''Saboteur'' (1942 movie)- Review

Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Released: 1942
Country: United States

Genre: Thriller, Action

Cast: Robert Cummings, Priscilla Lane, Otto Kruger, Norman Lloyd, Vaughan Glaser

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Review

''Saboteur'' is the story of Barry Kane (played by Robert Cummings), who works in an airplane factory. One  day, Barry and his friend, Ken, meet a fellow worker, Frank Fry, whom they never met before. Shortly afterwards, a fire starts in the factory, and Fry hands Barry a fire extinguisher, which Barry hands to Ken. Ken, however, meets a tragic death in the fire.

It is later discovered that the fire extinguisher was filled with gasoline, and Barry is blamed for this; it is said that he is linked with the death of Ken. Barry decides to prove his innocence, and find Frank Fry, who had handed him the extinguisher  and has disappeared. Apparently, there was never a man named Fry employed in the factory, which puzzles Barry, and he decides to find Fry and prove his (Barry's) innocence.

This takes him on a dangerous, thrilling journey...

I absolutely loved the first half of the film. It was so energetic, so lively, so thrilling! The first half was thoroughly entertaining! I really loved the chemistry of Barry and the heroine of the film, Pat (Priscilla Lane). The adventures that Barry and Pat share were extremely exciting and entertaining! And in this first half Barry meets several memorable characters, who, despite their short screen presence, remain memorable, such as a blind man (Pat's uncle), and some circus performers.

The second half of the film loses some of the fast pace and excitement of the first half. I mean, I still enjoyed the film; however, not as much as I had enjoyed the first half. The second half was thrilling as well, and with a lot of important points, but it did not have the energy of the first half. And also, there is not much presence of Robert Cummings and Priscilla Lane together in the second half, so I thought the film lost much of it's charms in the second half. Yet, I still liked the second half because it was quite thrilling and the film had a good climax and ending.

Overall, while I absolutely loved the first half and the chemistry of Cummings and Lane, I just liked the second half. It was extremely energetic, lively and entertaining at the first half, but the second half was just enjoyable and likeable.

3.5 out of 5