Norman Lloyd's best performance!

Rating: 10/10 (2 October 2017)

Producer: Frank Lloyd. A Frank Lloyd Production. (Available on an excellent Universal DVD).
Copyright 29 April 1942 by Universal Pictures Co., Inc. Presented by Frank Lloyd Productions. New York opening at the Radio City Music Hall: 7 May 1942. U.S. release: 23 April 1942. Australian release: 10 December 1942. 11 reels. 9,876 feet. 110 minutes.
SYNOPSIS: Innocent of sabotage, an accused man hunts from west to east to pin down the real Nazi agents. In short, this movie is a variant on "The 39 Steps".
COMMENT: Hard to believe that Norman Lloyd wasn't even nominated for a prestigious Hollywood acting award. Who remembers winner Van Heflin in Johnny Eager? Yet Lloyd's is one of the strongest and most unforgettable support performances of the war years.
"Saboteur" is a thrill-a-minute thriller with a great cast, terrific production values and an absolutely stand-out climax atop the Statue of Liberty. Hitchcock at his best!
Cummings is very effective as the fall guy, Priscilla Lane makes an attractive heroine, whilst Otto Kruger is suavely deadly as the chief heavy.
This great movie features crackling dialogue, and is delivered at an express-train pace. with top of the range credits and production values.
In short, a typically brilliant Hitchcock chase thriller, with many of the director's favorite cliff-hanging ingredients masterfully infused into the plot. All these echoes in story and characterization add rather than detract from the over-all suspense. Hitchcock makes the familiar seem fresh and even more terrifyingly real.