A Masterpiece!

A lot of fun.

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Foreign Correspondent has a story that takes many unexpected turns right up to the end. It refuses to fit into any simple categorisation. It has aspects of a thriller but also a fair amount of romance, drama and comedy. And I suppose it is partially about war and politics and spies as well. I really enjoyed the way it unfolded. The start of the movie is harmless enough but then an attempted murder jolts us into a mystery.John Jones (Joel McCrea) has been sent to England from America to get the inside word on the impending war in Europe (I guess it must be late August 1939 in that case). But he gets more than he bargained for, seeing things that don't add up and becoming aware of some kind of devious plot. He wants to report it but some of the evidence conveniently disappears. Corruption must be at work. George Sanders (playing ffolliott, with a double f instead of a capital) later helps him. He reminds me of Christopher Nolan, dapper and intelligent.Among all this, John falls in love with Carol Fisher (Laraine Day) who works with her father in trying to maintain peace. Their romance is more light-hearted and comedic compared to the rest of the film which creates an interesting dynamic.The dialogue in the movie is witty and entertaining. I enjoyed Hitchcock's twisted sense of humour which is sprinkled throughout. A person is inconveniently delayed in crossing the road by a car chase. A man is provided as a bodyguard for John but he behaves rather suspiciously. It's both tense and funny as we try to guess his intentions and what will happen. Even in deadly or threatening situations, the movie has an light tone.One highlight is an unexpected set piece on a plane. The special effects are impressive (and hold up surprisingly well for their time). The scene is very dramatic and exciting. It comes out of the blue and makes the movie more entertaining and original. Foreign Correspondent is not as dark or deep as some of Hitchcock's other films but it's still intriguing and suspenseful. It succeeds in what it tries to do and I haven't seen many other films like it.

Europe is on the verge of war and yet the normal reporters can't get a straight answer. The editor of the New York Globe is tired of the lack of insightful news reporting. He calls in crime reporter Johnny Jones (Joel McCrea) to be the new Foreign Correspondent. Johnny is surprised expecting to be let go. He is given two leads; Stephen Fisher (Herbert Marshall) leader of the Universal Peace Party and Dutch diplomat named Van Meer (Albert Bassermann). Van Meer is the center of a secret peace treaty but he is shot in public and assumed dead. John goes on a long winding thrill ride as he uncovers a conspiracy with the help of Stephen's daughter Carol Fisher (Laraine Day) and another reporter ffolliott (George Sanders).This has a winding twisty action adventure. It has a bit of the Hitchcock humor. Of course, it has the iconic crowd of umbrellas scene. It has often been compared to Hitchcock's other movies 'The 39 Steps' and 'North by Northwest'. The difference is that this doesn't have Cary Grant. Joel McCrea is a workmanlike actor but he doesn't have the superstar quality. Overall, this is a good thriller for the era.

This rather unconvincing Hitchcock film was clearly made with a war-rousing purpose, and the end credits feature the American anthem 'The Star Spangled Banner' being sung with great gusto. The aim was to try to persuade a reluctant American public to enter the war against Hitler. The story is intended to glorify American foreign correspondents who are bringing the truth home to the American public about the horrendous events in Europe. However, the story line somewhat belies this theme, because the New York editor is frustrated that the existing foreign correspondents are no good, and in desperation he seeks for a crime reporter with no knowledge of foreign affairs whatever to be sent to Europe to try to get the facts. The reporter in question has to his credit that he recently knocked out a policeman in pursuit of a crime story, and he is expecting to be sacked at any moment. Step forward, Joel McCrea, a droll but earnest leading man ready to blunder his way through complexities and ready to love Laraine Day as soon as he meets her. So he gets the job and sails to England where he commences uncovering the dastardly actions of Gestapo spies, and immediately he becomes entangled with them. There are numerous trademark Hitchcock touches in the film. On a visit to the Netherlands (when will people stop calling it Holland, as Holland is merely a single province of the Netherlands and not the name of the country?) McCrea is chasing some Nazis spies, who then disappear into a windmill. McCrea notices that the sails of the windmill keep reversing the direction of their turning. They are clearly on a motor, and this is a signal to a plane to land to pick up the spies. McCrea also escapes from a hotel room by edging along the balcony high above the street, another perilous scene of the kind Hitchcock loved. But the most harrowing of all the scenes in this film is when McCrea, Day, Herbert Marshall and others are all flying on the clipper to America from London on the day war breaks out between Britain and Germany, and a German naval ship shoots down their plane. The plane crashes into the sea and a few of then cling to a floating wing. It is all very convincing and impressive. So, as I have said, there are 'moments' in this film which are up to standard, but the film as a whole is a bit thin. Robert Benchley appears throughout the film as the incompetent regular foreign correspondent, and makes wisecracks and wry observations, such as: 'I send the press releases back to New York and they pay me a salary,' or words to that effect, a practice not unknown today.

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.