A gripping wartime thriller

Rating: 8/10 (27 June 2012)

This wartime thriller begins in an aircraft factory in Los Angeles where worker Barry Kane is wrongly accused of starting a fire that caused severe damage to the plant and killed his closest friend. He believes the real killer is a man called Fry, and what we've seen certainly suggests that is the case. Knowing that there is no way he can prove his innocence in Los Angeles he sets off to find Fry; his only clue to his whereabouts a postcard he saw briefly when he bumped into Fry. This clue leads him to the ranch of Charles Tobin; he denies all knowledge of anybody called Fry but in a fortunate case of happenstance Tobin's young granddaughter takes some papers out of his jacket and Kane sees that one that confirms that he does know Fry; it mentions a place called Soda City. Tobin calls the police and Fry is arrested but soon manages to escape despite being in handcuffs. He makes his way to the house of a blind man who surprisingly believes his story and asks his niece Pat to take him to the blacksmiths to cut his cuffs off. She is less trusting and decides to take him to the police; he overpowers here though and eventually gets to Soda City with her in tow. Here they are separated when members of Fry's organisation turn up; Kane bluffs that he is the saboteur after all a they take him on to New York where there next act of sabotage is due to take place. Pat makes her way to the police but they are also working for Tobin and his group. Kane and Pat are reunited in New York where they learn that the saboteurs are part of a fascist group that includes some of the city's most noted citizens. They may now know where the attack is due to take place but before they can do anything about it they will have to escape from their captors!
This was a solid thriller despite not featuring a well known cast; in fact not casting a star in the role of Kane probably helped as it gave him the feel of an ordinary man caught up in events rather than that of a hero. There are a series of exciting moments from the opening fire till a dramatic final confrontation on the outside of the statue of liberty; a scene that would foreshadow the more famous scene on Mount Rushmore in 'North by Northwest'. This is a particularly tense scene that is sure to unnerve acrophobes! Being made at the height of the war it isn't surprising that there is some propaganda to be found here; there is a clear message that just because somebody is a pillar of the community it doesn't mean they can't be a danger; thankfully this isn't too heavy handed and doesn't feel particularly forced. This might not be one of Hitchcock's best known films but is certainly well worth watching.