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Priscilla Lane, Robert Cummings, Norman Lloyd, Otto Kruger, Murray Alper ... see more see more... , Vaughan Glaser , Alma Kruger , Dorothy Peterson , Kathryn Adams , Alan Baxter , Clem Bevans , Oliver Blake , Anita Bolster , Al Bridge , Paul E. Burns , Frances Carson , Jack Cheatham , Hans Conried , Kernan Cripps , Billy Curtis , Pedro de Cordoba , Norma Drury , Ralph Dunn , John Eldredge , Paul Everton , Pat Flaherty , James Flavin , Eddie Foster , Jack Gardner , Gene Garrick , William Gould , Charles Halton , Vinton Haworth , Maggie Hayes , Samuel S. Hinds , Selmar Jackson , Milt Kibbee , Marie Le Deaux , Rex Lease , Will Lee , Alexander Lockwood , Lou Lubin , Frank Marlowe , Kermit Maynard , Belle Mitchell , Margaret Moffat , Gene O'Donnell , Emory Parnell , Lee Phelps , Paul Phillips , Cyril Ring , Jeanne Romer , Lynn Romer , William H. Ruhl , Jeffrey Sayre , Charles Sherlock , Harry Strang , Torin Thatcher , Jean Trent , Archie Twitchell , Dale Van Sickel , Claire Whitney , Matt Willis , Ian Wolfe , Marjorie Wood , Will Wright , Barton Yarborough , Duke York , Ted Offenbecker , Claire James , Jimmie Lucas , Gerald Pierce , Don Cadell , Walter Miller

Aircraft plant worker Robert Cummings is accused of sabotaging his factory and causing the death of a co-worker. Actually, Cummings is the fall guy for a clever ring of Nazi spies, headed by above-sus... read more read more...picion American philanthropist Otto Kruger. Our hero goes on a cross-country chase after genuine saboteur Norman Lloyd, all the while pursued himself by the police. Along the way, he acquires a reluctant "travelling companion" in the form of Priscilla Lane, who at first despises Cummings and intends to turn him over to the authorities at the first opportunity, but who gradually comes to realize that the boy is innocent. Alfred Hitchcock intended Saboteur to be the American equivalent to his British The 39 Steps, employing such details as the solid-citizen villain, the handcuffed hero, the unwilling blonde heroine, and any number of stopovers with a variety of offbeat characters (a travelling "freak" show, a compassionate blind man, a grizzled old prospector who turns out to be one of the spies, etc.) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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72% liked it

7,688 ratings

Critics

80% liked it

15 critics

PG, 1 hr. 49 min.

Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

Release Date: April 24, 1942

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DVD Release Date: March 6, 2001

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Stats: 447 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (447)

  • fb1664868775
    November 18, 2011
    fb1664868775
    A familiar theme for Hitchcock, but executed beautifully. I especially loved Otto Kruger's villainous character.
  • SirPant
    December 8, 2010
    SirPant
    War time Hitchcock with all the propaganda trimmings. The acting lets it down ever-so slightly but he always did have a problem with actors. He very famously never said 'Actors are cattle' but what he did say was
    'I never said all actors are cattle; what I said was all actors s... read morehould be treated like cattle'. Here you can almost see why. The scene with the circus folk was also a little strange if not a little thoughtless. All of this is out-shined though by the twist and turns and the fantastic finale, which is probably one of my most favourite in film. Not his best but that's not saying much really!
  • mjgildea
    November 19, 2010
    mjgildea
    Saboteur isn't exactly up there with North By Northwest (the movie for which it can be argued that Saboteur is the blueprint) but its a damn fine effort from Alfred Hitchcock. Priscilla Lane (where's she been all my life?) and Robert Cummings work well together and the famous Sta... read moretue of Liberty sequence is as fantastic as it is iconic. Saboteur has a few slow patches in the middle (the Van Sutton party was slightly tedious) but makes up for it with plenty of good small parts spread throughout. Well worth the ride...
  • ajv2688
    October 4, 2010
    ajv2688
    This is a good thriller, but there are other similar movies, some directed by Hitchcock as well, that are better than this one. Still, it's exciting and enjoyable to watch.
  • ceWEBrity
    May 30, 2010
    ceWEBrity
    Saboteur's pretty profoundly cheesy, with as flat and uncomplicated a main character as a movie can possibly have. This is probably the closest thing Hitchcock's ever done to popcorn entertainment. Some of the writing really sparkles, though; Alfred Hitchcock and Dorothy Parker c... read moreonjure up several lines of surprising banter. Not much of this vivacity goes toward the plot, which is a pretty cut-and-dried assault against the Fascist regime. There are the tiniest glimpses of sympathy and human interest in the film's antagonists, and they aren't treated exactly like monstrous freedom haters, but the politics are about as diluted as 1942 would force them to be. Robert Cummings and Priscilla Lane are both sufficient and pretty, and the only real standout is Otto Kruger's creepingly sinister anti-American baddie.

