Engaging Hitchcock movie with all the right elements

Rating: 9/10 (16 December 2011)

While SABOTEUR may be just another Hitchcock 'wronged man' thriller, don't let that put you off – this turns out to be one of his strongest films from the 1940s (along with FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT). The formula for success is as simple as a decent story, well told by a master filmmaker who wrings every ounce of suspense and tension from his fast-paced narrative.
Robert Cummings plays a working class hero – a surprise, as I'm more used to seeing Jimmy Stewart/Cary Grant playing well suited gents – who finds himself framed for an act of sabotage at an aircraft factory that saw a close friend die. From there on in, he's pursued cross-country by the police and soon finds himself in the midst of a sinister conspiracy by a gang of fifth columnists. There are enough twists and turns to keep even the most jaded mystery fan watching, and the narrative never flags for a second.
Cummings is a delight as the hero, an ordinary Joe type guy you can really get behind. Priscilla Lane is the typically feisty heroine, and the two share a genuine chemistry that enhances the film's appeal. The villains, too, are fast from the ordinary typecast bad guys: Otto Kruger is urbane, well-heeled and supremely confident, Norman Lloyd delightfully sinister.
The film moves from one set-piece to the next. Some of them are visually impressive, such as a scene set on the Statue of Liberty (stylistically foreshadowing the ending of NORTH BY NORTHWEST, which went one better) and the bit where the hero and heroine find themselves at a charity ball, trapped like pieces on a chess board. However, it's the dialogue scenes that really zing – particularly an early encounter with a blind man and a later confrontation in the villains' study. Hitchcock even takes time out for an intense interlude involving a travelling wagon of circus freaks, which I wasn't expecting one bit. Despite the familiar premise, SABOTEUR is one of the master's freshest and most exciting films and a real delight for this viewer.