Stars: Priscilla Lane, Robert Cummings, Norman Lloyd, Otto Kruger, Alan Baxter, Alma Kruger, Dorothy Peterson, Clem Bevans

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Summary: An aircraft factory worker witnesses his workplace being burned to the ground by a Nazi, but becomes the chief suspect for the crime...

A forerunner to Hitchcock's NORTH BY NORTHWEST, SABOTEUR is the story of defense plant worker Barry Kane (Robert Cummings), who stands falsely accused of planning a factory explosion that killed his good friend. Recognizing that he has been set up and that no one is likely to believe his story, Kane is forced to piece together the little information he can recall from the event to find the true leader of a spy ring. The film carries themes later explored more deeply in other Hitchcock films. The lone hero escapes and races cross country, searching desperately for proof of his innocence. Kane has the good fortune to win the trust of a blind musician and later the affection of the musician's daughter, Patricia Martin (Priscilla Lane). Over the course of a series of explosive scenes Kane, both the pursuer and the pursued, approaches the inner circle of agents. Among the hairpin plot twists and near misses are the traditional absurd Hitchcockian touches--such as when the lovers seek refuge in a train car filled with circus misfits. The ultimate climax--the clash on the Statue of Liberty--is one of Hitchcock's most famous scenes.

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This Hitchcock thriller is mainly famous for its climax, which finds the villain (Norman Lloyd) hanging by his sleeve from the torch on the Statue of Liberty as the seam begins to unravel. Otherwise, it's not one of the director's great pictures, though it's still worth a look. Set during the initial stages of World War II, the story concerns a ring of Nazi fifth columnists who plot to weaken American military defences by blowing up a munitions factory, a dam and a battleship. In an early example of Hitchcock's celebrated "wrong man" theme, the hero Barry Kane (Robert Cummings) gets falsely accused of sabotage and becomes a fugitive, hunted from coast to coast. Eventually, he hooks up with the heroine Pat Martin (Priscilla Lane), a super-patriot who takes some convincing of his innocence and plans to turn him in--until the inevitable chemical reaction occurs. It's a highly episodic tale that may put you in mind of Hitchcock's previous The 39 Steps(1935) and his later North by Northwest(1959).

The miscellaneous incidents (a shoot-out at a cinema, a bizarre encounter with the freaks in a circus troupe) are often exciting in themselves. The trouble is they just sort of lie there like so-many scattered marbles, never building into a coherent and satisfying whole. The bland dialogue supplied by novice screenwriter Peter Viertel doesn't help matters much. Neither does the casting of the two stars, square, wholesome types, entirely lacking in the perversity and eccentricity one associates with the Hitchcock universe. (It's tedious to hear Lane endlessly mouthing off about the American way, while Cummings must be counted one of the dullest leading men in Hollywood history.) Still, this half-hearted effort by the pot-bellied master of suspense would probably make the reputation of a dozen lesser directors. --Peter Matthews

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Year:	1942
Release Date:	October 17, 2005
Runtime:	104 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	823 620 0
Label:	The Hitchcock Collection
Keywords:	General, Thriller, Saboteur
Genre:	Thriller