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Saboteur

Saboteur

1942
Romance, Suspense/Thriller
1h 49m
Aircraft factory worker Barry Kane goes on the run across the States when he is wrongly accused of starting a fire which killed his best friend. (imdb)
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Saboteur

1942
Romance, Suspense/Thriller
1h 49m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 53.31% from 784 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(784)
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Rated 06 Feb 2008
77
51st
The whole war effort part of the picture is a little annoying and Robert Cummings is a little stiff, but on the whole this is a pretty entertaining film. Hitchcock definitely knew how to make wrong man pictures and while this may not be his best it's certainly worth watching. Having the finale on the Statue of Liberty was a great choice, even if the symbolism is rather obvious.
Rated 09 Apr 2009
7
57th
A lesser 'North by Northwest', ending once again abruptly. Although Cummings and Lane are nowhere near as appealing as Grant and Saint, this film packs quite a bit of thrills and a rather splendid finale. Worth a watch; If you're not a fan, not so much...
Rated 17 May 2012
7
68th
Really good. Suffers from some uninteresting leads but the story is great, the direction is spot on and it has a great ending that should be more iconic. The pacing holds up very well. If you had Hitch's regulars in the leads this would be one of his most remembered films but sadly some shoddy acting really does bring it down.
Rated 19 Sep 2011
70
69th
Somewhere between a rehash of The 39 Steps and a dry run for North by Northwest. Even if it feels like you've seen this all before, it's still an entertaining adventure film with some stand-out scenes - the fire creeping across the factory floor, the cinema shootout-within-a-shootout and the surreal travelling circus sequence amongst them. Surprisingly, the finalé on the Statue of Liberty feels a little anticlimactic, but otherwise it's pretty good.
Rated 22 Jan 2012
70
59th
If at first it seems overly propagandic, cast your mind sharply to the flawed 'American Dream' living of the opulent perpetrators. It's more greyed out than its reputation indicated. Some scenes were photographically beautiful, some were full of silly screenwriting. Mixed bag, but worthwhile. Its pokes at class-bias were not too shabby either.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
73
45th
Not bad, but not in the same realm as Hitchcock's classics. One of his many "wrong man" films, it suffers mostly from a lead actor who lacks the charisma of a Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant or Robert Donat. And there's a lot of clumsy inspirational speeches. Still, the story clips along at a brisk pace with some great scenes.
Rated 09 Oct 2008
5
80th
The allegorical elements are tired & the plot isn't in league with his finest work but this is still one of Hitchcock's better achievements. More of the pitch-perfect cinematography and overall production level that I've grown to appreciate of his 40s work and Priscilla Lane puts in a great performance. It takes some time to really get going, but the last hour is full of classic Hitchcock.
Rated 01 Jun 2010
65
12th
So forgettable, I literally can't remember a thing about (I'm not kidding) and am not even going to attempt to try and hit the character limit. Easily the lamest Hitchcock I've yet to see and I'm really surprised that there aren't more negative reviews up here. We all know Hitch is great people, but come on now, he's not above reproach.
Rated 21 May 2011
81
63rd
Definitely must be on the list to watch. It is a very good one from Hitchcock but it feels like the director, as well as writers overreacted with idealistic filling of the movie. It tastes like too much artificial at times. Of course, the day can be saved when you watch cutie Priscilla Lane gets into the action.
Rated 21 May 2012
77
52nd
Very offbeat thriller (even for Hitch's standards) assembles many magical ingredients (including an array of fascinating supporting characters) and well executed set pieces, but unfortunately never quite comes together as well as it should; Lane and Cummings in the lead roles are annoyingly bland and uncharismatic, but Kruger makes a wonderfully urbane villian, and there is a great bit for Vaughn Glaser as a blind man. Feels at least 10 years ahead of its time.
Rated 16 Jul 2013
6
86th
...not only openly affiliates itself with those on the margins but seems the product of them, a Hollywood suspense film doubling almost as a pretentious outsider road movie. Nobody would mistake SABOTEUR for one of Hitch's most accomplished or flawless films, but it's among his most idiosyncratic and otherworldly; a big-hearted gesture of cameraderie toward those who've slipped through society's cracks, and a savage fuck you to the country keeping them there.
Rated 16 Mar 2009
50
38th
Has a very Hitchcockian story and his direction is certainly present. Still it manages to be pretty wooden due to a lackluster plot, nonsensical plot developments and unrelatable characters. Certainly a decent film, but not much more than that. Far too uneven, and the cliches are all over the place.
Rated 27 Mar 2009
86
51st
Overall not a top shelf Hitch film, however it is underrated and it contains several memorable scenes including a fantastic ending!
Rated 17 Sep 2009
75
67th
a bit too much of the patriotic chest-thumping and some rather stiff acting from lead man Robert Cummings, but still a solid Hitchcock "wrong man" film. And who can forget the ending on the Statue of Liberty.
Rated 13 Jan 2010
70
67th
Nothing new from a story standpoint as far as Hitchcock is concerned, but this is still a very entertaining movie. Had some good tension as well. Not the best acted, but it is adequate enough. If you are a Hitchcock fan, enjoy.
Rated 04 Aug 2010
21
17th
some charismatic actors and entertaining scenes, but the propaganda and cliches are just too transparent
