Saboteur (1942)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Peter Viertel (original screenplay) &
Joan Harrison (original screenplay) ...

Release Date:

24 April 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller | War

Tagline:

3000 miles of terror!

Plot:

Aircraft factory worker Barry Kane goes on the run across the United States when he is wrongly accused of starting a fire that killed his best friend.

Plot Keywords:

Factory | Sabotage | Fire | On The Run | Chase

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Robert Cummings	...	Barry Kane
Priscilla Lane	...	Patricia 'Pat' Martin
Otto Kruger	...	Charles Tobin
Alan Baxter	...	Freeman
Clem Bevans	...	Neilson
Norman Lloyd	...	Frank Frye
Alma Kruger	...	Mrs. Henrietta Sutton
Vaughan Glaser	...	Phillip Martin (as Vaughan Glazer)
Dorothy Peterson	...	Mrs. Mason
Ian Wolfe	...	Robert, the Butler
Frances Carson	...	Society Matron
Murray Alper	...	Mac - the Truck Driver
Kathryn Adams	...	Mrs. Brown - Tobin's Daughter
Pedro de Cordoba	...	Bones aka The Human Skeleton - Circus Troupe
Billy Curtis	...	The Major - Midget - Circus Troupe

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

France:U | USA:Approved (certificate no. 8268) | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Germany:16 | Ireland:PG | Peru:14 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Frank Lloyd Productions

Trivia:

Originally, Barry Kane was to be named Barry Ford, Patricia Martin was Teddie Miller and Philip Martin was Edward Miller.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Fry orders the taxi to go downtown from midtown Manhattan, but on the way they pass by the sunken ship on their right which is supposed to be in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Brooklyn is to the east of Manhattan so it's impossible to see the ship on their right.

Quotes:

[to Patricia as they dance at a party full of Nazi sympathizers]
Barry Kane: Right now, they're probably haggling over the price for us with Murder, Incorporated.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Bachelor Party (1984)

Soundtrack:

Tonight We Love

WWII Hitchcock sheds light on master's tendencies

You can't help but marvel at Hitchcock's early work. "Saboteur," for example, is so slick and quick that it's hard to believe he made this film over 60 years ago. There's some propaganda elements but they're woven into the mystery so well that the thing plays beautifully years later. You also get some previews of stuff that Hitchcock would do later--like using a national landmark as a backdrop. This time it's the Statue of Liberty. In "North by Northwest," of course, it's Mt. Rushmore. You'll also recognize things that pop up later in "Rear Window" and "Vertigo" in "Saboteur" but let's not give away the show. Robert Cummings is excellent as is the oh-so-charming Otto Kruger. Look for Hitchcock's mini-western in this one. It happens quickly so don't blink.