foreign correspondent

There aren’t many secrets left to uncover in the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Few directors have had their works so meticulously scrutinized, studied and admired more than Hitch. So with their release of 1940’s Foreign Correspondent on a blu-ray / DVD dual format edition, it almost feels like the folks at Criterion have lightened things up a bit. Although the extras are rich and plentiful, they take a broader view of the director’s work leading up to WW2 with his emphasis on entertainment first…and propaganda second.

Foreign Correspondent was Hitchcock’s second American film following Rebecca (1940), both films competing against each other during the 1941 Academy Awards. While Rebecca is more memorable, it’s also atypical of Hitchcock’s style at the time; a humorless affair that treats its central tragedy with a deadly earnestness dictated by producer David O’ Selznick. By contrast, Hitchcock was given pretty much free reign on Foreign Correspondent…and it shows. An obvious descendent of witty thrillers like The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes, even if the film doesn’t deliver anything particularly new, it puts on quite a show.

Sent off to Europe by his newspaper to bring back some “real” news about the rumors of war, John Jones (Joel McCrea) becomes embroiled in an international conspiracy when he’s witness to a political assassination. Or more accurately, a staged assassination! With the real target kidnapped and his own neck on the line, Jones must recognize friend from foe to save himself - and his new fiancé (Laraine Day) - and get the truth out there!

Although Germany isn’t specifically mentioned in the film (see the extras for more on that), it’s obvious that the story is set against the impending threat Hitler posed to the rest of Europe. A tacked-on (but effective and well-shot) ending sees Jones spreading the word via radio while the bombs fall on London during a blackout, urging America to “Hang onto your lights, they’re the only lights left in the world!”

But to Hitchcock the politics are just another MacGuffin: a convenient story device used to move the plot along and generate suspense. Foreign Correspondent probably wouldn’t crack the director’s top ten in terms of suspense set pieces, but it does feature a great acting ensemble (including the suave George Sanders as the second-male lead) and marvelous special-effects work by William Cameron Menzies (Invaders from Mars). There are moments where you can almost feel Hitchcock physically inserting his techniques into the film, learning how to bend the Hollywood machinery to work at his command.

Criterion’s transfer is predictably excellent from a new 2K digital film restoration. Extras include a pair of 20-minute featurettes - Hollywood Propaganda and World War II and a second piece focusing on Menzies’ production design – both superb. Plus a full 1972 episode of the Dick Cavett Show in which Hitch discusses his career (he was plugging Frenzy at the time) along with a 1946 radio adaptation of Foreign Correspondent, 1942 visual essay from Life Magazine and liner notes by film scholar James Ardmore.