FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (1940) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1998 Ted Prigge
Director: Alfred Hitchcock Writers: Charles Bennett and Joan Harrison Starring: Joel McCrea, Loraine Day, Herbert Marshall, George Sanders, Albert Basserman, Edmund Gwenn, Edward Cianelli, Charles Halton, Ian Wolfe, Harry Davenport, Robert Benchley
Propaganda in film is always best when it's extremely subtle, as it was in John Ford's "Young Mr. Lincoln," which was propaganda against FDR at the time. But this film proves that blatant propaganda in film can work, if it doesn't harm the story or anything else, but works as just one of the many things that the film goes for. Not many filmmakers can these elements together. But that's why Hitchcock's a god and you're not (hee hee).
"Foreign Correspondent" pulls an interesting albeit not very huge twist on one theme that's pertienent in almost all of his film: an innocent man wrongly accused. Our protagonist is an off-the-wall journalist for an American paper - Johnny Jones (Joel McCrea) - who get himself involved in all sorts of espionnage, danger, and various other cool stuff in his pursuit to discover the truth about everything. Instead of running from trouble all the time and trying to get to the authorities like protagonists in most Hitchcock films, he's almost looking for it.
Johnny is sent over to England to be the foreign correspondent for his paper when the correspondents over there aren't gathering much information. He's a wild boy, and does anything for a story, and that's why he's sent over there by his boss, Mr. Powers (Harry Davenport), who changes his name for the "better" to the more formal and dashing Huntley Haverstock. Over there, war is brewing, and he begins to get info for his paper, and does so in the most direct way possible: by actually confronting some of the major politicians over there.
After the witnessing the public assasination of an italian diplomat, Mr. Van Meer (Albert Basserman), up close and personal, he chases them to a prairie populated by windmills. Various twists in the storyline pop up, most notably the discovery that Van Meer was not actually killed, but was a double so some devious men can hold him hostage. Twist upon twist pops up, leading up to a startling discovery half way through the film, and then finding a way to save Van Meer and alert the media about it.
There is, of course, a romantic subplot (what Hitchcock film would do well without one?), involving Johnny/Huntley and Carol Fisher (Loraine Day), daughter of a famous politician, Stephen Fisher (Herbert Marshall). But this relationship is not a boring one (what Hitchcock romantic subplot is uninteresting?), carrying several twists and turns in itself, of which I will not divulge because they're just too much fun.
One of the greatest things about this film is how everything is balanced well. The plot, the intrigue, the propaganda, the romantic subplot, and the humor are all at the correct levels they should be to bring out the maximum effect. The story is constantly moving, and the twists are plausible and shocking. The propaganda is blatant without becoming too discreet or too blatant. The romance is believable, funny, and always interesting, and never harms the story, but actually adds some depth to it.
And the humor is great. Like "The Thirty-Nine Steps," this film has an amazing screenplay, filled with great lines, banter, and zingers here and there. A friend of Carol's as well as a journalist much like Johnny is Scott ffolliott, who explains that the reason the first letter of his last name is lower-case is because "one of my ancestors has his head chopped off by Henry VIII, and his wife dropped the captiol in the letter to commemorate the occasion." There are scenes that are humurous, clever, and plausible at the same time, such as a scene where Johnny isn't allowed to transmit information to America, but does so in a very sneaky and hilarious way. I love Hitchcock the best when he adds comedy to his intrigue, and this is a prime example of how brilliant he is with this.
Hitchcock is also well-known for his amazing set pieces which stand out in the brain long after the film is over. There are several here, my favorite being the assasination of the fake Van Meer scene, which takes place in the rain, and has the assasin sneak away through a crowd of people who are all holding up black umbrellas. It's an amazing sequence, stunning to look at, and clever as hell. There are also the scenes with the windmills, a hysterically clever escape attempt by Johnny where he not only escapes but is able to create enough pandemonium to get his clothes under the nose of his perpatrators, and a scary-as-hell plane crash over the Atlantic which looks surprisingly realistic for the time period.
Also notable is how well his characters are defined and the wonderful actors who portray them. Joel McCrea creates a down-to-earth Johnny, who jokes around all the time, but is still obsessed with getting his story. Loraine Day adds intelligence to what could have been just another woman role, even tricking Johnny a couple of times, and playing hard to get for awhile. Herbert Marshall adds human qualities to his role, who may be just a tad shady. Edmund Gwenn, who would go on to play Santa Claus in the original "Miracle on 34th Street," is hilarious as a would-be-assasin.
But the acting prize, for me, goes to George Sanders as Scott ffolliott, who is an amazing scene stealer (and was one in Hitch's other film made in '40, "Rebecca"), and plays his role with the right amount of suaveness and humor. If his cool voice sounds familiar, that's because he was also the voice of Sherr Khan the lion in the animated version of "The Jungle Book." Anyway, his performance is just one of the many great things about this movie.
"Foregin Correspondent" is actually one of Hitchcock's underrated films, but even today, it is one of his most satisfying, hilarious, and intelligent films. Many thrillers strive to be too many things and can never level anything out exactly, but this film shows that it all can be done: humor, intelligence, propaganda, and plot twists are all balanced wonderfully. I know it sounds almost redundant to say that this is one of his best films (aren't most of them?), but this one truly is one of his very best and satisfying films.
MY RATING (out of 4): ****
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