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.
Foreign Correspondent (1940)
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Reviews Counted: 29
Fresh: 27
Rotten:2
Average Rating: 7.9/10
Consensus: 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.
Runtime: 2 hrs
Genre: Action/Adventure
Synopsis: Set after the start of World War II, FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT avoids almost all the trappings of a war movie and focuses on the type of murky intrigue that is Hitchcock's signature. Joel McCrea plays... Set after the start of World War II, FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT avoids almost all the trappings of a war movie and focuses on the type of murky intrigue that is Hitchcock's signature. Joel McCrea plays Johnny Jones, a reporter sent overseas when his newspaper demands some firsthand news. Jones is a New Yorker out of his element in Europe, but when he stumbles upon a massive conspiracy headed by peace advocate Stephen Fisher (Herbert Marshall), his instincts drive him to pursue the story and confront the web of intrigue, but he'll need help and finds it in the lovely Carol (Laraine Day). The rain-soaked assassination sequence that kicks off the intrigue has a raw, haunting quality that plays on the spareness of newsreel footage. [More]
Starring: Joel McCrea, Laraine Day, Herbert Marshall, George Sanders
Starring: Joel McCrea, Laraine Day, Herbert Marshall, George Sanders, Albert Basserman, Edmund Gwenn, Eduardo Ciannelli, Robert Benchley, Harry Davenport, Martin Kosleck, Charles Halton
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Screenwriter: Charles Bennett, Joan Harrison, James Hilton, Robert Benchley
Producer: Walter Wanger
Composer: Alfred Newman
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Reviews for Foreign Correspondent
Story is essentially the old cops-and-robbers. But it has been set in a background of international political intrigue of the largest order.
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.
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.
Hitchcock's espionage thriller is a thoroughly enjoyable affair, complete with some of his most memorable set pieces.
Funny on purpose and that, obviously, makes all the difference in the world.
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.
strength of this film lies with Hitchcock's incredible narrative ability and cinematic vision
Foreign Correspondent works best for what it was designed for: Propaganda.
A run-of-the-mill Hitchcock thriller that has some bright spots, but it's not one of his best.
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