North by Northwest - Crop-duster Sequence

Suspense

The famous crop duster sequence was created as a way of subverting cliche. The audience knows something bad will happen to the character of Roger Thornhill but is left in suspense wondering where the attack will come from since he is standing in an empty field. 

"Now how is this usually done? A dark night... The waiting victim standing in a pool of light under a street lamp. The cobbles are 'washed with the recent rains'...The slow approch of a black limousine etc." - Hitchcock from Hitchcock by Francois Truffaut.

The dreaded attack comes from the sky in the form of a crop duster. 

Hitchcock was famous for his use of storyboards. This video edits together the storyboards created for the crop-duster sequence.

This video breaks down how the sequence uses silence and space to create a sense of anticipation in the scene.

Influence

"It’s funny that you mention North By Northwest, because what was on my mind during the sandstorm chase in Dubai was how to make a suspense scene in the middle of the day, and North By Northwest‘s crop duster sequence is the greatest example of that... Hitchcock set that scene in the middle of the day, in a cornfield with an infinite field of view, which broke all the rules and delivered an amazing sequence. So yeah, I was inspired by that." Brad Bird Director of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol from a wired.com interview 

At first the crop duster sequence of North by Northwest and the Sandstorm from Ghost Protocol seem quite different but there are a number of similarities. Originally Hitchcock had envisioned a tornado attacking Roger Thornhill in the desert instead of the crop duster. In this sequence from Ghost Protocol we see Tom Cruise's character Ethan Hunt battling a sandstorm during a chase scene. Like Thornhill he decides to steal a vehicle whilst its owner is distracted. He even wears a grey suit in what is perhaps an hommage to Thornhill.

 Parody

The scene has become iconic and has been parodied a number of times by The Simpsons, Sesame Street and Family Guy among others.