December 30 movie: Foreign Correspondent. This wasn't one of the giants in Hitchcock's catalog, but I enjoyed it a lot. Mainly on the strength of stars Joel McCrea and George Sanders. I love them both. They were doing George Sanders night on TCM, and I'm so bummed because I stupidly failed to record The Saint. I hope they show it again soon.
Foreign Correspondent was suspenseful and hung together pretty well, although its purpose mainly seemed to be pro-war propaganda directed at then-neutral America. Robert Osborne and Molly Haskell said the wartime message of the movie was ahead of its time, but they're wrong: it was absolutely of its time. I'm fascinated by movies made in that narrow window after WWII had begun but before the US got involved. It's a little startling to remember that before Pearl Harbor, there was significant anti-war sentiment in the US. Although I think Hollywood must have been solidly in favor of the war, because I've seen lots of movies designed to encourage pro-war feelings, but never seen one against US involvement. Some movies deal with the issue obliquely, without ever casting aspersions on anti-war people. This one was pretty straightforward: [spoiler alert] the movie is all about Nazi sympathizers who co-opt the peace movement and use it for their own ends. There are genuine pacifics who are duped into helping the Nazis, but by the end of the movie they've seen the error of their ways and joined the war effort.
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I also enjoy the presence of Robert Benchley in that one. It'd be interesting to watch it again and see how well the special effects hold up -- I'm thinking of the shot where water cascades in. The water was rear projected on paper, which was obliterated by real water coming through. I don't recall watching the movie after learning how the shot was made.
You're right, Benchley was great. As was Edmund Gwenn. I should have mentioned him in my write-up.
I didn't know how the scene with the water was done but I found it incredibly effective. So exciting and scary that I felt a little bit afraid for the safety of the actors.
Good thing I have all those on tape. If I find the time, I can go upstairs, fetch the movie, and watch it at my leisure.