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IMDbPro

Saboteur

  • 19421942
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 49m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
26K
YOUR RATING
Robert Cummings and Priscilla Lane in Saboteur (1942)
  • Thriller
  • War
A young man accused of sabotage goes on the lam to prove his innocence.A young man accused of sabotage goes on the lam to prove his innocence.A young man accused of sabotage goes on the lam to prove his innocence.
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
26K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Alfred Hitchcock
  • Writers
    • Peter Viertel(original screen play)
    • Joan Harrison(original screen play)
    • Dorothy Parker(original screen play)
  • Stars
    • Priscilla Lane
    • Robert Cummings
    • Otto Kruger
Top credits
  • Director
    • Alfred Hitchcock
  • Writers
    • Peter Viertel(original screen play)
    • Joan Harrison(original screen play)
    • Dorothy Parker(original screen play)
  • Stars
    • Priscilla Lane
    • Robert Cummings
    • Otto Kruger
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 182User reviews
    • 74Critic reviews
    • 64Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Videos1

    Saboteur
    Trailer 1:54
    Saboteur

    Photos110

    Norman Lloyd in Saboteur (1942)
    Robert Cummings, Norman Lloyd, and Virgil Summers in Saboteur (1942)
    Robert Cummings, Norman Lloyd, and Virgil Summers in Saboteur (1942)
    Robert Cummings and Norman Lloyd in Saboteur (1942)
    Priscilla Lane and Norman Lloyd in Saboteur (1942)
    Robert Cummings and Otto Kruger in Saboteur (1942)
    Robert Cummings and Shadow in Saboteur (1942)
    Robert Cummings in Saboteur (1942)
    Priscilla Lane and Norman Lloyd in Saboteur (1942)
    Robert Cummings and Priscilla Lane in Saboteur (1942)
    Robert Cummings, Priscilla Lane, and Anita Sharp-Bolster in Saboteur (1942)
    "Saboteur" Robert Cummings and Norman Lloyd 1942 Universal

    Top cast

    Edit
    Priscilla Lane
    Priscilla Lane
    • Patricia (Pat) Martin
    Robert Cummings
    Robert Cummings
    • Barry Kane
    Otto Kruger
    Otto Kruger
    • Charles Tobin
    Alan Baxter
    Alan Baxter
    • Freeman
    Clem Bevans
    Clem Bevans
    • Neilson
    Norman Lloyd
    Norman Lloyd
    • Frank Fry
    Alma Kruger
    Alma Kruger
    • Mrs. Henrietta Sutton
    Vaughan Glaser
    • Philip Martin aka Mr. Miller
    • (as Vaughan Glazer)
    Dorothy Peterson
    Dorothy Peterson
    • Mrs. Mason
    Ian Wolfe
    Ian Wolfe
    • Robert
    Frances Carson
    Frances Carson
    • Society Woman
    Murray Alper
    Murray Alper
    • Truck Driver
    Kathryn Adams
    Kathryn Adams
    • Mrs. Brown -- Young Mother
    Pedro de Cordoba
    Pedro de Cordoba
    • Bones - Circus Troupe
    Billy Curtis
    Billy Curtis
    • Midget - Circus Troupe
    Marie LeDeaux
    • Fat Woman - Circus Troupe
    • (as Marie Le Deaux)
    Anita Sharp-Bolster
    Anita Sharp-Bolster
    • Lorelei - Circus Troupe
    • (as Anita Bolster)
    Jean Romer
    Jean Romer
    • Siamese Twin
    • (as Jeanne Romer)
    • Director
      • Alfred Hitchcock
    • Writers
      • Peter Viertel(original screen play)
      • Joan Harrison(original screen play)
      • Dorothy Parker(original screen play)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Alfred Hitchcock's original cameo was cut by order of the censors. He and his secretary played deaf pedestrians. When Hitchcock's character made an apparently indecent proposal to her in sign language, she slapped his face. A more conventional cameo in front of a drugstore was substituted.
    • Goofs
      At the beginning, a soda-ash fire extinguisher is filled with gasoline. Soda-ash units are pressurized when they're turned upside down. This opens a stopper, releasing sulfuric acid into the water which is mixed with baking soda. This results in a large amount of carbon dioxide being generated, pressurizing the canister. Without this gas the gasoline would hardly come out.
    • Quotes

      Barry Kane: You can't get away with this, Tobin! Even if I don't stop you, there will be others that will. A man like you can't last in a country like this.

