MovieChat Forums > North by Northwest (1959) Discussion > Plot hole?

Plot hole?

posted 8 years ago by aciolino
5 replies | jump to latest

Mrs. Townsend

When Thornill discovers that Townsend's wife has been dead for two years, why didn't he just walk out of the U.N. and go back to the Glen Cove police? The woman declared herself, in front of the police, to be "Mrs. Townsend." And who were these people at her so-called "party"?

Why not just punch the woman in the face, breaking her nose, then she would have to go to the hospital, and the police would have to do a complete investigation, and easily discover this woman was not who she said she was. Townsend would verify that his wife was dead (which the police SHOULD have known anyway), and that the house had been "closed" for the season.

If James Mason (character's name escapes me just now) was so prepared as to have a fake Mrs. Townsend act as if Roger Thornhill were a real person, why did he still take him for George Kaplan. Why would international spy, CIA agent, George Kaplan show up with cops and his mother (!) do defend himself on drunk driving charges????!?!? Hellooooooooo??

Weak.

[–] movieghoul 8 years ago

Good points, but...

At the UN< Roger is really off balance for a minute. First, the Townsend he's presented too isn't the man he expects and it takes him a moment to digest the info about Mrs T being dead. Before he can collect his wits, he has a dead man and the murder weapon in his hands.

Yes, he could have confronted the fake Mrs T violently but that could have gotten him in a lot more trouble. Being lied to doesn't excuse assault.

ANd of course, Mrs T is going to address Roger as THornhill, not Kaplan. Calling him Kaplan opens up a whole can of worms. And Van Damm shouldn't be surprised that an aggrieved THornhill returns to the house, because even if he's really Kaplan, he wants to do everything to convince Van Damm he's not.

[–] aciolino 8 years ago

I understand and agree with your first point, less so your second, and not all your third.

It makes no sense (to me) that an agent of this type would continue to try to convince Van Damm that he isn't Kaplan. If he WAS indeed, Kaplan, then there would be NOTHING he could do to convince Van Damm.

If he had punched Mrs. T, an investigation would have followed and some of the truth would be told --- this truth (she's not Mrs. Townsend) would mitigate any charges against him. Probably.

There would be no reason for Mrs. T to call him Kaplan. The whole reason she's there is to play the game that he was Thornhill. Otherwise, why have anyone there at all???

[–] kiwi-78000 8 years ago

Once Townsend is slain at the UN, uppermost in Thornhill's mind is the realization that he has been pegged as Townsend's killer. Any idea of confronting the bogus Mrs. Townsend at this point is far down on his list of immediate concerns. The need to flee becomes paramount until he has sufficient time to make sense of all that has taken place.

[–] aciolino 8 years ago

Yes, that much is obvious. I was referring to his first arrest and defense.

[–] kiwi-78000 8 years ago

Except that your initial question was,"When Thornill discovers that Townsend's wife has been dead for two years, why didn't he just walk out of the U.N. and go back to the Glen Cove police?" That's what I was responding to.