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Foreign Correspondent (1940)

tomatometer

93

Average Rating: 8/10
Reviews Counted: 29
Fresh: 27 | Rotten: 2

Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent features a winning combination of international intrigue, comic relief, and some of the legendary director's most memorable set pieces.

No Score Yet...

Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 3
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 0

Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent features a winning combination of international intrigue, comic relief, and some of the legendary director's most memorable set pieces.

audience

78

liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 6,175

My Rating

Movie Info

Fourteen scriptwriters spent five years toiling over a movie adaptation of war correspondent Vincent Sheehan's Personal History before producer Walter Wanger brought the property to the screen as Foreign Correspondent. What emerged was approximately 2 parts Sheehan and 8 parts director Alfred Hitchcock--and what's wrong with that? Joel McCrea stars as an American journalist sent by his newspaper to cover the volatile war scene in Europe in the years 1938 to 1940. He has barely arrived in Holland

Sep 7, 2004

Warner Home Video

Cast

All Critics (29) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (28) | Rotten (2) | DVD (10)

This film contains one of Hitchcock's most famous set pieces -- an assassination in the rain -- but otherwise remains a second-rate effort, as immensely enjoyable as it is.

March 27, 2009 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Story is essentially the old cops-and-robbers. But it has been set in a background of international political intrigue of the largest order.

March 26, 2009 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Into it Director Alfred Hitchcock, whose unmistakable stamp the picture bears, has packed about as much romantic action, melodramatic hullabaloo, comical diversion and illusion of momentous consequence as the liveliest imagination could conceive.

January 28, 2006 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A showcase of early Hitchcock suspense.

August 16, 2011 Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | Comment
Oscar Guy

Due to the rapidly changing political context, more writers worked on the script than on any Hitchcock thriller, but end result is satisfying (if not credible), and even Nazi Propaganda Minister Goebbels acknowledged the movie was a masterpiece.

March 20, 2008 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | Comment

...a strangely uninvolving thriller...

February 2, 2007 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | Comment
Reel Film Reviews

highly entertaining with many great set pieces.

February 19, 2006 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comment
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Hitchcock's espionage thriller is a thoroughly enjoyable affair, complete with some of his most memorable set pieces.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

Hitchcok gem

August 13, 2005 Comment (1)
Classic Film and Television

Funny on purpose and that, obviously, makes all the difference in the world.

March 21, 2005 Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | Comment
Film Freak Central

The film includes some of Hitchcock's finest set-pieces, including a secret hideout inside a windmill, a murder in broad daylight and a plane crash, even if the romantic subplot tends to slow things down a bit.

September 20, 2004 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | Comment
Combustible Celluloid

strength of this film lies with Hitchcock's incredible narrative ability and cinematic vision

September 19, 2004 Full Review Source: Old School Reviews | Comment

Other than the movie trailer, there's only one extra on the disc, but it's a good one - a 33-minute documentary.

September 13, 2004 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | Comment
Apollo Guide

Foreign Correspondent works best for what it was designed for: Propaganda.

September 10, 2004 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | Comment
Filmcritic.com

A run-of-the-mill Hitchcock thriller that has some bright spots, but it's not one of his best.

August 3, 2004 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Foreign Correspondent

Johnny Jones: I came 4,000 miles to get a story. I get shot at like a duck in a shooting gallery, I get pushed off buildings, I get the story, and then I've got to shut up! "MYSTERY IN WHISPERS that cracks like THUNDER!"Although Foreign Correspondent is definitely lesser Hitchcock, it is still a Hitchcock film, so you

November 19, 2011
blkbomb
Melvin White

Super Reviewer

A really entertaining film. Hitchcock blends comedy and suspense along with amazing sets to create his masterpiece propaganda film.

November 13, 2011
Graham Jones

Super Reviewer

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Foreign Titles

  • Der Auslandskorrespondent (DE)
  • Foreign Correspondent (1940) (UK)
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