Terrific, Underrated Hitchcock Movie

Rating: 10/10 (6 January 2007)

Following the typical Hitchcock theme of an innocent man falsely accused of a crime, who spends the rest of the movie trying to find the real bad guys, this is a terrific, underrated Hitchcock classic. Made during WWII, you cannot miss the not-at-all veiled Nazi references throughout the movie. The movie's hero, Robert Cummings, is falsely accused of blowing up a defense plant in California, and spends the rest of the movie trekking across the U.S. to escape the authorities and find the real saboteurs. Along the way, he meets a variety of characters, including group of circus freak show people, and an old blind man whose scene reminds one of a similar scene in the Bride of Frankenstein. The climax of this movie takes place at the top of the Statue of Liberty. I thought this film was truly exciting and would rate it as one of Hitchcock's best. Not to be missed. The only real weakness is that the film's stars, Robert Cummings and Priscilla Lane, were all right but not exactly in the mold of Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. On the other hand, the villains, including Otto Krueger and Norman Lloyd, were very good.