MOVIE REVIEW : There’s a Hitch in ’40 Thriller

“To those forthright ones who early saw the clouds of war while many of us at home were seeing rainbows . . . this picture is dedicated.”

--from the prologue of “Foreign Correspondent.”

“Foreign Correspondent’s” windy prologue, with its allusions to fighting the good fight against the Third Reich, is the first clue that Alfred Hitchcock’s second American movie was part thriller, part propaganda.

The 1940 film, being shown today as the Saddleback College/National Archives “Road to War” series continues, was the baby of producer Walter Wanger, an opponent of isolationism and advocate of speedy U.S. entry into World War II. He wanted a director who could convey urgency, so he turned to Hitchcock, already known here and in his native England as a whiz with suspense.

Hitchcock, enjoying the glow of success from his first American picture, “Rebecca,” took screenwriter Charles Bennett’s busy story about a reckless reporter tracking a spy ring and jazzed it up with his usual skill. It’s a good movie--there aren’t many bad Hitchcock movies--but it’s not great.

There’s too much blabbing about patriotism and the dangers of indifference, especially at the florid ending when correspondent Johnny Jones (Joel McCrea) beseeches the United States to take up The Cause. How much of this is Hitchcock and how much is Wanger? Who knows?

Despite such breeches, there are several juicy Hitchcock set pieces to savor here. The first and most striking involves what seems to be the murder of a Dutch diplomat (Albert Basserman) who has memorized a secret clause in an Allied treaty. The shooting is filmed head-on; the diplomat’s bloodied face registers terror, then Hitchcock cuts to the gunman, disappearing in a sea of black umbrellas.

Then comes an expansive overhead shot, the glistening umbrellas filling the screen. McCrea seems swallowed by them but quickly emerges as the killer begins firing on him. As they dart between moving trains, the camera is at ground level, emphasizing speed.

McCrea soon realizes there was more to the shooting than met the eye. The murdered man actually was an impostor set up by the Nazis who have kidnaped the diplomat and are trying to extract the treaty clause. McCrea, with the help of a British journalist played by laconic George Sanders, and a lovely peacenik played by Laraine Day, start to decode the mystery.

Some of the best Hollywood lore surrounds Hitchcock, a director with no special affection for actors (he thought they were just a step above the scenery, something to be manipulated). His disrespect apparently surfaced several times during “Foreign Correspondent,” especially during the last scenes when a plane carrying the major characters crashes in the ocean.

Hitchcock ordered several takes of the wreck--reportedly because he liked to see McCrea and Sanders splashing around in the water. McCrea kept on complaining, saying over and over that the water was ruining his clothes. Hitchcock responded by sending him a new suit the next day--one small enough to fit a child.

“Foreign Correspondent,” directed by Alfred Hitchcock, will be shown tonight at 7 in room 210 of the Business and General Studies Center at Saddleback College, 28000 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo. Admission: free. Information: (714) 582-4733.

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