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.
After three British Agents are assigned to assassinate a mysterious German spy during World War I, two of them become ambivalent when their duty to the mission conflicts with their consciences.
Director:
Alfred Hitchcock
Stars:
John Gielgud,
Madeleine Carroll,
Robert Young
A man in London tries to help a counter-espionage Agent. But when the Agent is killed, and the man stands accused, he must go on the run to save himself and stop a spy ring which is trying to steal top secret information.
Director:
Alfred Hitchcock
Stars:
Robert Donat,
Madeleine Carroll,
Lucie Mannheim
Mr. Verloc is part of a gang of foreign saboteurs operating out of London. He manages a small cinema with his wife and her teenage brother as a cover, but they know nothing of his secret. Scotland Yard assign an undercover detective to work at the shop next to the cinema in order to observe the gang.Written by
Col Needham <col@imdb.com>
Robert Donat was originally slated to play Ted Spencer, but a prolonged illness prevented him from playing the role. See more »
Goofs
When Mr. and Mrs. Verloc are talking about Stevie, the position of the toy sailboat behind Mr. Verloc changes between shots. See 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?
See more »
Crazy Credits
Opening credits are shown with a background of a dictionary page open to the definition of "Sabotage". See more »
Love's Old Sweet Song (Just a Song At Twilight)
(1884) (uncredited)
Music by J.L. Molloy
Lyrics by G. Clifton Bingham
Sung a cappella by a man lighting candles See more »
User Reviews
Good Hitchcock, but I miss Conrad's layered ironies
"Sabotage" is one of a series of six films in the mid 1930s that firmly created the public image of Alfred Hitchcock as a major film director and artist. The others were "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1934), "The Secret Agent", "The Thirty-Nine Steps", "Young and Innocent", and "The Lady Vanishes". The films caught attention in American (especially "The Thirty-Nine Steps" and "The Lady Vanishes"), and Hitchcock was invited to come to America by David Selznick, who would be his producer from 1939 onward.
The other comments on this film have pointed out some of the best moments, such as the explosion scene and the death of Verloc (Oskar Homolka). The film was quite well made, but the film had to be modernized for it's 1937 audiences. Although the foreign power that is behind Homolka's gang is never mentioned, a 1937 audience would have probably considered it was Nazi Germany (which was the suggested enemy in "The Lady Vanishes", and "The Thirty-Nine Steps". In the original story Verloc is acting for the government of Tsarist Russia, who has sent a high ranking official to London to tell Verloc to commit a terrorist act (to spur anti-Immigrant feelings in London). Verloc does not run a cinema (as in the movie - the novel came out in 1907), but a small store. However, he does sell contraceptive devices, which Conrad hints at but doesn't name. Verloc lives in a fool's paradise with his wife Winnie and her simple-minded brother. He thinks that his wife adores him, but she only tolerates him for the sake of giving her brother a home. When Verloc's plan destroys the brother, it destroys the household. Verloc's world is that of the foreign anarchists in London, none of whom are worthy of the respect their breast beating comments make them think they deserve. One of them is at total war with society, and wears an outfit that a modern suicide bomber would not find amiss (this character is kept in the film, but his impact is reduced by script changes). In the novel, when this "brave" anarchist goes out into the public wearing his booby-trapped coat, he suddenly sees the vast multitudes in the street and realizes that no matter how many he kills or maims thousands and millions will replace them - and nobody will replace him! Conrad's "The Secret Agent" was called the most completely ironic novel in English. If not it comes close, and is possibly his best novel ("Lord Jim" and "Nostromo" may be better). The twisted irony of the plot (for all the destruction nothing really changes) is first rate in the writing, but it does not translate too well in this film version. Watch the film for Hitchcock's touches and his directing of Homolka, Sylvia Sydney, and the rest. But read the novel by Conrad for the real treat.
24 of 34 people found this review helpful.
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"Sabotage" is one of a series of six films in the mid 1930s that firmly created the public image of Alfred Hitchcock as a major film director and artist. The others were "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1934), "The Secret Agent", "The Thirty-Nine Steps", "Young and Innocent", and "The Lady Vanishes". The films caught attention in American (especially "The Thirty-Nine Steps" and "The Lady Vanishes"), and Hitchcock was invited to come to America by David Selznick, who would be his producer from 1939 onward.
The other comments on this film have pointed out some of the best moments, such as the explosion scene and the death of Verloc (Oskar Homolka). The film was quite well made, but the film had to be modernized for it's 1937 audiences. Although the foreign power that is behind Homolka's gang is never mentioned, a 1937 audience would have probably considered it was Nazi Germany (which was the suggested enemy in "The Lady Vanishes", and "The Thirty-Nine Steps". In the original story Verloc is acting for the government of Tsarist Russia, who has sent a high ranking official to London to tell Verloc to commit a terrorist act (to spur anti-Immigrant feelings in London). Verloc does not run a cinema (as in the movie - the novel came out in 1907), but a small store. However, he does sell contraceptive devices, which Conrad hints at but doesn't name. Verloc lives in a fool's paradise with his wife Winnie and her simple-minded brother. He thinks that his wife adores him, but she only tolerates him for the sake of giving her brother a home. When Verloc's plan destroys the brother, it destroys the household. Verloc's world is that of the foreign anarchists in London, none of whom are worthy of the respect their breast beating comments make them think they deserve. One of them is at total war with society, and wears an outfit that a modern suicide bomber would not find amiss (this character is kept in the film, but his impact is reduced by script changes). In the novel, when this "brave" anarchist goes out into the public wearing his booby-trapped coat, he suddenly sees the vast multitudes in the street and realizes that no matter how many he kills or maims thousands and millions will replace them - and nobody will replace him! Conrad's "The Secret Agent" was called the most completely ironic novel in English. If not it comes close, and is possibly his best novel ("Lord Jim" and "Nostromo" may be better). The twisted irony of the plot (for all the destruction nothing really changes) is first rate in the writing, but it does not translate too well in this film version. Watch the film for Hitchcock's touches and his directing of Homolka, Sylvia Sydney, and the rest. But read the novel by Conrad for the real treat.