Sabotage

A Story About Terrorism   December 19, 2007
The film begins in London at night. Suddenly the lights go out due to a power failure. Could a simple substance like silicon dioxide sabotage a big city? A blackout in peacetime? Will the patrons of the cinema get their money back? Mr. Verloc seems unconcerned. He is the owner operator of this business, not a big corporation. Is the grocer next door an undercover agent? Do terrorists stir up trouble at home so people ignore foreign news? Verloc meets his controller who asks him to leave a "parcel" at Piccadilly Circus to terrorize the population. Ted befriends Mrs. Verloc and her son at a restaurant. Verloc is under surveillance, they know who he meets and where he goes. The talk in the movie is meant to be ironic.

Ted notices friends of Verloc going into the cinema. [What a great place for surreptitious meetings.] Ted is known to one of the conspirators, the operation is cancelled. [Undercover operatives should never be part of official operations.] Ted returns to question Mrs. Verloc. Verloc sees this and decides to use her son to carry the "parcel" along with some movie reels to appear as a normal task. Stevie walks through London crowds on his destination. A parade through the streets delays him while time marches on. [There are always the unexpected in any plan.] The suspense comes from knowing the people in the film are oblivious to the danger that is around them.

Verloc blames others for his actions. A cartoon serves as an echo on the events. A mistake leads to rough justice, Verloc will not talk about his conspiracy. Ted and Mrs. Verloc have bonded. The police arrive to arrest the bomb maker and Verloc. No survivors. The film tries to create a happy ending; it doesn't work. This story about terrorists with bombs is not obsolete today. This film is adapted from Joseph Conrad's "The Secret Agent". Was the novel better? Plots by anarchists were a danger at the end of the 19th century. Was there a similar threat in the 1930s?
Hitchcock's later films were better. This is a poor copy of the original film.

---

Classic Spy Thriller.   August 12, 2007
An elderly cinema owner, Mr. Verloc (Oskar Homolka), is a covert foreign agent seeking to bring sabotage to the heart of London. Mr. Verloc runs his theatre with the assistance of his beautiful wife Sylvya (Sylvia Sydney) and her teenage brother Stevie (Desmond Tester). However, neither Sylvya nor Stevie know of Verloc's real occupation and underworld dealings. An undercover detective from Scotland Yard, Ted Spencer (John Loder), is assigned to work near the cinema and investigate Verloc. But before Ted can unravel the secrecy in which Verloc cloaks himself, Sylvya and Stevie are unwittingly involved in a conspiracy that brings a terrible tragedy.

Criticized initially for the seemingly violent suspense sequence, the film is a faithful adaptation of Joseph Conrad's book. Hitchcock is known universally as having been a masterful director. Films such as REAR WINDOW, DIAL M FOR MURDER, PSYCHO, and THE BIRDS expanded the scope of film. These films are all masterpieces, but it is in many of Hitchcock's earlier films, such as SABOTAGE, that one begins to fully appreciate the genius of Hitchcock.

The film features no star players, moves at a rather slow pace, and has very little action. Yet, SABOTAGE is one of the better spy-thriller movies that I have ever seen. Hitchcock was a grand master at only showing the audience what they needed to see and leaving the rest up to their imagination. Most filmmakers askew that type of filmmaking nowadays and the ones that don't only do it in one genre. Hitchcock could do it well in any genre. It's sabotage that not more people recognize this.

---

Early Suspense Filled Great From Hitch (1 of 1 Found this Helpful)   September 26, 2006
Sylvia Sydney, who graced the screen for more than 70 years stars in "Sabotage". Younger viewers may remember Miss Sydney as "Juno" in Beetlejuice" or "Grandma" in "Mars Attacks". If you have never seen any of her earlier works(this one from 1936), you are in for a real treat. In this terrific thriller, she is Mrs. Verloc. A lovely woman who is slowly becoming suspicious of her husband's(Oscar Homolka) strange activities.And with good reason, he is involved in a deadly conspiracy.

It is the eve of WWII, and people in Britain are becoming aware of Nazi activity. Various occurrences of Sabotage seem to be popping up around the cities. Small at first, a black out is the first sign, but when a bomb explodes and kills everyone on a bus, the evidence points to Mr. Verloc.Scotland Yard detective Ted Spencer(John Loder)is on the case and must catch the culprit before he kills again. And of course, along the way falls for the beautiful Mrs. Verloc. Hitch does a great job(as always) at keeping us involved with the characters, the story, and keeping the suspense going. You'll recognize his signature traits all through the film."Sabotage" is based on a novel by Joseph Conrad who also wrote "Heart of Darkness".

Where's Hitch....Sorry, the elusive Mr. Hitchcock does not seem to make an appearance in this one.

This film is also available on a double feature Hitch DVD with "The Lodger". Another great old thriller, that is a silent made in 1927. You can find it easily by entering B00000JNVC, the ASIN into the Amazon search.

Be thrilled and chilled to the early works of the master...enjoy...Laurie

---

Careful! Don't read other reviews unless you see Spoiler Alert! (3 of 5 Found this Helpful)   January 4, 2006
OK, Sabotage is one of the "musts" for Hitchcock fans. The early sound film that really startled audiences with its camera work and editing, adding up to a couple of devestatingly good suspense scenes.

BUT... Some of the reviews posted here on Amazon give away one of the big scenes. DON'T READ THESE REVIEWS UNTIL YOU'VE SEEN THE FILM!

And see it, by all means.

---

Simply Ahead of Its Time   June 16, 2005
In the same year this movie was released, Chrysler was trying to sell "Airflow" models. People did not buy Airflows because they looked funny and unconventional. Many folks felt that a "lesson learned" from the Airflow was that innovation should not get too far ahead of a customer base, lest it produce a consumer failure.

Outrage was expressed about this movie because a bomb blew up a child and many others on a bus in London.

If the child had not been "fleshed out" as a major character in the film, the degree of concern would have been much, much less. But since we, the audience, "knew" the boy, we are not only shocked but...outraged.

So maybe we should blame Hitch for anesthetizing us to terrible violence and death. But his point's still good: any time any sector of society invests in violence in pursuit of a political aim, there is a risk. Suicide bombers are regarded by us as morally repugnant, but how far away is that from any decision to risk any life to make a political point?

War is a voracious thing. Use with care, I guess.

That aside, this is one of Hitchcock's best, but is often passed over because of the infamy it earned. I'd say watch it and judge for yourself. Especially compare its depiction of domestic tranquility and the subtleties of love between married people who learn unspeakable things about one another...you'd almost have to say it's a Sopranos prequel.

---