lasttimeisaw
FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT is the second film of Hitchcock's one-two punch in 1940, yet its legacy has been mostly eclipsed by the more widely-beloved REBECCA (1940, 8/10), which usurped a BEST PICTURE win in the Oscar games, while the former is also a BEST PICTURE nominee with a total 6 nominations. In retrospect, FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT may be a lesser compelling romance due to the insipid chemistry from its two leads, but no doubt it is a top-notch spy thriller from the master of suspense, with a trio of upstaging supporting players (Bassermann, Marshall and Sanders), plus its FX are rather cutting-edge at its time, a distinguishing precursor of the similar themed NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959, 8/10), which would arrive nearly 2 decades later. Johnny Jones (McCrea), under the pen name Huntley Haverstock, is appointed as the new foreign correspondent by New York Globe, arrives in Netherland to get a clear picture of the impending war. Soon he witnesses a staged (fake) assassination of Dutch diplomat Van Meer (Bassermann), whereas the real Van Meer is drugged and kidnapped out of the country. Jones becomes the man who knows too much and is chased by unnamed killers, escaped to London with Carol (Day) to her father Stephen Fisher (Marshall), a leader of a peace party, the romance is budding but viewers will realise Mr. Fisher is a fellow conspirator of the kidnap. In no time Jones falls upon as a target of a murdering plan, this is where Hitchcock is at his best, however illogical it seems in the script, an unbeknownst Jones visits the Westminster Cathedral tower with his "bodyguard" Rowley (Gwenn), designated by Fisher to dispatch Jones, Hitchcock ingeniously plays with audience's anticipation of the approaching danger, generates a frisson of thrill combined with priceless gallows humour although we all evidently aware that Jone's narrow escape is the default upshot.German stage actor Albert Bassermann is honoured with an Oscar nomination as the upstanding diplomat under interrogation for war information, incredibly is that he doesn't speak English, all his lines are uttered with phonetic assist, and the final outcome is a heart- rending one, boosted by his self-revealing contempt to the war through the bird-feeding people metaphor, which first time it is casually articulated like an evasive strategy to Jones' slack pestering, but the second time, under the severe mental torture, its becomes a meaningful and encouraging enlightenment. Herbert Marshall is on an equal footing in his two-faced suaveness, his aloofness contends to be a requisite for a spy, he knows his undoing is forthcoming, even at his remorseful eleventh hour, he maintains his dignity and doesn't descend to desperate malignancy. George Sanders, who also stars in REBECCA, brings his usual conceited mien to the role of Scott ffolliott (the capital letter in his surname was dropped in memory of an executed ancestor), another report who is considerably more sharp-witted in the line of work. All above only makes both McCrea and Day too broad and bland in their gauche leading parts. A revelational discovery is near the ending, Hitchcock and his crew mounts a totally engaging scenario with plane crush-landing on the sea surface, in light of its time of making, its persistent impact remains surprisingly unabated. So in a nutshell, FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT may not be the crème de la crème among Hitcock's oeuvre, certainly it doesn't tarnish his reputation either, and fairly speaking, its spy tall-tale is far more engrossing than most of the products in this long-running genre still flourishing today
gavin6942
On the eve of WWII, a young American reporter (Joel McCrea) tries to expose enemy agents in London.Who would have made the better lead, Joel McCrea or Gary Cooper? This is something to ask because Cooper turned own the role. Now, of course, we have the film we have because McCrea is the lead. But looking back now (in 2014), Cooper is far more notable than McCrea... it might have provided the film a higher status later on. Assuming, of course, Cooper could match McCrea's level.Foreign Correspondent was nominated for six Academy Awards, including one for Albert Bassermann for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, but did not win any. (The film lost Best Picture to "Rebecca", another Hitchcock film, so that was something of a consolation prize.) Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels called the film "A masterpiece of propaganda, a first-class production which no doubt will make a certain impression upon the broad masses of the people in enemy countries." Flattering or horrifying that Goebbels would even comment?
AaronCapenBanner
Alfred Hitchcock directed this exciting espionage tale that stars Joel McCrea as New York newspaper reporter Johnny Jones, who, on the eve of WWII, is sent on a mission to get the inside story on a British diplomat named Van Meer(Albert Bassermann) who is supposed to sign a secret treaty between European nations. He is abruptly assassinated, and Johnny seeks the help of a woman he met at the conference named Carol Fisher(played by Larraine Day) and her father Stephen Fisher(played by Herbert Marshall) Johnny later learns that Van Meer is still alive, and being held captive by enemy agents for their own purposes. George Sanders plays a friend trying to help, and get to the bottom of the plot, which involves treachery in unexpected places...Highly entertaining thriller creates a good balance between humor and suspense, with many fine action sequences and memorable characters, especially in the windmill and climatic plane crash. Would have been most stirring in those Pre-U.S. WWII involvement days.
