Sabotage

UPC: 883904133674

Studio: MGM

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Questionable for Children]

Summary: Oskar Homolka plays a London movie-theatre owner who maintains a secret life as a paid terrorist. Homolka's wife Sylvia Sidney doesn't suspect Homolka of any wrongdoing, but she's picked up enough second-hand information about her husband's activities to arouse the interest of government agent (John Loder). Posing as a grocer, Loder moves next door to the Homolkas, befriending Sidney and her precocious young brother Desmond Tester. Sensing that he's being watched, Homolka sends Tester out to deliver a reel of film. The reel contains a time bomb, but Homolka is certain that the boy will deliver his package on time and will be safely away by the time the bomb explodes. Thus begins one of Hitchcock's most electrifying suspense sequences, as the unsuspecting boy is delayed en route to his destination. Sabotage was based on Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent; the film was retitled A Woman Alone in the US. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Thriller

Features: cc

Commentary with Film Historian Leonard Leff

Hitchcock Interview: Audio Interview with Peter Bogdanovich

Restoration Comparison

Still Gallery

Sabotage

Format: DVD

Release Date: 02/10/2009

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: DD1 Dolby Digital Mono, DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 77 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English,Spanish,French

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Sabotage
1. Main Titles/Sabotage [3:55]
2. Refund Policy [5:13]
3. Dinner Help [4:27]
4. Scotland Yard [2:30]
5. Aquarium Rendezvous [3:45]
6. Impending Disaster [1:08]
7. Friendly Lunch [4:51]
8. Perfectly Harmless [4:33]
9. A Little Job [6:08]
10. Questions [2:35]
11. Thoughtful Gift [3:15]
12. Errand Boy [4:54]
13. 1:45 PM [9:32]
14. Bomb Clue [2:19]
15. Blame [2:21]
16. Who Killed Cock Robin? [1:25]
17. The Carving Knife [3:30]
18. Arresting Verloc [3:41]
19. Retrieving the Evidence [2:49]
20. Before or After? [3:50]

Bob Mastrangelo

Alfred Hitchcock relished in playing off of his audience's suspicions, and this early suspense film accomplishes just that. Made when Europe was on the verge of war, Sabotage focuses on Mr. Verloc, the incarnation of the heavily accented neighbor who may not be as benign as he seems. This xenophobic approach works to the film's advantage, as the sight of Verloc and his shadowy associates plotting the destruction of London surely must have grabbed English audiences in 1936. Hitchcock's fascination with espionage and crime is evident, as always, especially in the scene where Verloc meets his contact in the aquarium. Another favorite Hitchcock element present is having a wife slowly come to distrust and fear her husband. Sylvia Sidney plays this transformation beautifully. In the early scenes she is warm and friendly, but as the film progresses, she begins to tighten up, and in the final scenes, her hatred toward Verloc is utterly convincing. As for Oscar Homolka, from the start it's obvious he's up to something, but he is convincing as a small cog in a much larger wheel, a pathetic man who is overwhelmed by the pressures imposed upon him. But the centerpiece of the film is the nerve-racking journey of Mrs. Verloc's younger brother Steve, as he travels through London unaware that the reel can he carries contains a bomb. The bomb, of course, is set to a timer, and each delay adds increasing tension as the hour of detonation approaches. The sequence is pure Hitchcock, as there is nothing more suspenseful than to see an innocent in danger. Sabotage may be a couple of notches below The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes, but it is still classic Hitchcock. ~ Bob Mastrangelo, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Frank Atkinson  Actor 
Charles Hawtrey  Actor 
Torin Thatcher  Actor 
Hal Gordon  Actor 
Jack Vivian  Actor 
Pamela Bevan  Actor 
D.A. Clarke-Smith  Actor 
Aubrey Mather  Actor 
Peter Bull  Actor 
Arnold Bell  Actor 
Martita Hunt  Actor 
Sam Wilkinson  Actor 
Austin Trevor  Actor 
Frederick Piper  Actor 
Mike Johnson  Actor 
Sara Allgood  Actor 
Clare Greet  Actor 
Albert Chevalier  Actor 
E.V.H. Emmett  Screenwriter 
Michael Balcon  Producer 
Alfred Hitchcock  Director 
Louis Levy  Composer (Music Score) 
Ian Hay  Screenwriter 
Alma Reville  Screenwriter 
Helen Simpson  Screenwriter 
Jesse Lasky, Jr.  Screenwriter 
Charles Bennett  Screenwriter 
Campbell Dixon  Screenwriter 
Sylvia Sidney  Actor 
Oscar Homolka  Actor 
Desmond Tester  Actor 
John Loder  Actor 
Joyce Barbour  Actor 
Matthew Boulton  Actor 
S.J. Warmington  Actor 
William Dewhurst  Actor 

Country: UK,USA