Somebody Sabotaged This Film's Screenplay

Rating: 5/10 (9 February 2009)

I don't hear "Saboteur" talked about much in conversations about Hitchcock's films, and I can see why. It feels more like a product of a second-tier director filming in the style of Alfred Hitchcock than a movie directed by the master himself.
Robert Cummings is the wronged man in this story, accused of sabotaging a war munitions plant. He takes off to find the real culprits, running into Priscilla Lane along the way and reenacting some scenes that felt stolen directly from Hitchcock's own "The 39 Steps." The only thing resembling a Hitchcockian set piece is the film's climax that finds our hero and his nemesis dangling from the torch of the Statue of Liberty.
What relegates this film to the Hitchcock bargain bin and renders it forgettable is its ridiculously implausible screenplay. It feels sloppy and frequently makes no sense whatsoever. And the film ends so abruptly that you're not even sure what happens to the main character, but in a way that doesn't feel intentional.
I've yet to see a Hitchcock film that isn't at least entertaining, and this one is that, but it's certainly not among his classics.
Grade: B-