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IMDb > Saboteur (1942)
Saboteur
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Photos (see all 67 | slideshow) Videos (see all 2)
Saboteur (1942) -- Aircraft factory worker Barry Kane goes on the run across the United States when he is wrongly accused of starting a fire that killed his best friend.
Saboteur (1942) -- Aircraft factory worker Barry Kane goes on the run across the United States when he is wrongly accused of starting a fire that killed his best friend.

Overview

User Rating:
7.3/10   6,375 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 11% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Alfred Hitchcock
Writers:
Peter Viertel (original screenplay) &
Joan Harrison (original screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Saboteur on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
24 April 1942 (USA) more
Genre:
Mystery | Thriller | War more
Tagline:
3000 miles of terror! more
Plot:
Aircraft factory worker Barry Kane goes on the run across the United States when he is wrongly accused of starting a fire that killed his best friend. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
15 Bloody Box Sets
 (From Fangoria. 19 January 2009, 8:00 AM, PST)

User Comments:
His American "39 Steps" more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Robert Cummings ... Barry Kane
Priscilla Lane ... Patricia 'Pat' Martin

Otto Kruger ... Charles Tobin
Alan Baxter ... Freeman
Clem Bevans ... Neilson
Norman Lloyd ... Frank Frye
Alma Kruger ... Mrs. Henrietta Sutton
Vaughan Glaser ... Phillip Martin (as Vaughan Glazer)
Dorothy Peterson ... Mrs. Mason
Ian Wolfe ... Robert, the Butler
Frances Carson ... Society Matron
Murray Alper ... Mac - the Truck Driver
Kathryn Adams ... Mrs. Brown - Tobin's Daughter
Pedro de Cordoba ... Bones aka The Human Skeleton - Circus Troupe
Billy Curtis ... The Major - Midget - Circus Troupe
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Additional Details

Runtime:
108 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Director Cameo: [Alfred Hitchcock]A man visiting the newsstand in front of the drug store where Barry Kane is taken upon arriving in New York City. more
Goofs:
Continuity: The close-up of the Soda City calendar shows a much heavier coating of spider webs than the previous shot. more
Quotes:
Mr. Freeman: The most important thing is to make sure of everyone around us.
Charles Tobin: Mr. Kane?
Mr. Freeman: I'm just not sure. I want to know that he's all right.
Charles Tobin: All right? What an understatement. He's much more than that! He's noble and fine and pure... So he pays the penalty that the noble must pay in this world: he's misjudged by everyone.
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in The Hard Way (1991) more
Soundtrack:
Tonight We Love more

FAQ

Is "Saboteur" a remake of "Sabotage"?
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44 out of 48 people found the following comment useful:-
His American "39 Steps", 19 September 2004
8/10
Author: JAMessick from Pocatello, Idaho

Hitchcock made at least 11 films about the ordinary man, wrongly accused, on the run (sometimes really running, sometimes not) to prove his innocence in a situation beyond his control, the first one being "The 39 Steps", which really made him popular in Great Britain. It really is his signature theme.

Others include "Young and Innocent", "Saboteur", "Spellbound", "Stage Fright", "Strangers on a Train", "I Confess", "To Catch a Thief", "The Wrong Man", "North by Northwest", and finally "Frenzy". "Saboteur" starts Robert Cummings as Barry Kane, a wartime aircraft plant worker during wartime accused of murdering his co-worker and best friend during an act of sabotage on the plant. He meets up with model Patricia Martin, played by actress Priscilla Lane, during his run from the law, and later, of course, the various Nazi/Fascist sympathizers along the way.

"Saboteur" is mainly like "The 39 Steps", even including similar plot devices such as handcuffs, the blonde who doesn't trust the main character in the beginning, a race across the country (in one case London to Scotland, and in the other California to New York), and meeting the "colorful" locals along the way. And so, just like "The Man Who Knew Too Much", I believe this is an American remake of one of Hitchcock's earlier works.

I think Robert Cummings was chosen because he comes across as a very ordinary American, sort of an "everyman" with whom the audience can identify. I like Priscilla Lane because her character is a more involved in the action than Madeline Carroll in "The 39 Steps" and Ruth Roman in "Strangers on a Train". As mentioned elsewhere, though, Otto Kruger steals the show as the villain. I also liked Vaughan Glaser's performance as the blind uncle; his lines are great. There are some funny touches all along the way for some comic relief, such as road signs featuring Priscilla Lane's character on them, and circus sideshow performers, and the truck driver, Murray Alper. Contrary to other opinions here, there aren't too many characters who believe Barry Kane's innocence immediately.

There are some slow parts, mainly when the action first moves to New York, but it picks up quickly when the last planned act of the fifth columnists gets underway.

It's one of my favorite films from Hitchcock (I put it in my top 5), especially in these days of the new war on terrorism. I think it hits home.

It makes you think, "Could my coworker be involved in something evil?" In fact, one of the movie posters for "Saboteur" proclaimed "Watch Out for the Man behind your back!" Imagine how that played in the mind of adults during the Second World War.

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
So did Bob Cummings save the battleship or not? tdefores
Won't anyone stand up for this movie? mangoloid
Charles Tobin points to a book in the library, what was the book? bbbuck
Two questions, please partnerfrance
what? jimiphish
Hitchcock's most underrated film? deb_michaels
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