Which Hitchcock film influenced Mad Men's skyscraper-filled opening titles?

North by Northwest influenced Mad Men’s skyscraper-filled opening titles.

The connection runs through graphic designer Saul Bass, whose 1959 title sequence for Alfred Hitchcock’s film used geometric lines, typography, and towering city forms. Mad Men’s opening echoes that urban architecture while replacing Bass’s moving lines with a silhouetted businessman falling past skyscrapers.

The sequence also contains a second Hitchcock reference. The falling figure recalls the poster imagery for Vertigo, released in 1958, so North by Northwest is the best answer for the skyscraper-title influence, while Vertigo explains part of the opening’s falling-man imagery.

A common mix-up is to identify Vertigo as the sole inspiration. The credits sequence deliberately combines visual ideas from both films. Imaginary Forces created the Mad Men titles, and RJD2’s instrumental “A Beautiful Mine” accompanies them.