      Charles Tobin: Very pretty speech - youthful, passionate, idealistic. You see I've already sent for the police.

      Barry Kane: You can't bluff me. You're hooked and you know it.

      Charles Tobin: Must I remind you that *you* are the fugitive from justice and not I. I'm a promient citizen, widely respected. You are an obscure young workman, wanted for the committing of an extremely unpopular crime. Now which of us do you think the police will believe?

    • Crazy credits
      Rather than finishing with "The End", the word "Finis" appears. This is perhaps an allusion to the fall of France, which is referred to in Pat's conversation with Fry inside the Statue of Liberty.
    • Connections
      Edited into The Making of 'Psycho' (1997)
    • Soundtracks
      Tonight We Love
      (uncredited)

      Music from "Piano Concerto in B Flat Minor" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

      Music adapted by Freddy Martin and Ray Austin

      Lyrics by Bobby Worth

      Sung by the men in the car

    User reviews182

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    His American "39 Steps"
    Hitchcock made at least 11 films about the ordinary man, wrongly accused, on the run (sometimes really running, sometimes not) to prove his innocence in a situation beyond his control, the first one being "The 39 Steps", which really made him popular in Great Britain. It really is his signature theme.

    Others include "Young and Innocent", "Saboteur", "Spellbound", "Stage Fright", "Strangers on a Train", "I Confess", "To Catch a Thief", "The Wrong Man", "North by Northwest", and finally "Frenzy". "Saboteur" starts Robert Cummings as Barry Kane, a wartime aircraft plant worker during wartime accused of murdering his co-worker and best friend during an act of sabotage on the plant. He meets up with model Patricia Martin, played by actress Priscilla Lane, during his run from the law, and later, of course, the various Nazi/Fascist sympathizers along the way.

    "Saboteur" is mainly like "The 39 Steps", even including similar plot devices such as handcuffs, the blonde who doesn't trust the main character in the beginning, a race across the country (in one case London to Scotland, and in the other California to New York), and meeting the "colorful" locals along the way. And so, just like "The Man Who Knew Too Much", I believe this is an American remake of one of Hitchcock's earlier works.

    I think Robert Cummings was chosen because he comes across as a very ordinary American, sort of an "everyman" with whom the audience can identify. I like Priscilla Lane because her character is a more involved in the action than Madeline Carroll in "The 39 Steps" and Ruth Roman in "Strangers on a Train". As mentioned elsewhere, though, Otto Kruger steals the show as the villain. I also liked Vaughan Glaser's performance as the blind uncle; his lines are great. There are some funny touches all along the way for some comic relief, such as road signs featuring Priscilla Lane's character on them, and circus sideshow performers, and the truck driver, Murray Alper. Contrary to other opinions here, there aren't too many characters who believe Barry Kane's innocence immediately.

    There are some slow parts, mainly when the action first moves to New York, but it picks up quickly when the last planned act of the fifth columnists gets underway.

    It's one of my favorite films from Hitchcock (I put it in my top 5), especially in these days of the new war on terrorism. I think it hits home.

    It makes you think, "Could my coworker be involved in something evil?" In fact, one of the movie posters for "Saboteur" proclaimed "Watch Out for the Man behind your back!" Imagine how that played in the mind of adults during the Second World War.
    helpful•104
    13
    • JAMessick
    • Sep 19, 2004

    FAQ2

    • Is "Saboteur" a remake of "Sabotage"?
    • Elisha Cook Jr.---Did Hitchcock Want Him For A Role In "Saboteur"?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 24, 1942 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Saboteure
    • Filming locations
      • Hoover Dam, Arizona-Nevada Border, USA
    • Production companies
      • Frank Lloyd Productions
      • Universal Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 49 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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