Review of Foreign Correspondent

Introduction

Topical when it was made in 1940, Alfred Hitchcock’s follow-up to the groundbreaking ‘Rebecca’ is set in the tense milieu of the germinating war in Europe. Dull-witted rogue journalist John Jones (Joel McCrea) is sent by his irritable boss to investigate the brewing conflict in Europe, only to find himself embroiled in assassinations, conspiracies and mysterious doppelgangers. With the help of feisty political activist Carol Fisher (Laraine Day) and dapper action-man Scott ffolliott (George Sanders) Jones unravels the conspiracy leading to a surprise-ending on a trans-Atlantic jet.

Video

The print is reasonably clear of print damage and artifacting, and the black and white is pretty stable in its tones and contrast. However, the transfer is not considerably better than a good VHS copy.

Audio

Not too bad, the dialogue and sound effects are clearly audible. No subtitles.

Features

Zip.

Conclusion

Eventful but uneven thriller, in the prototypical everyman-on-a-mission action/adventure mould. Hitchcock seems as bored with the preposterous narrative as the prospective audience member, funneling most of his energy into set-pieces that best exploit his proclivity towards expressionistic spectacle. ‘Foreign Correspondent’ is famous solely for its ‘black brolly’ murder sequence, a justly iconographic moment, rich with Eisensteinian imagery. However the occasional virtuosic model shot and pacey action scene are about the limits of Hitchcock’s inventiveness here. The film pretends to none of the emotional resonance of ‘Rebecca’, Hitchcock instead furrowing a propagandistic tale of heroic reporters, with the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ playing the audience out.

The leads are as innocuous and bland as their character names suggest. McCrea has the Mr. Average part down so well that he practically becomes transparent; and love-interest Day never manages to overcome the ridiculous, shoe-horned romantic subplot she’s been dumped in. It’s amazing how quickly Day’s ideological imperatives are abandoned in favour of the romantic whims of the world’s most boring man in a truncated love story that has been neutered of all potential chemistry. Some entertainment value is to be found from the script’s sly vein of absurd humor and some engaging supporting characters: tea-totaling side-kick Stebbins and cheerfully vicious killer/bodyguard Rowley. Ultimately though, whilst the film delivers intermittently efficient thrills, the whole package never congeals into a satisfying whole, with the jumbled narrative, silly romance and uneven tone giving us the distinct feeling that Hitchcock is resting on his laurels, experimenting with larger budgets but never engaging with his material. Formulaic pap, and mere background in the Hitchcock pantheon. Only Hitchcock completists need apply.