Saboteur (1942)

Saboteur (1942)

One of Alfred Hitchcock's lesser known films, Saboteur, has always been a favorite of mine. It's overly sentimental World War II propaganda, to be sure. But it's got all the Hitchcock elements: a wronged man chasing the real criminals, a smart blonde, erudite criminals, and amazing set pieces in iconic landscapes.

My favorite part of the film is the overly-precise visual design theme. Created in 1942, another time when it looked like fascism might take over the world, this script visually dissects the elements of the Statue of Liberty and disperses them throughout the film. It's fun to stumble across an ice cream soda representing Lady Liberty's torch, for example. How many parts of the Statue of Liberty can you find?

The film is exuberantly too full of Hitchcock ideas, but I think that makes it great fun to watch. And it features a wonderful performance by Norman Lloyd who, at the time of this writing, is a chipper 105 years old.