Saboteur (1942)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Starring Robert Cummings, Priscilla Lane, Otto Kruger, Alan Baxter, Vaughan Glaser, Norman Lloyd, Clem Bevans, Alma Kruger, Ian Wolfe, Dorothy Peterson.

Solid wartime thriller from Hitchcock utilizes one of his favorite tropes (the wrongfully-accused man) to good effect. Cummings is being pursued for committing sabotage at an aircraft factory, but it was actually the work of subversive stooge Lloyd; investigating the affair only leads to Cummings stumbling upon a conspiracy that earns him even more enemies. Technique and melodrama each share center stage, with narrative fluidity and logic too far back in the race to even spot. Cummings has the look but not the depth to be a memorable protagonist, and his romance with antagonist-turned-ally Lane feels especially unconvincing and shoehorned; the lineup of villains are nicely played, but a bit too cultured for their own good (on multiple occasions, all they have to do is simply kill the hero, but they keep giving him opportunities to break free). Vertigo-inducing finale up on the Statue of Liberty torch is arrived at through a glaringly contrived invention, but still unforgettable. Dorothy Parker was hired for a screenplay punch-up.

72/100