A Reel Retro Review: FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (1940)

With no new films to review for the foreseeable future, Reel Speak will randomly review a classic film from the TCM library every week. Not just for the sake of filling time, but to hopefully introduce some overlooked and perhaps forgotten screen gems from the past to those of us who may be unfamiliar or unawares of their existence. 

As one of the most studied filmmakers in the history of cinema, Alfred Hitchcock has laid down the path to great storytelling for more than one generation of directors. With some of the best films of all time under his belt such as PSYCHO (1960), VERTIGO (1958), and NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959), it seems like he was always great at his craft. But every filmmaker has a beginning, and it is always of great interest to look at a master’s film before they were known as masterful. Here now is Hitchcock’s second ever Hollywood production, FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT. 

 

Just before the outbreak of WWII, John Jones (Joel McCrea), a New York crime reporter, is sent to Europe to get answers concerning the question if war was inevitable. 

 

Less of a film about journalism and more about global espionage on the way to a war, FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT follows Jones as he gets tangled up in a web of deceit and murder. His first interview with the leader of a peace movement (Albert Basserman) ends in an apparent murder, which winds up being a case of mistaken identity, which in turn puts Jones in the crosshairs of would-be assassins working undercover in Europe. 

 

Hitchcock, working from a script by James Hilton and Robert Benchley, keeps the twists and turns coming and we get to the point where we don’t know who to trust. The film switches gears rapidly, and by the time the credits end we almost feel like we’ve watched 12 different movies. It’s nearly episodic, but it works. Hitchcock shows his early chops for ramping up the suspense, with scenes involving sneaking around inside a windmill to creeping around the ledge 20 stories up some of several highlights. 

 

Acting is very good with Joel McCrea appearing in nearly every scene. Laraine Day comes in as a love interest and is a delight, although the two characters fall in love way too fast. 

 

A question that hangs over most of the plot is if war would indeed break out. It’s no spoiler to say that it does, and the ending paints a picture of dread and hope in a way that only ol’ Hitch could pull off. FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT isn’t just a look at a young Hitchcock on his way to greatness, but a solid and noteworthy entry in his massive catalog of classics. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: See it 

 

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Reel Facts: FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT was one of two films of Hitchcock’s that would be nominated for Best Picture in 1940, the other being the eventual winner, REBECCA. Laraine Day was 19 years old during filming, and would go on to a career that would span 45 years in film and television. Writer Robert Benchley would become the grandfather to novelist Peter Benchley, author of Jaws.