Saboteur (1942)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Peter Viertel (original screen play) &
Joan Harrison (original screen play) ...
(more)

Release Date:

24 April 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

Unmasking the man behind your back!

Plot:

Aircraft factory worker Barry Kane goes on the run across the United States when he is wrongly accused of starting a fire that killed his best friend.

Plot Keywords:

Factory | Sabotage | Fire | Aircraft Factory | On The Run

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Priscilla Lane	...	Pat Martin
Robert Cummings	...	Barry Kane
Otto Kruger	...	Tobin
Alan Baxter	...	Freeman
Clem Bevans	...	Neilson
Norman Lloyd	...	Fry
Alma Kruger	...	Mrs. Sutton
Vaughan Glaser	...	Mr. Miller (as Vaughan Glazer)
Dorothy Peterson	...	Mrs. Mason
Ian Wolfe	...	Robert
Frances Carson	...	Society Woman
Murray Alper	...	Truck Driver
Kathryn Adams	...	Young Mother
Pedro de Cordoba	...	Bones - Circus Troupe
Billy Curtis	...	Midget - Circus Troupe
Marie LeDeaux	...	Fat Woman - Circus Troupe (as Marie Le Deaux)
Anita Sharp-Bolster	...	Lorelei - Circus Troupe (as Anita Bolster)
Jean Romer	...	Siamese Twin (as Jeanne Romer)
Lynne Romer	...	Siamese Twin (as Lynn Romer)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hardie Albright	...	Detective (uncredited)
Oliver Blake	...	Deputy Sheriff-Driver (uncredited)
Al Bridge	...	Marine MP Sergeant (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Paul E. Burns	...	Farmer (uncredited)
Don Cadell	...	FBI Man (uncredited)
James Carlisle	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Jack Cheatham	...	Detective Outside Movie Theater (uncredited)
Hans Conried	...	Edward (uncredited)
Kernan Cripps	...	Man in Movie Audience (uncredited)
Mary Curtis	...	Midget (uncredited)
Sayre Dearing	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Helen Dickson	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Norma Drury Boleslavsky	...	Refugee Mother (uncredited)
Ralph Dunn	...	FBI Agent at Mason's House (uncredited)
John Eldredge	...	Footman (uncredited)
Paul Everton	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Pat Flaherty	...	George - Elevator Operator (uncredited)
James Flavin	...	Motorcycle Cop (voice) (uncredited)
Eddie Foster	...	Driver for Saboteurs (uncredited)
Jack Gardner	...	Pat's Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Eugene Gericke	...	Plant Worker (uncredited)
Art Gilmore	...	Radio Broadcaster (voice) (uncredited)
Gus Glassmire	...	Mr. Pearl (uncredited)
William Gould	...	Stranger on Sidewalk (uncredited)
Charles Halton	...	Second Sheriff (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Margaret Hayes	...	Henry's Wife in Movie (uncredited)
Vinton Hayworth	...	Will - Other Man in Movie (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Man in Front of NY Drugstore (uncredited)
Selmer Jackson	...	FBI Chief (uncredited)
Milton Kibbee	...	Man Killed in Movie Theater (uncredited)
Rex Lease	...	Plant Cafeteria Worker (uncredited)
Will Lee	...	Rogers (uncredited)
Alexander Lockwood	...	Marine (uncredited)
Nancy Loring	...	Young Mother (uncredited)
Lou Lubin	...	Man (uncredited)
Jimmie Lucas	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Frank Marlowe	...	Man in Newsreel Truck (uncredited)
Kermit Maynard	...	Cowhand (uncredited)
Frank McClure	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Margaret Ann McLaughlin	...	Baby Susie Brown (uncredited)
Dick Midgley	...	FBI Agent (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Belle Mitchell	...	Adele - Tobin's Maid (uncredited)
Robert Mitchum	...	Passerby (unconfirmed) (uncredited)
Margaret Moffatt	...	Mrs. Moore - Neighbor (uncredited)
Henry Norton	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Gene O'Donnell	...	Jitterbug (uncredited)
Paddy O'Flynn	...	Counterman at Statue of Liberty (uncredited)
George Offerman Jr.	...	Plant Worker (uncredited)
Emory Parnell	...	Henry - Husband in Movie (uncredited)
Ruth Peterson	...	Society Woman (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Plant Security Officer (uncredited)
Paul Phillips	...	Driver (uncredited)
Gerald Pierce	...	Elevator Operator (uncredited)
Louis Quince	...	Tourist (uncredited)
Cyril Ring	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
William Ruhl	...	Deputy Marshal (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	Henchman (uncredited)
Shadow	...	Dog (uncredited)
Charles Sherlock	...	Barry's Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Byron Shores	...	Detective (uncredited)
Harry Strang	...	Motorcycle Highway Patrolman (uncredited)
Virgil Summers	...	Ken Mason (uncredited)
Torin Thatcher	...	Man (uncredited)
Jean Trent	...	Blonde Aircraft Worker (uncredited)
Archie Twitchell	...	Motorcycle Cop (voice) (uncredited)
Dale Van Sickel	...	FBI Assistant - Phone Operator (uncredited)
Claire Whitney	...	Wife in Movie Audience (uncredited)
Matt Willis	...	First Sheriff (uncredited)
Marjorie Wood	...	Farmer's Wife (uncredited)
Will Wright	...	J.C. Lormans - Company Official (uncredited)
Barton Yarborough	...	First FBI Man at Mason's House (uncredited)
Duke York	...	Deputy Sheriff (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
Peter Viertel		(original screen play) &
Joan Harrison		(original screen play) &
Dorothy Parker		(original screen play)
Alfred Hitchcock		(story) uncredited

