"You see, the Macguffin is nothing at all." - Alfred hitchcock
What is a MacGuffin? Hitchcock said that it is nothing at all, but it has to be something. When Hitchcock said that "The MacGuffin is nothing at all" (Hitchcock), he really meant that is nothing important to the movie. A MacGuffin is a thing, mostly found in spy movies, that the spies are looking for. North by Northwest, is a spy movie, and has a MacGuffin.
On tcm.com, they explain what the MacGuffin was in North by Northwest:
"The key MacGuffin in North by Northwest is the secret information sought by James Mason's sinister operation even though we never learn why it matters. This was Hitchcock's personal favorite, one he said had "been boiled down to its purest expression: nothing at all!" " (tcm.com).
In North by Northwest, Hitchcock distracts his audience with all of this spy nonsense, when really it is not important. Hitchcock emphasizes how unimportant the "secret information of James Mason's secret operation" is when Professor tells him that there is no such person as George Kaplan.
Some movies' plots are just simply MacGuffin and do not have any depth to them. North by Northwest, on the other hand has a MacGuffin and other important elements on top of it that make it a great film. The audience never discovers what the spies were trying to find, yet the movie succeeds in satisfying the audience's craving for suspense and a logical ending.
On tcm.com, they explain what the MacGuffin was in North by Northwest:
"The key MacGuffin in North by Northwest is the secret information sought by James Mason's sinister operation even though we never learn why it matters. This was Hitchcock's personal favorite, one he said had "been boiled down to its purest expression: nothing at all!" " (tcm.com).
In North by Northwest, Hitchcock distracts his audience with all of this spy nonsense, when really it is not important. Hitchcock emphasizes how unimportant the "secret information of James Mason's secret operation" is when Professor tells him that there is no such person as George Kaplan.
Some movies' plots are just simply MacGuffin and do not have any depth to them. North by Northwest, on the other hand has a MacGuffin and other important elements on top of it that make it a great film. The audience never discovers what the spies were trying to find, yet the movie succeeds in satisfying the audience's craving for suspense and a logical ending.