WATCHMOVIES RATING
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Sabotage aka The Woman Alone 1936
Sabotage is the 1936 adaptation of Joseph Conrad's novel, "The Secret Agent." It was named this so the film would not be confused with Hitchcock's other 1936 production, The Secret Agent. Unfortunately, in 1942, Hitch made another film dealing with the sabotage theme titled Saboteur.
Not to be confused with this latter production, (set in America after the director left his homeland) the '36 Sabotage is set in London where Carl Verloc (Oskar Homolka) uses his "Bijou Theater" as a cover for subversive affairs. His wife is a young American (Sylvia Sidney) who has no knowledge of her husband's extracurricular activities and lives out her simple existence minding their theater and her younger brother, Stevie (Desmond Tester). If one recalls anything from this film, it will be the time bomb sequence in which a city bus is destroyed. A public outcry was raised and the film was even banned in Brazil as censors there declared that it sensationalized conspiracy and terrorist techniques. Hitchcock himself conceded that he was erring in building up the audience's suspense and then not providing a proper relief. Homolka, the terrorist next door, he is a flawed man who must decide between his loved ones and his cause. While not completely evil, he is quite menacing as the conspirator and his destiny with death is inevitable. The turnstile scene is an excellent example of showing how he is trapped and can only choose one avenue to free himself.
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producer | Balcon, Michael | screenwriter | Bennett, Charles |
| musicscore | Levy, Luis |
duration | 76 |
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color | No |
sound | Yes |
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genre | thriller |
country | UNITED KINGDOM |
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