Foreign Correspondent

Eh. I don't get the applause surrounding this film. I keep reading that it stands the test of time. Did we see the same thing? This was one of Hitchcock's first films for U.S. studios, and it seems to reflect a transition in his directing style. It's got all the Hitchcockian elements -- a curvy, suspense-filled plot with a MacGuffin in the middle -- but they're not as perfectly structured as usual. Case in point, in the sea of umbrellas scene why does it take several more camera shots before the killer or the hero start moving, even though the entire crowd is already in a panic? This felt slow and more unnatural than your typical Hitchcock scene. The jokes all fall flat, as if he were trying to find a middle ground between American and British humor. The MacGuffin is implausible (a treaty clause never written down, only memorized by the participants?!), and the acting is, frankly, boring. There are some wonderful scenes (the interior of the windmill, the plane crash, the final shot), but the film is pulled in too many directions for it to be coherent. Still, if you like tales about journalists, especially wartime journalists, or if you really enjoy Joel McCrea as a leading actor (umm, oh-kay), you might find enough likable elements to keep you entertained.

year: 1940
length: 120 min.
rating: 2.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032484/combined