Review of Foreign Correspondent (1940) by Ryan D — 24 Jul 2008
This film is not one of Hitchcock's better-known films and there's a reason for it - it's not good at all. The story is about an American who works for a newspaper sent to London to try and get the inside scoop on what is going on in Europe just prior to the outbreak of World War II. The film ends up mostly as a spy thriller but the plot seems to be all over the place. This film reminds me a lot of another Hitchcock film.Topaz which is never a good sign as Topaz is easily the worst Hitchcock film I've seen.
Like Topaz, this film stars nobody in particular. The film has no big-name actors. The acting is decent but nothing worth noting and nowhere near good enough to save a terrible plot.
There's a few rather suspenseful moments but again, these don't fix the film. To make matters worse, these suspenseful moments often come as a result of highly unlikely plot sequences. One such example is late in the film where all the characters are on a plane which gets shot down by a German U-Boat. Despite the fact their plane crashes into the sea, quite a few people survive. I suppose there's a chance this could happen, but it seemed unlikely.
Maybe this film is better than I give it credit for as it did receive six Academy Award nominations (winning none) but I just don't see it. For Hitchcock fans only.
59.5/100.
F.
UP NEXT: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
This review of Foreign Correspondent (1940) was written by Ryan D on 24 Jul 2008.
Foreign Correspondent has generally received very positive reviews.
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