Dial H for Hitchcock: Saboteur (1942)

Welcome to the second installment of Dial H for Hitchcock, a monthly feature to discuss the work of that one guy. Café author and Dial H creator Lady Eve was unable to initiate a discussion for this month. So for better or (more likely) for worse, I'll open this month's topic with a lesser known Hitch film, Saboteur, from 1942 (and not to be confused with his 1936 British movie, Sabotage).

Barry Kane (Robert Cummings) is falsely accused of sabotage, starting a fire at an aircraft plant which resulted in the death of his friend and co-worker. Barry suspects the man responsible is Fry (Norman Lloyd), who Barry and his friend had seen just before the fire. When the police cannot find Fry, Barry is on the lam, eventually teaming up with a young lady (Priscilla Lane). He gradually earns her trust as the two of them search for the saboteur.

Hitchcock was only allotted a small budget for this film, which prevented him from casting the actors he reportedly wanted, Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. Neither leading actor in Saboteur is very memorable, but I think Cummings and Lane both perform admirably. Additionally, they have good chemistry with one another, and their scenes together are strong. Lloyd, as the diabolical Fry, is an outstanding villain.

The director keeps the film moving at an exceptional pace, as it doesn't take long for Barry to start running from the authorities. Of course, Saboteur is perhaps best remembered for the Statue of Liberty sequence, a suspenseful scene with effects that hold up well even nearly 70 years later. Hitch himself, in French filmmaker Françoise Truffaut's book on the director, described his film as being "cluttered with too many ideas." Maybe he is right, as there is indeed a lot going on. But it's still fun.

What does everyone else think?