet capable hero is one of the screenplay’s greatest strengths. His transformation feels organic, propelled by Lehman’s writing, which keeps him grounded despite the extraordinary situations he faces.

While Hitchcock is the master of suspense, it was collaborating with Ernest Lehman that produced an entertaining thriller, as well as an example of how a well-structured screenplay can become the foundation for cinematic excellence.

By the way, as a writing exercise, I re-typed the screenplay for North by Northwest (as well as The Prize from 1963, Sabrina Faire, released as Sabrina in 1954, The Sweet Smell of Success, co-written with C. Odets in 1957, and Executive Suite from 1954). If you are interested in a pdf for scholarly purposes (e.g, you need to copy and paste into a scholarly article using the Fair Use clause), just send me an email. No promises that it is free from typographical errors (of my own), but the fountain files are also available, for making your own corrections.

Ernest Lehman and “Sabrina”

Ernest Lehman co-wrote the screenplay for Sabrina (1954) with Billy Wilder. The story is based on the 1953 play “Sabrina Fair” by Samuel A. Taylor.

There’s an anecdote that says that Wilder’s version of the screenplay diverged so much from the play that Taylor was fired due to his objections. It was at this point that Lehman, who had just written the excellent Executive Suite (also starring William Holden) was brought on. I don’t know how true that is.

Another anecdote says that Humphey Bogart was only brought on because Cary Grant was either unavailable or turned it down. In my opinion, Humphey Bogart’s subdued approach to the role is what makes the film work. William Holden, while excellent and perfectly cast, has an acting style too similar to Cary Grant’s. Humphey Bogart provides the perfect contrast to the part.

While similar in some ways to Wilder’s Love in the Afternoon (1957), this film is (IMHO) much much better. Clever twists and turns keep this screenplay moving. I’ve retyped the entire screenplay (the October 7,1953 draft of “Sabrina Fair” called “Final White Script”) in fountain. It is copyrighted and property of Paramount Studios, but if you would like a copy for educational purposes only, feel free to email me at fablestofilm AT gmail DOT com. Hopefully the study of the screenplay will encourage you to rewatch this terrific film.

For more on Ernest Lehman, read the excellent book "Ernest Lehman: The Sweet Smell of Success" by Jon Krampner.

Ernest Lehman and "The Prize"

Ernest Lehman wrote the screenplay for the 1963 movie The Prize, starring Paul Newman, Elke Sommer, and Edward G. Robinson. While the plot follows activities surrounding a fictional Nobel Prize ceremony, the genre (a spy thriller with a romance B-story) is similar to the 1959 film North by Northwest, which Lehman also wrote. North by Northwest was an original story, while The Prize is based on the novel of the same name by Irving Wallace.

While some have called The Prize derivative of North by Northwest, I'm not sure I will go so far. However, there are a few scenes in each that closely parallel each other. For example, in North by Northwest, Thornhill (played by Cary Grant), to escape being killed by the spies in the room of the Antique Auction, causes a fight and the police are called to arrest him. There is a similar scene in The Prize where Craig (played by Paul Newman) is chased by spies trying to kill him. He escapes into a meeting room of a Swedish nudist society (to be shot in a way that "good taste will prevail", according to Lehman's screenplay). There again, to avoid death at the hands of these spies, he raises a confict requiring the police to come and arrest him.

However, there are some interesting aspects what make The Prize worth studying, and here is one lesson to take away from the screenplay. To set this up, Emily (played by Diane Baker) has taken an interest in Andrew Craig. She has been introduced as the sweet niece of a Nobel prize scientist (played by Edward G. Robinson).

This is how Ernest Lehman describes a secret conversation. At this point, only "Ivar" is known by the audience to be a "bad guy" and likely an enemy spy. So this scene is important to the plot as it reveals to the audience that Emily is not the sweet woman we've been led to believe.

EMILY AND IVAR - ON THE DANCE FLOOR

They dance in silence until they are on the far side
of the floor. Casually, they glance in the direction
of the Berghs’ table. (We will INTERCUT one or two
POV SHOTS from the dance floor. These shots will
indicate that Emily and Ivar know they cannot be
seen, through the intervening dancers, from the table.)
The dance MUSIC is very loud. We will not hear words.
But we will *see* lips moving now. First Emily says 
something to Ivar. He replies at some length. Emily
nods, speaks to him again. He addresses several
sentences to her. She makes a final remark. Then their
lips fall silent and they continue to dance as before.
Throughout this exchange, their faces have been
without expression.
 

