A Worthy Hitchcock Film With Some Terrific Suspense Sequences

Rating: 8/10 (4 June 2007)

This plot-driven early American Hitchcock film bears more than a few similarities to the director's earlier British offering, THE 39 STEPS (1935). Both films involved an innocent man accused of a crime he did not commit (a common theme in Hitchcock films), who is forced to go on a cross-country chase to clear his name. It's a neat warm-up for NORTHY BY NORTHWEST (1959) and seems to be a "feeler" film for Hitchcock (if there is such a term)- he is feeling his way across the American continent in SABOTEUR (1942), investigating a cross-section of the American way of life and it's many famous landmarks.
Robert Cummings (very young here) and Priscilla Lane (in a rare leading-lady role) are the male and female leads who are drawn together when Cummings is accused of sabotage in a factory explosion (his best friend is also killed in the blast)and finds himself a wanted criminal. Lane is the woman who is initially mistrustful, yet later warms to him, falls in love with him and vows to help him.
As SABOTEUR( 1942)is plot-driven, unlike other Hitchcock films there is little deep assessment of character. Cummings and Lane are likable as the two leads (Lane bearing a striking resemblance to a young Barbara Stanwyck here)yet don't really hit any new acting heights (though I much prefer Cummings in this film to his bland role in DIAL M FOR MURDER). However, the romance between the two lead characters is well handled by the actors and is quite touching.
The film is built around set pieces and an intriguing bunch of supporting characters. Most memorable are the slick villain and the blind man who Cummings lands upon when on the run. The script is generally good, although a few overly-patriotic, distracting speeches (though this was made in the middle of WW2) accompanied by an intrusive, jarring score hamper the production.
The set pieces and suspense sequences make SABOTEUR (1942) a worthy entry in the Hitchcock cannon. This is the film where a man hangs off the Statue Of Liberty (no doubt a studio model)with his jacket thrillingly tearing at the seams. This oft-imitated shot is one of Hitchcock's most memorable moments of suspense.
Hitchcock also recognizes the irony and fallacies of the American lifestyle in SABOTEUR (1942). It is deeply ironic that Montgomery is shown the most help and sympathy by a blind man, an ordinary truck driver and members of a traveling freak show, whilst the rich, outwardly decent and honest ranch owner is really a part of the Anti-American establishment.
Interestingly, Hitchcock practically lifted one key scene of SABOTEUR (1942) straight into his later work NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959). The early scene which has Montgomery going to a luxurious property and finding himself in mortal danger foreshadows Cary Grant and James Mason's first meeting in NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959). Like the Grant film, the whole set-up of the ranch is a complete fake- a maid even pulls a gun on Montgomery! Hitchcock also borrows from THE 39 STEPS (1935) a scene involving Montgomery, handcuffed in a police car, being stopped by a mob of sheep. It is fascinating to see how SABOTEUR (1942) interrelates with other key Hitchcock works.
All in all, SABOTEUR (1942) is a worthy Hitchcock films that serves a viewing. This plot-driven vehicle is full of memorable suspense moments and deals with many emerging Hitchcockian themes and concerns in it's action-packed running time.