According to some critics, the great film North By Northwest directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Cary Grant is something of a spoof on espionage thrillers of the day. (IMHO it’s hard to tell in a Cary Grant movie since he usually seemed to have his tongue firmly planted in his cheek.)
But after seeing it again on TCM yesterday, I started wondering about the monogrammed matchbooks he carries in the film–ROT for Roger O. Thornhill. Isn’t the idea of having one’s own matchbooks made somewhat bizarre? Wouldn’t a smoker with any pretensions to high style rather carry a solid gold Zippo or something of that sort?
Of course you can give out matchbooks, which isn’t true of an expensive lighter. So there’s an advantage. But, in IRL, has anyone heard of monogrammed matchbooks?
Except that all they had on them was the “ROT”. No full name, no company name, no phone number (no web site address ;)) . So how useful could that be? Someone finds one of his matchbooks a few days later: “Oh yeah, that advertising guy. What was his name? Robert? Thornton? Oh well, I’d like to use him for this advertising job I have, but since I can’t exactly look up ‘ROT’ in the phone book, I’ll have to go with Acme advertising…”
My late father was very fond of monogrammed matchbooks. In the 1950s, this was often done by those who preferred matches to lighters. My dad had many different styles and colors of matchbooks with 3-letter monograms on 'em. Like ROT, my father’s initials spelled a word. The word was ARM. I had forgotten about those matchbooks until I saw this post. It’s odd how childhood memories can flood back into the mind with a small stimulus.
Monogrammed matchbooks were quite common. I’d guess an adman would have them made up, but they weren’t all that unusual for others to have them. Even now, they are sometimes made up for weddings and other occasions.
It’s not advertising; it’s class. When you light your cigarette with a monogrammed one, it looks nicer than one with an ad telling you how to get your high school diploma by mail. Or one that advertises something (back then, it was considered crass to have an advertisement on your personal items).
The one nonstandard thing about Thornhill’s are that they were more commonly designed with the last name in the middle, and in larger text:
RTO for Roger O. Thornhill
This was to prevent the middle initial from being the largest letter. But I suppose there were other designs with the initials in the right order.
When he sent his suit to be cleaned, I got a kick out of his pronunciation of “valet”. He said it like “val-it” and I thought it was pronounced “val-ay”. But he’s Cary Grant, he surely knows how to say it. And his “dandruff” came in 3 syllables or some strange pronunciation.
Yes, I think “rOt” is a subtle visual joke. There are a lot of them in the movie, like the last scene where the train enters the tunnel just as Thornhill and Eve Kendell get it on. Hitchock’s cameo during the opening credits where he misses the bus sets the tone of the film, which is much more lighthearted than Vertigo.
“Val-it” is an acceptable pronunciation, in fact this site lists it as the first pronunciation. It also pops up in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” when MM is perusing the passenger list for suitable dinner companions for Jane Russell. “Mister Henry Spofford and valet” among others.
Hitchcock once said (parahrasing), “There are no symbols in North by Northwest. Well, one. The train going into the tunnel at the end. That’s a phallic symbol, but don’t tell anyone.”
Hitchcock’s cameo, OTOH, was placed where it is to get it over with. He used vaguely humorous cameos even in serious films. In this case, he didn’t want people wondering when he would show up and have that interfere with the action.
In addition to the suit, I want one of those uniforms that Thornhill gets at the Chicago train station by bribing the 5’2", 120-lb. redcap – talk about one-size-fits-all.
The tone of the film is lighter*, certainly, but the tone of the cameo is pretty much the same as his cameos in the 50s and later. By that time, people caught on to the fact he was in every one of his films and would look for him, so he had fun with it. So you got him carrying a bass fiddle (Strangers on a Train), walking his dogs (The Birds), wearing a cowboy hat (Psycho), sitting with a baby on his knee (Torn Curtain), etc. Hitchcock by that time was a bit annoyed at having to do them (he first did it because they needed an extra body on screen, then as a good luck charm, and finally because it was expected).
Though I agree with you about Vertigo. It’s OK, but I prefer **North by Northwest, Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, The 39 Steps, Saboteur, Family Plot[b/] (his most underrated film) and, of course Psycho (ultimately, his most influential film).
*Though it is very similar to his earlier Saboteur.
“VAL-et”, AFAIK, is the only correct pronunciation, while “val-LAY” is a genteelism based on the notion that words used by the rich ought to have sophisticated French pronunciations. On the other hand, though, I’d say that this applies only in the meaning of a personal servant. In the context of parking cars, you’re probably better off pronouncing it “val-LAY”.
