Sabotage

Sabotage stands out amongst Hitchcock's earlier work as both a film cut from the same cloth as his later espionage thrillers and a film that famously breaks the rules old Hitch would later adhere to religiously in the name of suspense. The premise concerns acts of bomb-orientated terrorism in central London - a theme more than a little prophetic in light of 21st century events. This film is fascinating as an early example of Hitchcock's deft command of plot mechanics and character response, and remains a highlight of his pre-Hollywood work.

Hitchcock would famously maintain later in his career that the audience must always be in on the immediate threat... over and over again he would brazenly present to the viewer exactly what was waiting around the corner for the hero whilst leaving the hero in the dark. He believed that suspense could best be achieved this way as audience empathy for the hero would put them on the edge of the seat, EG. Don't go in there, there's a killer waiting for you!

The thing is, it took Hitchcock a bit of working out to get there. By the end of the 1930s he would pretty much have his technique finely tuned, but some of his earlier British-made films reveal the experimentation that got him there. Sabotage features an infamous scene involving a boy, a bomb and a busy London bus... it belies a streak of unexpected ruthlessness on the part of the director that may shock modern viewers. The rest of the film is your typical hodge-podge of scotland yard, secret agents, desperation and dastardly plots. It's a fairly enjoyable ride at a rather snappy seventy-plus minutes, and it's definitely worth checking out if you're fan of the director's more famous work.

DIRECTOR: Alfred Hitchcock
WRITER/SOURCE: Script by Charles Bennett, based on a book by Joseph Conrad.
KEY ACTORS: Sylvia Sidney, Oskar Homolka, Desmond Tester, John Loder

RELATED TEXTS:
- The book Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad, on which this film is based.
- There is also a 1930s Hitchcock film called Secret Agent, but it doesn't really have anything to do with this movie.
- Other 1930s Hitchcock films that deal with espionage and secret plots: The 39 Steps, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Secret Agent and The Lady Vanishes.