IMDb > Sabotage (1936)
Sabotage
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Sabotage (1936) -- A Scotland Yard undercover detective is on the trail of a saboteur who is part of a 
plot to set off a bomb in London.

Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   4,482 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 8% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Joseph Conrad (novel)
Charles Bennett (screenplay)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Sabotage on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
11 January 1937 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
...A Bomb Plot ...A Killing ...Justice
Plot:
A Scotland Yard undercover detective is on the trail of a saboteur who is part of a plot to set off a bomb in London. But when the detective's cover is blown, the plot begins to unravel. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
NewsDesk:
On DVD Today: October 14, 2008
 (From Rope Of Silicon. 14 October 2008, 1:30 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
A Great Sylvia Sidney Vehicle (before "Beetlejuice") more (58 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
Sylvia Sidney ... Mrs. Sylvia Verloc (as Sylvia Sydney)
Oskar Homolka ... Verloc - Sylvia's Husband (as Oscar Homolka)
Desmond Tester ... Stevie - Sylvia's Young Brother
John Loder ... Detective Sergeant Ted Spencer
Joyce Barbour ... Renee
Matthew Boulton ... Superintendent Talbot
S.J. Warmington ... Hollingshead
William Dewhurst ... Professor A.F. Chatman
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
I Married a Murderer (USA) (reissue title)
Sabotage (USA)
The Hidden Power
The Woman Alone (USA)
more
Runtime:
76 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Full Range Recording System)
Certification:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Some critics objected to the way Alfred Hitchcock chose to end the sequence involving the delivery of the bomb on the bus. Hitchcock, stung by the criticism, is said to have regretted his decision. Nonetheless, the treatment is faithful to Joseph Conrad's book. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: The London Underground and tram lines had their own power supplies, both separate from the public system. A single power station failure could not affect all three. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Man in power plant: Sand.
2nd Man in power plant: Sabotage.
3rd Man in power plant: Wrecking.
4th Man in power plant: Deliberate.
2nd Man in power plant: What's at the back of it?
3rd Man in power plant: Who did it?
more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
Love's Old Sweet Song (Just a Song At Twilight) more

FAQ

Was "Sabotage" remade as "Saboteur"?
Why are the picture and sound so bad?
Is this film really in the public domain?
more
28 out of 29 people found the following comment useful.
A Great Sylvia Sidney Vehicle (before "Beetlejuice"), 11 February 2005
9/10
Author: aimless-46 from Kentucky

Like most Hitchcock films, "Sabotage" is a great thriller directed with a fluid, self-assured style. But given its thriller genre what makes "Sabotage" unique is that moments into the movie we know the identity of the saboteur, we know who is the undercover detective, and we know that the police have all but solved the case. So Hitchcock's suspense must come from somewhere else and in the meantime he must entertain us with character development. And that task falls to his heroine. Hitchcock had an uncanny ability to cast actresses who were a perfect fit (at that exact point of their career) to play a particular heroine. Fortunately he again makes the right choice and we are treated to a fine performance from Sylvia Sidney (imagine an expressive Sasha Cohen without ice skates).

The film is essentially a Sylvia Sidney vehicle as she plays a woman who slowly realizes that her husband is a monster. She is a young American woman who married an older European (nationality unknown) man who apparently showed kindness to her and her young brother Stevie (played by Desmond Tester) when they were down on their luck. They moved to London to run the Bijou, a struggling movie house.

Among the notable scenes is the meeting between Sidney's husband (played by Oskar Homolka) and a spy contact at the London aquarium; to the backdrop of a huge turtle swimming in an illuminated tank. The tank cross-dissolves into Piccadilly Circus as it is demolished in his imagination.

Another is late in the film when Sidney sits in the theater in numb shock, watching a Disney cartoon ( ( "Who Killed Cock Robin ?" )). There is not a word of dialogue but her eyes and expressions subtly convey an emotional cavalcade of stunned realization, immense sadness, and barely suppressed hysteria that will stay in your memory forever. It is a rare example of the visual power of film and an illustration of what acting for the camera is all about.

And perhaps most amazing is the long and unbearably suspenseful journey of young brother Stevie across London, unaware that he's carrying a ticking time bomb.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Sabotage (1936)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Best Hitchcock-English Movie? matini_martini_5
How come Sylvia could be informed of her brother's death by the media? yvdlhq
The outrecuidance of Verloc. **SPOILERS** CindyH
Where is Hitchcock? tcfoxfan
Sabotage Subtitled? ImOkayLarry
Nerdy Guy Leaving Aquarium With His Girlfriend peytonplace1
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