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Old Posted Sep 19, 2012, 8:36 PM
bizdog27 bizdog27 is offline
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Where was the North by Northwest movie credits skyscraper?

Trying to put together an article on North by Northwest, and I'm wondering if you can help me locate the building from the opening credits of North by Northwest:



A lot of people seem to think it's 650 Madison Ave, the building Cary Grant walks out of when we first meet him. At first this seems correct, but if you watch the movie, traffic is moving in both directions, meaning it has to be Park.

Any thoughts?

Last edited by bizdog27; Sep 20, 2012 at 4:57 AM.
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  #2  
Old Posted Sep 20, 2012, 1:17 AM
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Not sure, but I like the facade!
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Old Posted Sep 20, 2012, 6:27 PM
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That's supposed to be the United Nations Building, but I've never looked into the case.

Wordpress

Quote:
During his 40-year career Bass worked for some of Hollywood’s greatest filmmakers, including Alfred Hitchcock, Otto Preminger, Billy Wilder, Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scorsese. Amongst his most famous title sequences are the animated paper cut-out of a heroin addict’s arm for Preminger’s The Man with the Golden Arm, the credits racing up and down what eventually becomes a high-angle shot of the United Nations building in Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, and the disjointed text that races together and apart in Psycho.
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Old Posted Sep 20, 2012, 6:28 PM
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Same site

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  #5  
Old Posted Sep 20, 2012, 10:57 PM
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It might have supposed to have been the UN HQ, but the real UN HQ has a different facade.
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  #6  
Old Posted Sep 21, 2012, 1:19 AM
themaguffin themaguffin is offline
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I never thought it meant to represent a specific building.
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  #7  
Old Posted Sep 21, 2012, 1:25 AM
bizdog27 bizdog27 is offline
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Right, but there's an actual building shown as the Saul Bass credits go away.
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  #8  
Old Posted Sep 21, 2012, 4:37 AM
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Here is the youtube video of the actual opening credits of North by Northwest.
Video Link

That is some great paleo-urbanism at the end there, also notice the cameo of Alfred Hitchcock missing the bus at the very end.
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Old Posted Feb 27, 2018, 9:02 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chicago103 View Post
Here is the youtube video of the actual opening credits of North by Northwest.
Video Link

That is some great paleo-urbanism at the end there, also notice the cameo of Alfred Hitchcock missing the bus at the very end.
Is there a better combination of score and credits than the job done by Hermann and Bass here? It's brilliant, it captures NYC of that era brilliantly and the sets the paranoid tone of the film to follow. Genius.
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Old Posted Sep 21, 2012, 7:15 AM
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I can't sleep, so naturally I put in the DVD and listened to some commentary. According to screenwriter Ernest Lehman, the credits were shot on Madison Ave. The address on the building is 650 which would be CIT Financial, 650 Madison Ave, 9 stories built in 1957. Refurbished in 1987 with a 19 story addition and sadly replacing those great windows.

650 database link

edit: I don't think it is supposed to be the UN building either. In the opening scene, Cary Grant leaves his office building with his secretary and together they take a cab to the Plaza Hotel. Grant thinks it silly to take a cab two blocks, 650 is about two blocks away from the Plaza Hotel. Its the "real" George Kaplan that works at the UN, Roger Thornhill has nothing to do with the UN.

This movie seems geographically accurate. Much more so than modern movies. I saw the new Bourne movie and the shots of Chicago were not Chicago.

Last edited by Standpoor; Sep 21, 2012 at 7:40 AM.
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  #11  
Old Posted Sep 26, 2012, 3:34 AM
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im guessing new york city
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  #12  
Old Posted Mar 12, 2016, 1:19 AM
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North by Northwest titles - skyscraper

I think this is the Seagram building at 375 Park Avenue, NYC.

This building by Philip Johnston and Mies van dear Rohe would just have been built before the film was released. Park Avenue has two way traffic and the windows are of the correct design.
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  #13  
Old Posted Mar 12, 2016, 6:21 AM
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It's the United Nations Secretariat Building facade in the title sequence. It looks like they shot at a different building for the street level scene.

Saul Bass designed title sequence:


http://annyas.com/screenshots/update...itle-sequence/

United Nations Secretariat building, facade detail:


http://www.emporis.com/ photographer: Mathew Shaffer

Seagram building facade detail:


https://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorcasino/7896047262
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  #14  
Old Posted May 31, 2017, 1:35 AM
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I don't think it is the United Nations Secretariat Building since that one has an automobile traffic turnaround driveway in front of it, not a linear street as shown in the reflections of the building in the title sequence.
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  #15  
Old Posted May 31, 2017, 2:02 AM
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It's 430 Park Avenue.





http://archoffilm.blogspot.com/2015/03/

Although, its current facade is a lot brighter after some renovations.


430 Park Avenue - IMG_5350.jpg by Jeff Winick, on Flickr
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  #16  
Old Posted May 31, 2017, 3:29 AM
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animatedmartian, thank you for clarifying and finding that link!
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  #17  
Old Posted Feb 27, 2018, 5:35 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by animatedmartian View Post
It's 430 Park Avenue.





http://archoffilm.blogspot.com/2015/03/

Although, its current facade is a lot brighter after some renovations.


430 Park Avenue - IMG_5350.jpg by Jeff Winick, on Flickr
Yup, that is what came to my mind as well.
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