Rated 24 Oct 2010
65
58th
Both as a comparison to later, greater Hitch movies like North by Northwest and as an example of wartime movie-making, Saboteur is an interesting -if uneven- watch.
Rated 08 Nov 2011
65
47th
Has some excellent scenes, for example the fire creeping slowly across the factory floor in the beginning. And the ending on top of the Statue of Liberty has Hitch written all over it. But, overall, very uneven and somewhat bloodless.
Rated 30 Jul 2013
2
11th
hitchcock seems close to incompetent here with awful editing and laughable american propaganda. i mildly enjoyed the beginning with what seemed to be a tongue-in-cheek character exploration despite its stupidity but once we get to the mansion it's nearly intolerable.
Rated 11 Aug 2014
90
81st
What do we think of at the mention of Hitchcock? The sudden opening of a shower curtain, a succession of close-ups with orchestral music, a spiral staircase? Let's not forget what he could do with a blind man, a bearded lady, Siamese twins and a dwarf. Being so mesmerized by his later work, we can easily forget that his ability make a Speed or Duel or French Connection kind of non-stop adrenaline rush may still be unparalleled.
Rated 23 Jan 2016
71
69th
Another good Hitchcock film. Even when he's not great, Hitchcock is at least dependable.
Rated 18 Jan 2017
74
68th
Succeeds as a decent "wrong man" caper despite the lack of any truly magnetic leads. The script is fine (although prone to some odd monologuing) and the plot shifts along at a good pace, with a few interesting characters and well-handled scenes to add colour. Entertaining and competent, if lacking a bit of polish to make it more memorable.
Rated 06 Jan 2018
70
45th
From the weak initial mix-up and Kane's knee-jerk flight from justice to the incompetence of both cops and bad guys throughout, to Kane's jumping into the final showdown and the quick tidy ending, the plot-line felt kinda hoaky, but still tense. Cummings' acting was unfortunate but the supporters were good. As usual, there's no denying Hitchcock knows how to craft a scene, and the cinematography was great. His movies' climaxes tend to be predictably grandiose, but very entertaining.
Rated 13 Apr 2009
3
40th
"Not one of Hitchcock's best, but with a few creative sequences and some sharp writing from Dorothy Parker."
Rated 28 May 2010
85
75th
A bit over-the-top at times, but enjoyable Hitchcock nonetheless.
Rated 15 Dec 2010
49
54th
an awful propaganda-laden screenplay which i imagine attracted hitchcock mainly for the audacious climax foreshadowing north by northwest. other than the final scene, it seems rather phoned in.
Rated 25 Dec 2010
75
55th
75.250
Rated 09 Apr 2011
77
77th
Terrific fun. Who can forget the climax on the Statue of Liberty?
Rated 29 Nov 2012
2
46th
Stagey dialogued wrong man thriller with a couple of good moments but too much clunky propaganda and speechifying.
Rated 26 Dec 2012
70
43rd
Even if you're a huge Hitchcock fan, you can't deny that whilst okay, this is far from his best. If the at times, wooden, acting doesn't get you, then the propaganda will...
Rated 13 Feb 2013
5
18th
Great beginning and ending but this drags a little in the middle section, not as polished as other Hitchcocks. The editing, acting and dialogue all needs sharpening up but still a good watch.
Rated 04 Jul 2013
28
33rd
Going by memory.
Rated 10 Oct 2013
76
53rd
76.000
Rated 09 Jan 2015
71
64th
It's a little uneven, with some scenes that feel too much like the generic studio films that were its contemporaries. However, the tension builds well and keeps it interesting. I also thought there was a little too much on-the-nose patriotism, but I guess you can't fault a 1942 movie for that.
Rated 08 Mar 2015
65
73rd
Good film.
Rated 02 Apr 2015
65
44th
It starts off promising but becomes fairly dull in the second half. The acting is mediocre at best, I suspect it might have turned out better if Hitchcock had had more luck with casting his first-choice actors but who knows, the script is quite silly with too much propaganda. Not top Hitch but fans might enjoy.
Rated 24 Feb 2016
13
69th
Star Rating: ★★★1/2
Rated 10 Feb 2017
70
35th
The FBI sure put the A team on this case.
Rated 13 Aug 2018
37
15th
Not good. The setup of the film is botchy. Somewhere along the middle of the film it starts to make some sense and is at times enjoyable. Especially the scenes with Tobin, played by Otto Kruger. He's the only one to give a real performance whilst the rest of the cast just hops along. The ending is anti climactic to say the least.
Rated 04 Nov 2018
70
96th
Got all the trademarks of a classic Alfred Hitchcock, except the flow was a little on the slow side, which resulted in the suspense not being as hard hitting. The other was the lack of star-power. Sure. Robert Cummings was a well-known actor, but he was clearly B-tire, so for a Hitchcock movie it lacked that special attraction. Priscilla Lane was a little better, but still not the ultimate Hitchcock girl. On the other hand Otto Kruger was amazing as the slimy ring leader! The calm. Wow!
Rated 22 Jan 2020
70
13th
Üstadın diğer filmlerine kıyasla biraz geride kalsa da, Hitchcock’un dokunduğu her şeyi altın eden eşsiz sinema dehası ile film her halükarda kendini izletmeyi başarıyor. Özellikle özgürlük heykelinde geçen final sahnesi filmin en müthiş ve heyecanlı anlarını içeriyor.
Rated 23 Jun 2021
46
10th
Preposterous plot. Bad acting.
Rated 14 May 2022
65
61st
Mostly remembered as the film Hitchcock would 'do better' in North by Northwest, but also kind of unique in its own convoluted terms -- a road movie spy thriller romcom following an innocent man wrongly accused trying to clear his name, get the girl and also save America's democracy from a group of rich conspiracionists trying to use times of fear to turn the country into a fascist authoritarian nation. So many iconic stuff -- the shooting at the movies, Statue of Liberty climax.

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