Foreign Correspondent
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Movie Reviews of Foreign Correspondent
Movie Review: VERY EUROPEAN FLAIR TO A PATRIOTIC THRILLER
Summary: 4 Stars
For some reason Hitchcock's first WWII thriller, "Foreign Correspondent" (1940), never quite achieved the critical accolades or fame of say, "Notorious." This, despite the film's harrowing representations of murder and spine tingling cloak and dagger war games. It stars matinee idol, Joel McCrea as Johnny Jones, a New York reporter dispatched to Europe who inadvertently stumbles upon a troupe of fascists preparing to take over the world. After witnessing an assassination, Jones becomes embroiled in the harrowing plot of secret government codes falling into the wrong hands. Along the way, he encounters Carol Fisher (Laraine Day) whose father, Stephan (Herbert Marshall) may or may not be the lynch pin in all the espionage. Both the mood and charm of many of the film's set pieces speaks to Hitchcock's flair for European cinema. In fact, in viewing "Foreign Correspondence" today there is a decide lack of Hollywood glitz about it.
Warner's DVD transfer exhibits a balanced gray scale with deep, solid blacks and reasonably clean whites. Dirt, scratches and other age related artifacts are present but do not terribly distract. There's a complete lack of edge enhancement, pixelization and shimmering of fine details for a picture that is overall smooth and easy on the eyes. The audio is mono but very nicely cleaned up.
Movie Review: Still a Brit at this point.
Summary: 4 Stars
By this time, 1940, Hitchcock was working in the U.S. but this movie, his 2nd here still has a British feel to it, even with it's all-American hero, Joel McCrea. An excellent early Hitchcock effort. I'm bad & I didn't have the foresight to view Hitchcock in any type of coherent order, like the British movies first. But from that perpective, I think Foreign Correspondent might be my favorite & even better than North by Northwest, considered by many to be his masterwork. Many movie buffs have long reviews here telling every detail of the movie, so I won't go there again. It needs to be seen more than once & you have to pay attention. there is a Hitchcock style, the "Often copied never duplicated" thing. It's true. I look for the touchstone scenes & you know them when you see them: The umbrella assassination scene, the windmills & the Europe Hot(el) scene. Of course, there is always the Hitchcock cameo, pretty easy to spot in this one. The movie takes place in the present which was England at war & a year before The United States entered. Lots of cheerleading for England, the villany of the Nazis & the inevitability of the U.S. joining England soon. George Sanders as Scott ffolliott (yes that's right) was delicious.Movie Review: Serious themes delivered in a charming, entertaining manner
Summary: 4 Stars
"Foreign Correspondent" is like a really good martini: it's elegant, yet crisp, refreshing, and eye opening. It was a pleasure to see it again in this new DVD edition. Further, the 33-minute retrospective documentary that accompanies the movie is among the better of the "making of" pieces that accompany the most recent batch of Hitchcock DVDs, not only because it's longer (most of the others average about 20 minutes), but also because it includes ample home movie footage- much of it in color- of the Hitchcock family around the time of the making of this 40's era film, which is very interesting to see. All around, this is a very entertaining DVD.Movie Review: A forgotten gem from the master.
Summary: 3 Stars
This spy-story runs long and sometimes you just want to fast forward to the great spectacular scenes. The second film from Hitchcock made in the states; Rebecca has a better plot and star power. Yet this six oscar nominated film does deserve a look at, especially the set pieces. There is no confrontations or suspense who is the villain, but the camera shots are worth the price of admission. Although the final sequence is a little predictable and the goofs are among the most obvious, it is still a ride I will continue to take.