Review of Foreign Correspondent (1940) by Stanis?Aw D — 19 Nov 2009
Within the space of a decade, Alfred Hitchcock had become the top director in England in the 1930's. By the end of the decade, Hollywood came calling, and Hitchcock answered. He first made Rebecca (1940), which won a Best Picture Oscar, and he also did this, a very topical tale of espionage going on in Europe in the run up to World War 2.
It's a very gripping film, and boasts many good performances. It begins with crime reporter Johnny Jones (Joel McCrea) being sent off to Europe by his editor boss (Harry Davenport) as a foreign correspondent, he goes to London to meet Universal Peace Party leader Stephen Fisher (Herbert Marshall) and Dutch diplomat Van Meer (Albert Bassermann).
After Jones, under the alias of 'Huntley Haverstock', meets them, Van Meer vanishes, then reappears in Amsterdam, and then he's (literally) shot in a crowd by a photographer, and Jones is caught in a continent-wide conspiracy.
Even for it's day, it's very gripping, and has some good set pieces, including one within a windmill and one on a downed plane. Hitchcock keeps the pace and tone up throughout the film, and it has some good performances from McCrea, Marshall and Bassermann.
With some good support from George Sanders, Laraine Day and Edmund Gwenn.
This review of Foreign Correspondent (1940) was written by Stanis?Aw D on 19 Nov 2009.
Foreign Correspondent has generally received very positive reviews.
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