Foreign Correspondent (1940)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Starring Joel McCrea, Laraine Day, George Sanders, Herbert Marshall, Albert Basserman, Edmund Gwenn, Robert Benchley, Eduardo Cianelli, Frances Carson, Harry Davenport, Ian Wolfe.

Troublemaking American reporter McCrea is sent overseas as a correspondent to get the skinny on the European crisis amid the rise of Nazi Germany; he gets swept up in the political intrigue of kidnapping, assassination, and a spy ring involving fellow reporter Sanders, keynote speaker replacement Day, and her father (Marshall), who’s working for the enemy. Too often unsung Hitchcock effort (outside of the director’s devoted), this quasi-propagandist thriller makes for a lively diversion, with several memorable set pieces and images (highlight: the dilapidated windmill that stops turning with the wind); the plane crash finale suffers from dated effects—obviously filmed in a studio tank—but is exciting all the same. McCrea and Day aren’t particularly engaging leads, but there are a number of enjoyable supporting turns, including thickly-accented Dutch diplomat Basserman, chatty killer Gwenn, and the always reliable Sanders, whose character is given the odd idiosyncrasy of having a last name that starts with two F’s, no capitalization: ffolliott. The original sardonic ending with a flippant comment from Sanders was replaced at the last-minute with a pro-American intervention speech from McCrea. Co-scripted by Robert Benchley, who also co-stars.

80/100