Review of Saboteur (1942) by Irvin C — 22 Jul 2008

Poor character continuity and a surreal and disappointing climax. Saboteur seems completely out of place for Hitchcock; the acting is decent in parts, subpar in others, and characters seem to act erratically for little reason. The overall story is strong, which is the film's saving grace. Yeeck, is that climax nonsense though.

Honestly, a lot of the issues stem from Robert Cummings playing a pretty weak leading man. He's exactly as angry as he needs to be whenever the scene calls for anger; then instantly slips back into "Golly Gee" mode. Hitchcock should have chosen some better cattle.

Huge points for the ballroom scene, which provided the film's most entertaining and tense moments.