Produced by
Jack H. Skirball	....	associate producer
Frank Lloyd	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Frank Skinner

Cinematography by
Joseph A. Valentine		(director of photography) (as Joseph Valentine)

Film Editing by
Otto Ludwig
Edward Curtiss		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Jack Otterson

Set Decoration by
Russell A. Gausman		(set decorations) (as R.A. Gausman)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fred Frank	....	assistant director
John P. Fulton	....	second unit director: New York (uncredited)
Vernon Keays	....	second unit director: Lone Pine (uncredited)

Art Department
Robert F. Boyle	....	associate art director (as Robert Boyle)
John DeCuir	....	illustrator (uncredited)
Dorothea Holt	....	illustrator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Bernard B. Brown	....	sound director
William Hedgcock	....	technician

Visual Effects by
John P. Fulton	....	special photographic effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Russell Saunders	....	stunt double: Robert Cummings (uncredited)
David Sharpe	....	stunt double: Robert Cummings Horse Riding/Norman Lloyd at the Statue of Liberty (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
James V. King	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Virgil Summers	....	best boy (uncredited)
Charles Van Enger	....	director of photography: Lone Pine (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
Charles Previn	....	musical director

Other crew
Adele Cannon	....	set continuity

Production Companies

• Frank Lloyd Productions (presents) (as FRANK LLOYD PRODUCTIONS, Inc.)
• Universal Pictures (as A Universal Picture)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1942) (USA) (theatrical) (as A Universal Picture)
• Filmes Alcântara (1945) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• Realart Pictures Inc. (1948) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Universal Films (1949) (France) (theatrical)
• Universal Films (1949) (France) (theatrical) (16 mm)
• MCA Home Video (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (2001) (Germany) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• CIC Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Home Video (Brazil) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Video (2001) (Canada) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Video (2006) (Canada) (DVD)

Other Companies

• David O. Selznick Productions Inc.  Alfred Hitchcock through the courtesy of (as David O. Selznick Productions, Inc.)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

109 min (copyright length)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Germany:16 | Ireland:PG | Peru:14 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (video rating) (1993) | USA:PG | France:U | USA:Approved (certificate no. 8268) | Brazil:12 | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (SubTV) (1992) | UK:PG (tv rating)

Filming Locations:

Owens Lake, California, USA

Company:

Frank Lloyd Productions

Trivia:

Rumored to contain Robert Mitchum as an extra.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the Las Vegas newspaper is first seen in Freeman's pocket at Soda City, it is folded so that the headline cannot be seen. When Kane looks toward the pocket, the headline catches his eye, yet when he reaches for the paper to pull it out of the pocket, it has the original fold with no headline showing.

Quotes:

Frank Fry:[Last line] Kaaaaaaaaaaaaannnne.....

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Pervert's Guide to Cinema (2006)

Soundtrack:

Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean

Streamlined, ergonomic

The story is spelled out elsewhere -- Cummings being mistaken for a saboteur and getting mixed up with a real gang -- so I'll pretty much skip it and just add a few comments.

First, it's identifiably Hitchcock, but is an example of his lighthearted thrillers not his more ambitious dramas. Think of it as being in the same class as, say, "The Lady Vanishes" or "North by Northwest." Aside from a speech Robert Cummings makes to the Nazis at the mansion -- about "you and your kind" -- none of this is meant to be taken very seriously.

This is also the first use Hitchcock makes of an American landmark or even an identifiable American landscape in his films. It isn't his first use of landmarks as setting for a chase, since he earlier used the British Museum. He does better here with his mockup of the Statue of Liberty, which also carries a (rather heavy) symbolic weight.

The score is kind of sweet and musically a little tricky, but there is no music at all while Cummings is holding the villain Norman Loyd by the sleeve at the top of the statue. The scene cries out for explosive dramatic suspenseful collossal stupendous orchestration -- and Hitchcock keeps it silent except for a few whispered words from Loyd.

The plot has more holes than a slice of Swiss cheese but it doesn't matter much. "The FBI arrived at my ranch," says the suave Otto Krueger. "Luckily I was just leaving." The mother of the victim at the beginning seems to believe that Cummings, the victim's best friend, may have deliberately murdered him. A hole has been drilled in the wall of a deserted shack so that Cummings can find a telescope and look through the hole and see what appears to be Boulder Dam and cotton to what's going on. Oh, well.

The makeup department should have been penalized (or drafted). In some scenes Cummings is so plastered with makeup that he resembles a silent screen hero like Valentino. And sometimes the delectably cream-fed Priscilla Lane looks almost ordinary.

The best performances are from Otto Krueger, who switched from music to acting, fortunately, and from Alan Baxter as the soft spoken and not entirely unsympathetic heavy. We first see Baxter as he enters the abandoned shack at Soda City with Clem Bevins, brushing the dust fussily from the sleeve of his dark jacket. And he has a truly amazing conversation with Cummings in the back seat of a car while they are being driven to New York. It's a complete non sequitur dealing with Baxter's two young sons. He describes them lovingly and then talks about how much he wanted a girl. He asks Cummings if it would be acceptable to raise a boy nowadays with long hair, adding that when he himself was a child he had beautiful long golden curls. "You might do the kid a favor if you got him a haircut," advises Cummings! It's sometimes easy to make fun of Hitchcock and call him nothing more than a successful commercial hack, but it's almost impossible to imagine scenes like these appearing in another director's work, not with such consistency.

As far as that goes, few other directors would have the imagination to roll the credits against a blank wall and, afterwards, have an ominous black shadow of smoke unfurl itself against that background. But that's only visual flair. Not that it should be dismissed, but that conversation between Cummings and Baxter I think tells us much more about what exercised Hitchcock's interest aside from patterns on a silver screen.