Cardboard Villains Sabotage This Film

Rating: 4/10 (28 June 2013)

Sorry to be a dissenting voice here, but in my opinion this film is a real mess. I hasten to add that I am a fan of Alfred Hitchcock, Robert Cummings, and Priscilla Lane. They all perform their duties well, and Hitch's trademark dramatic touch is much in evidence. Unfortunately, the story line seems to have been concocted by a committee of three, with predictably unfocused results. Worst of all, the bad guys are totally unrealistic. They can always be counted on to behave in such a manner as to advance the plot, no matter if it serves their own heinous purposes or not. The movie also descends into preachiness at times, which I suppose can be attributed to the 1942 provenance and the uncertainty of the war's outcome. I wanted to like "Saboteur," but it fails to deliver the goods.