The plot centers on a ring of foreign saboteurs operating in London. Their last attack, causing a blackout, practically becomes the occasion for a mirthful public to party, and thus does not create the desired effect; so the leader decides that a bomb needs to be set off to get their attention in a more serious way. This provides Hitchcock with an opportunity for one of his favorite suspense clichés, the ticking time bomb.
The interest of the story is in the characterizations of the two main figures, and how each evolves. Verloc (Oskar Homolka) is the saboteur; his naive American wife (Sylvia Sidney) is unaware of this. Her young brother becomes the pivot for the turn that each main character takes.
I don’t find Verloc’s development very believable. At the beginning, he is squeamish about upping the ante of their sabotage; one comes to think he wouldn’t actually harm a flea. In the end, his statements show him to be ruthlessly pitiless. Yet the intervening action is hardly sufficient to account for this.
The screenplay was adapted from a Joseph Conrad novel, but from the plot summaries on line, it looks like enough changes were made that I would hesitate to blame the defect on Conrad.
However, it is interesting to note that Conrad’s story was written in 1907. The decades leading up to WWI were full of anarchist bombings. Now, for the word “saboteur” read “terrorist,” and we gain a little bit of perspective on the so-called “new threat” of terrorism that the Republicans are using to justify their systematic construction of a police state.
Sometimes an old movie pays for itself just for providing that dollop of historical perspective.
You should review a good asian foreign film. Like one of Kurosawa’s flicks.
hi jonathanB,
i am sure tim will get to Kurosawa, i have introduced him to hidden fortress, and i think he may have seen 7 samuari, i have a good deal of the Kurosawa list in my movie library.do you have a best of Kurosawa movie in mind? it is funny that he is more popular here than in Japan, or so i am told by my many Nippon friends…
steve hoffmeister
Yes, I always hear them say that Kurosawa appealed to Western audiences. I personally don’t see the “Western” elements to his films… if anything I see Western films being influenced by Kurosawa.
It would sound cliche for me to say Shichinin no Samurai is my favorite… but it was the first one I saw and thus is my favorite. However, I haven’t seen a Kurosawa film that I didn’t like, Madadayo is probably my least favorite. I still have yet to see Do Desu Ka Den, Sugata Sanshiro or Dersu Uzala.
Two good Chinese movies to review would be Farewell my Concubine and Raise the Red Lantern.
Hi JonathanB,
Well i do see alot of hollywood from Kurosawa,
the seven sam. became the magnificent seven western, the hidden fortress had a good deal of effect on star wars from speilberg many of the hollywood directors have Kurosawa in mind as they should the german flicks tim reviews because of the cinematography and other reasons, i have seen many chinese films, and i like the bollywood India stuff like Lagaan and Asoka, these are good but the bollywoods can be umm alittle fleshy in a way. i also saw one that was filmed on location in himalaya mountains and that was the title Himalaya, there are some Israel films like the chosen i think the title filmed on location in and around the old temple area nice to see. i saw one from Pakistan buran was the title, a couple french films….
Kagamusha was my first Kurosawa film and i was hooked… and his last Ran had a good deal of Shakespear in it king lear i think was the example.
well good to see others enjoy the films outside of hollywood. have a good day
steve hoffmeister
Ran is my favorite Kurosawa film, and it is indeed a takeoff from King Lear.
Watching Ran while teaching King Lear helped some students better understand the Shakespeare play.