lasttimeisaw A Hitchcock thriller made in his UK years, SABOTAGE opens with its own definition in a dictionary, but there is little to be said apropos of the motivation behind the anarchists. It is an usual London night, all the razzle-dazzle is in full bloom, suddenly a blackout causes some commotion on the street and in the centre stage there is Bijou cinema, where patrons are baying for refund of their tickets, at the same time, its owner Mr. Verloc (Homolka) furtively sneaks back to his apartment upstairs, and pretends that he has never gone out when his wife (Sidney) surprisingly finds him on the bed. So it seems that this time Mr. Hitchcock doesn't play either the whodunit or the why-do-it card and clocking in a condensed 76-minute, the film even waive the possibility of a McGuffin to compel audience into the puzzle. Admittedly, there is no puzzle at all, Mr. Verloc is the said saboteur, whose blackout sabotage doesn't quite hit the mark (even being pilloried by the media) and he is tasked to up the antes, it doesn't take much persuasion for him to forgo his no-casualties-causing vow to collude with a professor (Dewhurst) who is excel at making "fireworks". In a straightforward manner, the story also sidetracks in the incipient attractions between Ms. Verloc and Ted (Loder), who works in the green-grocery next to the cinema, but his real identity is an undercover sergeant of Scotland Yard, and secretly stakes out Mr. Verloc. Ms. Verloc has no inking of her hubby's insidious deal, time and again she tells Ted that Mr. Verloc has the most kind-hearted soul she has ever met, which is a farcically self-defeating statement because whoever has eyes can palpably detect something amiss in Oskar Homolka's hammy affectation with all those mannered scowls and insincere oratory, one might seriously wonder how dumb a woman could be if she fails to sense that from the man she shares a bed every night, that's a disservice to Hitchcock's heroine, beautiful but dumb, yet, she still deserves a miracle in the end. Then there is that infamous "boy with a bomb" set piece, the story is a no-brainer, but the suspense never goes to seed under Hitchcock's rein. One must admit it is a left-field coup-de- théâtre (through a string of heightened montages) a first-time spectator barely can see it coming, Mr. Hitchcock really dares to corroborate that nothing is impossible on the silver screen, although in retrospect this only materializes as a flash in the pan because when he veers into the Hollywood thoroughfare, he will be inured to adhere to a more morally rigorous precept. A minor Hitchcock film can still be engaging, only its aftertaste tends to be a shade astringent.

Syl Sir Alfred Hitchcock adapted James Conrad's story, "The Secret Agent," into one of better known films. This film is short but not sweet. Sylvia Sidney is magnificent in the leading role as Mrs Verloc. Oscar Homolka plays her husband. They run the Bijou movie house in London, England before Word War II. Her husband is up to something but she doesn't know what. The red flag is raised when the theater loses power and patrons want refunds. Sidney was so young and her eyes could have earned an Academy Award nomination. Sidney supposedly had the saddest eyes in Hollywood but I disagree. Her eyes alone were worth watching. This film is a must for Hitchcock historians and fans alike.

Red_Identity I own Sabotage as part of a DVD with 15 lesser-known Hitchcock films. I did not expect a film of the caliber of his best work (Psycho, Vertigo, Rope) but I was still surprised at how good the film was.The film wasn't incredible, but it maintained a great deal of suspense in it's second half especially. I thought the film was filled with great performances, most notably Sylvia Sidney (who is very beautiful by the way!) and her husband Oskar Homolka. One complaint I have though, is the quality of which I saw the film in. The picture quality I could live with, but the audio is sometimes almost unheardable. I desperately wanted English subtitles, but there weren't any. I probably missed out on a lot of the dialogue, but still got a pretty good idea of the film's plot.

Framescourer A very interesting, transitional Hitchcock film (I haven't read Conrad's The Secret Agent). An early act of the eponymous sabotage plunges Camberwell - for this film is set on the fictional Plouthorp Road of SE5 - into darkness allowing for some unsettling silhouettes and shadow- chasing. Yet this seems to the be the extent of Hitchcock's use of the German aesthetic. Subsequently we get a not entirely polished selection of unexpected twists (Ted's real identity), suspense (the boy with the package) and latterly trademark foreground/overlaid shots. Luckily Hitchcock has employed the excellent Oskar Homolka as Karl Verloc. Rather usefully, it seems that Hitchcock is as benighted as we are when it comes to the motivation for Verloc's shady behaviour - he could be a gangster, a vengeful national or simply an anarchist. It doesn't matter, he is simply the slimy, spinless middle man set to reap what he sows. Loder (Ted) and Sylvia Sidney (Sylvia) are winsome if a little stock - Desmond Tester as Stevie is jolly good.Entertaining but patchy 5/10