North By Northwest

[Bruce Morrison]

I just received my copy of 'North By Northwest' today and I'm very impressed. The transfer blows the old Region 1 DVD out of the water, and the only general comment is that it needs to be played at a much higher than normal volume setting for the audio to have the proper impact and presence.

However, I have a question about something I've never noticed in the film before. During the sequence on the train, at the moment when Cary Grant and Eva Marie-Saint leave the dining car (the timing is 52' 08"), there is a shot, lasting about 4 seconds, with a strange vertical white line down the full length of the screen. It was also present on the DVD, and it seems to be an integral and intentional part of the image because part of it is also seen from a slightly different angle a little earlier when Cary Grant enters the dining car. But for the life of me, I can't tell what this line is supposed to be!

Can anyone explain this and put me out of my misery!?