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Barry knows the saboteur is Frank Fry (Norman Lloyd) who
escapes. But the police don't believe his story because they
can't find any evidence for the existence of Fry.
Barry escapes and tracks Fry who leaves behind a path of
murder and mayhem. The trail leads from mountain to sea, from
country to city, and from low society to high.
Nazi agents and sympathisers are everywhere, trying to kill
or capture Kane. He gets assistance from Patricia Martin (Priscilla
Lane) who, after initial doubt, believes in his innocence
and helps him to a final confrontation with the villain.
It's a fast-paced story, full of interesting characters;
blind man, bearded lady, bobbysoxer Siamese twins, a suave
evil spymaster, an amoral society hostess and many others.
The public expects a film filled with quirky twists from
master director Hitchcock, and gets them.
Although shot mainly in the studio, realism doesn't suffer
because the settings are well crafted, in particular the life-sized
torch of the Statue of Liberty.
The technical quality of the picture and soundtrack has been
well restored.
Alfred Hitchcock liked to cast dark-haired leading men and
blonde leading ladies so Robert Cummings and Priscilla Lane
joined the ranks including; Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll,
Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, Sean Connery and Tipi Hedren.
Cummings and Lane perform well enough, but there isn't the
sexual tension between them that exists with a parallel theme
in The Thirty Nine Steps, where the hero is handcuffed
to the heroine (who believes he is a murderer). Both wet through,
she attempts to remove her stockings to dry.
In Saboteur the manacle scene is shifted to a speeding
truck and the most intimate contact is two faces pressed together.
Doesn't quite have the same touch does it?
The above quibble apart, it's an exciting movie, and recommended
for an interlude between soaps and 'shoot 'em ups'.
Conclusion: 85% Extras: 85%.
Continued:
DVD details at a glance >
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