Cary Grant's Stage

Cary Grant exercises one of his most critical scenes as Roger Thornhill in the "Auction"(clip) scene, a scene that mocks the consumer society and again places Thornhill above it but also pays tribute to the world of theater. On the surface, Thornhill’s rude and brash actions seem to be solely motivated by the fact he gains access to what he want (the police) but through his ridicule, Thornhill once again proves his separation from the rest of the consumer society.

Being an unattached advertising man, Roger feels no guilt in performing his roles to get what he needs. Moments before Roger’s comic and rude outbreak Vandamm’s expresses “Has anyone ever told you that you overplay your various roles rather severely, Mr. Kaplan?” (addressed to Thornhill). This introduces a sequence overplayed so greatly that it could serve to be a comic set-piece for Cary Grant himself. The scene is a perfect stage for Cary Grant—an actor who began his career on the stage—and opportunity for Hitchcock to unveil his wit.[14]