How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from North by Northwest.
Quote #4
THORNHILL: They've mistaken me for a man who's only five feet tall.
MRS. THORNHILL: I've always told you to stand up straight.
Here again, in George Kaplan's room in the Plaza Hotel, we get confirmation that Mrs. Thornhill refuses to treat her son like a full grown-man. "No wonder, then," the viewer's meant to think, "her son can't act his age." This is, again, why mommy dearest has to be ushered offstage.
Quote #5
MRS THORNHILL: Roger, will you be home for dinner?
This line, delivered while Roger's fleeing Vandamm's men, marks Mrs. Thornhill's exit from North by Northwest. Roger will talk to her on the phone from Grand Central Station, but never again will we see her or hear her voice. The film answers her question with a resounding no: he won't be home for dinner. And the whole rest of the film shows what he does instead, as if to illustrate all that's possible when you finally think for yourself.