Foreign Correspondent

Now Playing

1h 59m

Mystery & Thriller

List

96%

Tomatometer

45 Reviews

81%

Audience Score

5,000+ Ratings

Crime reporter John Jones (Joel McCrea) is turning in nothing but dull copy. His editor, unhappy with his work, hopes a change of scenery will be the thing Jones needs to get back on track. Re-assigned to Europe as a foreign correspondent, Jones is very much out of his element. When he stumbles on a spy ring, he feels ill-equipped to unravel the truth alone and he seeks help from a beautiful politician's daughter (Laraine Day) and an urbane English journalist (George Sanders).

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Critics Consensus

Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent features a winning combination of international intrigue, comic relief, and some of the legendary director's most memorable set pieces.

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Kim Newman

Empire Magazine

Heavy-handed but still poignant patriotism in this Hitchcock thriller.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 3, 2020

Full Review

Keith Phipps

The Dissolve

It's such an entertaining film that it's almost possible to forget its didactic agenda, which is certainly part of the point.

Rated: 4.5/5

Feb 20, 2014

Full Review

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

This film contains one of Hitchcock's most famous set pieces -- an assassination in the rain -- but otherwise remains a second-rate effort, as immensely enjoyable as it is.

Mar 27, 2009

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

This is Hitch doing a fleet, action-packed thriller. His love of set-pieces and landmarks makes the most of London and Holland, where the windmills become a natural location for dangerous business.

Jan 6, 2024

Full Review

Roger Moore

Movie Nation

Hitchcock figured the cleverest way to send his "You need to be in this anti-fascist fight" message was in a jaunty, adventurous, fast-moving travelogue with murderous Nazis and their encounters with plucky, human rights-loving anti-fascists.

Rated: 4/4

Jan 15, 2023

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

The film can be seen as more than simply escapism but an entrenched anti-Nazi statement by a seemingly apolitical filmmaker.

Rated: 4/4

Mar 5, 2022

Full Review

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Lee C

Hitchcock was ahead of his time, especially when it came to timing. This moves along at a fast pace, each shot lasting only a few seconds, many of them very artfully composed, as well. The special effects are also very impressive for a movie from 1940. And the story is pretty good, too!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/27/24

Full Review

Robert L

The pro critics were correct about the amazing set pieces.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/07/24

Full Review

Blobbo X

Hitch was the best.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/15/24

Full Review

Cem Y

For me, this was the weakest Hitchcock movie I have watched until now, and I watched many of them. The plot is okay but the movie itself is not simply captivating.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/24/23

Full Review

Noah H

Here is an interesting first act of an otherwise forgettable film. The espionage heavy first act is done a disservice by what feels like a forced love story in the back half of the film. It was hard for Hitchcock to top his windmill sequence in which Joel McRae acts the socks off of the role of Johnny Jones. The torture sequence comes in at the end as a terrible shock from what had been a more lighthearted picture. While students of Hitchcock should watch the film, it is by no means a gem overall, and at times it falters over its uneven sections.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/17/23

Full Review

Steve M

Not your usual Hitchcock thriller, more of a wartime patriotic movie. Lots of plot twists and turns makes for a good story line.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/17/23

Full Review

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Alfred Hitchcock

Director

Joel McCrea

John Jones

Laraine Day

Carol Fisher

Herbert Marshall

Stephen Fisher

George Sanders

Scott Ffolliott

Albert Basserman

Van Meer

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Synopsis

Crime reporter John Jones (Joel McCrea) is turning in nothing but dull copy. His editor, unhappy with his work, hopes a change of scenery will be the thing Jones needs to get back on track. Re-assigned to Europe as a foreign correspondent, Jones is very much out of his element. When he stumbles on a spy ring, he feels ill-equipped to unravel the truth alone and he seeks help from a beautiful politician's daughter (Laraine Day) and an urbane English journalist (George Sanders).

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Screenwriter: Charles Bennett, Joan Harrison, Ben Hecht, Robert Benchley, James Hilton
Distributor: United Artists
Production Co: Walter Wanger Productions, Inc.
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Englisch
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 16, 1940, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 19, 2016
Runtime: 1h 59m

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