An analysis of the auction scene to North by Northwest

An analysis of the auction scene to North by Northwest North by Northwest was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The auction scene is a ‘set piece’ which is a technique frequently used by Hitchcock in many of his films. The set piece does certain things. It is in a specific and closed location, it also creates and/or answers certain enigmas, and it leads to a climax-especially in visual terms, and frequently a turning point in …

…finishes with a man on the phone, which then leads onto the next scene. I conclude that by the use of the set piece we have seen a lot of enigmas been created and answered, Hitchcock’s masterful directing tells us a lot of information with using exposition-“show don’t tell” has been used throughout. Also the use of metonymy is also frequent as a lot of little things actually reflect the whole thing