    This is definitely one of Hitchcock's high action films. Cummings is always on the run...jumping off bridges, hiding in trains, bounding around national landmarks. It's never about why he's doing it, so much as the fact that he IS doing it and the audience is there to enjoy it. The very few plot developments seem placed to move him from set piece to set piece. In fact, Saboteur is highly illogical if anything, with some surprisingly poor editing. In one scene, for instance, Cummings is trapped in the basement of a building. We see him pull a fancy trick, perhaps the start of some great escape plan, and then in literally the next shot we see him across the street from the building! The implication is that he escaped, but it is extremely incomplete. We stumble through scenes like this until finally the movie culminates in an admittedly stunning showdown at the Statue of Liberty. Filmed entirely without music, it's easy to see the beginnings of who would become a notoriously ballsy director. Its wholesale remake in North by Northwest, however, caused it to become sadly obsolete.

    Not a bad film by any means, but a pretty obvious early effort that lacks the shading and character that made Hitchcock's later films so potent. A decent 100 minutes spent in action film history.
  • ythelastman89
    April 29, 2010
    ythelastman89
    Not one of my favorite films from who I consider the greatest director to ever live. I blame it mostly on the terrible leads, both are so inadvertently campy and distasteful that I just can never get into the story and really enjoy it the way it was intended to be enjoyed. The pr... read moreemise is pretty fun, mistaken identity is always something Hitchcock knew well. I just donā??t think this had the pacing it might otherwise have had with better actors. Regardless, the finale on the Statue of Liberty is extremely well done.
  • rubystevens
    January 9, 2008
    rubystevens
    suspenseful wartime propaganda. as ever, hitch maintains interest. good bad guy, great circus scene and what an ending!
  • jjnxn
    June 20, 2007
    jjnxn
    Because Robert Cummings isn't as well known as say Cary Grant it is easier in this instance to be drawn into his plight. Priscilla Lane feels right in her part since her all american beauty was the model standard at the time as well as being the cool blonde you look for with Hitc... read morehcock, the supporting cast is filled with wonderful characters either eminently likable or hissable as need be.
  • garyX
    March 29, 2007
    garyX
    Alfred hitchcock pretty much covers the same ground as The 39 Steps, in a fine WWII progaganda piece. It's a little preachy in places, but the final scene on the Statue of Liberty is nicely shot (although a little anti-climactic) and where else are you going to see american democ... read moreracy compared with a box car of circus freaks!
  • sanjurosamurai
    March 10, 2007
    sanjurosamurai
    this movie was inconsistent. parts of it were incredible and other parts were below average. some things werent explained well and the acting wasnt great, but the overall theme was very good. the end was abrupt and weak, such a complex story should have ended better.

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Critic Reviews

Bosley Crowther
March 25, 2006
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

To put it mildly, Mr. Hitchcock and his writers have really let themselves go. Melodramatic action is their forte, but they scoff at speed limits this trip. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
April 26, 2011
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

This political thriller, Hitchcock's contribution to American propaganda during WWII, is not one of the master's top films. Full Review

David Nusair
July 16, 2007
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

...even the most avid Hitchcock fan will have a tough time embracing the film. Full Review

Mark Bourne
April 5, 2006
Mark Bourne, DVDJournal.com

Of course Saboteur is well directed, though it's rather like visiting an art museum's 'early works' exhibit of an artist before he became the Master of his form. Full Review

Marjorie Baumgarten
March 10, 2003
Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle

Another of Hitchcock's deadly mistaken-identity tales. Full Review

Ken Hanke
November 5, 2002
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Propagandistic reworking of The 39 Steps still works

John Oliver
August 7, 2002
John Oliver, Katrillion.com

Top-notch espionage thriller with a jaw-dropping finale atop the Statue of Liberty.

Brian Webster
March 22, 2001
Brian Webster, Apollo Guide

A thrilling movie that -- while not among the top of handful of his films -- still strikes audiences as tense and highly entertaining many decades after its release. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
January 1, 2000
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A solid action thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, but it has many plot flaws and suffers from poor pacing. Full Review

Greg Muskewitz
January 1, 2000
Greg Muskewitz, eFilmCritic.com

The movie has its enjoyable, even humorous moments, but the brooding sense of danger and fear so prominent in his other films, are more noticeably absent. Full Review

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Saboteur Trivia

  • Which thriller by acclaimed director Alfred Hitchcock sees it's climax at the top of the Statue of Liberty?  Answer »
  • Name this hitcock movie. Sad Boat Tour? (1942 ? one word)  Answer »
  • 1950s American TV icon Robert Cummings starred in two Hitchcock movies: "Dial M For Murder" and _________________.  Answer »
  • Which famous US landmark is featured in the climax of Alfred Hitchcock's Saboteur?  Answer »
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