For more on Ernest Lehman, read the excellent book "Ernest Lehman: The Sweet Smell of Success" by Jon Krampner.

Exposition in "Executive Suite" (1954)

One of Ernest Lehman's first jobs as a studio contract screenwriter for MGM was to first write a treatment for an adaption of a Cameroc Hawley novel of the same namen. Having suitably impressed the studio heads with that, he was then given the assignment to write the screenplay for the 1954 movie Executive Suite, starring William Holden and directed by Robert Wise.

The movie starts with the sudden death of the president of a furniture company, a man named Avery Bullard who we don't evey see (except for his hands). After Bullard's death, there is a struggle among the directors (the head of development, of production, of sales, the CFO, and so on) to succeed him. The protagonist is Don Walling (played by William Holden), the idealistic head of development. The antagonist is Loren Shaw (played by Fredric March), the over-confident CFO of the company. Sound boring? Actually, it's quite fascinating thanks to the excellent writing by Lehman and the fine acting (Nina Foch, who played Bullard's secretary, got an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress).

While the pdf is (as far as I know) not on the web, I bought a scan of the screenplay from Script City. To learn from Lehman's style, I typed the screenplay into fountain format. In the process, I learned something very interesting!

Lehman does do an excellent job of hiding exposition (as he should - see this earlier post). However, some of the exposition appears as a scene which lacks (for lack of a better word - pun intended) "emotional energy", such as the following.

EXT. PIKE STREET PLANT - DAY 

Don walks through the gate to the sidewalk, on all 
sides of him factory workers, anxious, depressed, 
as they move towards lined-up buses, towards the 
nearby parking lot, towards wives and children 
waiting for them at the curb. Don looks up the 
street, then turns and faces the building, atop 
which is a flag at half-mast. As the men and women 
stream by, they glance at Don with questioning, 
worried expressions. Some of them greet him by name; 
others nod or waves some look away, embarrassed. 
An old Woman comes up to him, clutches his hand.

WOMAN
Mr Walling ...

DON
Hello, Liz ...

WOMAN
(anxiously) 
Everything's going to be all right, isn't it? 

Several workers stop to listen.

DON
(puts an arm around her shoulder)
Don't you worry about a thing...

WOMAN
You weren't here in Thirty-three. You don't know 
how it was in Millburgh when Tredway shut down.

DON
(sees the faces watching him tensely)
Nobody's shutting anything down around here. 
Mr. Bullard brought us a long way from *that*.

The workers glance at each other, then at Don, 
with gratitude on their faces. They begin to scatter, 
Liz the last to go. Don watches, deeply affected, as 
the men are joined by their women and children, and 
the family groups go off together by car and bus 
and on foot.

I read the scene quite impressed with the importance and emotinal impact of the scene. (It helps to set-up an important point Don Walling argues towards the end of the film in his confrontation with Loren Shaw in the Director's Room. So, I think this scene counts as being expositional in nature.) However, I couldn't remember seeing the scene in my viewing of the movie. I actually assumed it must have been cut in the final version. (Actually, Robert Wise often worked with Ernest Lehman and rarely cut scenes from his screenplays.) However, I was wrong - it wasn't cut. This made me realize, I don't read scenes with the same engagement that I view them on screen. Why? What engages my brain in a viewing? The answer, I think, comes from something Mike Nichols (who BTW also worked with Lehman) said: every scene must be one of three things: (a) a fight, (b) a seduction, or (c) a negotiation. IMHO, the scene above is none of these.

This is why, IMHO, it lacks emotional energy on the screen.

By the way, there is a well-researched and well-written, biography of Ernest Lehman out now:

Jon Krampner, Ernest Lehman: The Sweet Smell of Success, University Press of Kentucky, 2022 (396 pages).

Ernest Lehman's 4 credos of a good movie

Ernest Lehman is famous for writing movies made by Hitchcock (North by Northwest and others), Mike Nichols (Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf), Robert Wise, and many other greats. About movie screenplay structure, he said:

In the first act, it's who are the people and what is the situation of this whole story. The second act is the progression of that situation to a high point of conflict and great problems. And the third act is how the conflicts and problems are resolved.

In 1997, the WGA interviewed Lehman for their "The Writer Speaks" series (youtube link). On a more granular level, these are the credos for a good movie screenplay that he mentioned:

• It is a succession of scenes each with a definite conflict.
• The dialogue is as clever as can be without seeming clever.
• Exposition is always concealed.
• Never confuse an audience for even 5 seconds.

For more on Ernest Lehman, read the excellent book "Ernest Lehman: The Sweet Smell of Success" by Jon Krampner.