
Sabotage
1936, Mystery and thriller, 1h 16m
11 Reviews 5,000+ RatingsYou might also like
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Cast & Crew
Mrs. Verloc
Karl Anton Verloc
Steve Verloc
Detective Sgt. Ted Spencer
Renee

Scotland Yard Supt. Talbot
Critic Reviews for Sabotage
All Critics (11) | Top Critics (1) | Fresh (11)
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We won't tell you what happens. That would be to cheat Mr. Hitchcock of his just reward, but it is a warning what you may expect -- which, as is the way of all Hitchcock melodramas, is the unexpected.
March 25, 2006 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review… -
A finely handled English thriller about a London anarchist ring.
October 2, 2019 | Full Review… -
The individual genius of Hitchcock is very clearly shown in the distinctive and original direction.
January 22, 2018 | Full Review… -
Sabotage is possibly Hitchcock's most viscerally effective pre-Hollywood film. And yet it is not remembered half as warmly as some of his other films from that period.
April 16, 2015 | Full Review… -
One of Hitchcock's best British thrillers, Sabotage contains a controversial sequence set on a bus that even the director was conflicted about.
July 24, 2012 | Rating: B+ | Full Review… -
Quote not available.
February 1, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
Audience Reviews for Sabotage
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Jul 23, 2018Hitchcock at his most ruthless in this tale of saboteurs in London told to step up their game after 'merely' blacking out the whole city because 'that wasn't big enough'. Things can only get direr after that. Hitch plays a lot with under-the-table messaging too as much of the action happens in a movie theater, and would Hitch use those moments to speak to us? You bet. Sylvia Sydney would never work with him again after this ratchet of tension.Kevin M. W Super Reviewer
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Jun 04, 2016In this 1936 film from Alfred Hitchcock, a foreign terrorist group is operating in London, and their agent (Oskar Homolka) operates a movie theater as a cover, along with his unsuspecting wife (Sylvia Sidney) and her teenage brother. Homolka is suitably creepy, glowering behind bushy eyebrows, and the kitten-faced Sidney may remind you of Myrna Loy. Scotland Yard is on to Homolka, and their man (John Loder) spies on him and cozies up to the family in an attempt to learn more. Unfortunately, with the exception of a couple of scenes, the film is rather slow and sedate, and is only of interest because it's one of Hitchcock's early pre-Hollywood efforts. Spoiler alert from here on. Hitchcock does provide tension in the pivotal sequence where, because of police surveillance, Homolka is forced to send the young boy out to deliver a package containing a bomb. He emphasizes the importance of getting to his destination by 1:30, knowing the bomb is set to go off at 1:45, but of course the boy doesn't know that and ends up being delayed on his way (comically being dragged into a demonstration by a peddler of toothpaste and shampoo at one point). While we feel the suspense, Hitchcock as a younger director exercises no restraint at all, melodramatically increasing the volume of the music and showing us the time on clocks repeatedly as it gets closer and closer to 1:45. To Hitchcock's credit (or Joseph Conrad's, the author of the story) the bomb does go off, and it is a little shocking even today. Imagine what the reaction was like in 1936 to have an innocent boy, one moment playing with a puppy on a bus, the next minute gone, along with all of the other passengers. The shock presages other Hitchcock moments, such as the shower scene in Psycho. Unfortunately, in the wake of this, the emotional reaction of the characters doesn't ring true, though it does lead to what I think was the best scene in the movie - the mother thinking her son is running towards her on the street, which for a split second has us somehow believing, as she does, that he's survived. Watch it for the bomb scene and for Sylvia Sidney, but it's certainly not a classic.Antonius B Super Reviewer
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Mar 26, 2016Hitchcock knows how to combine an espionage plot with humor, and this film can also be very tense (especially in a key scene of a boy carrying a package throughout the city and on a bus), even if it is not always so effective and suffers a bit from some weak narrative choices.Carlos M Super Reviewer
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Jul 16, 2012Not as suspenseful as some of Hitchcock's later films, but some decent acting, interesting techniques, and a few surprises make it worthwhile.Dillon L Super Reviewer
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