Foreign Correspondent

Foreign Correspondent

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock • 1940 • United States
Starring Joel McCrea, Laraine Day, Herbert Marshall

In 1940, Alfred Hitchcock made his official transition from the British film industry to Hollywood. And it was quite a year: his first two American movies, REBECCA and FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, were both nominated for the best picture Oscar. Though REBECCA prevailed, FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT is the more quintessential Hitch film. A full-throttle espionage thriller, starring Joel McCrea as a green Yank reporter sent to Europe to get the scoop on the imminent war, it’s wall-to-wall witty repartee, head-spinning plot twists, and brilliantly mounted suspense set pieces, including an ocean plane crash climax with astonishing special effects. FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT deserves to be mentioned alongside THE 39 STEPS and NORTH BY NORTHWEST as one of the master’s greatest adventures.

Foreign Correspondent
  • Foreign Correspondent

    Directed by Alfred Hitchcock • 1940 • United States
    Starring Joel McCrea, Laraine Day, Herbert Marshall

    In 1940, Alfred Hitchcock made his official transition from the British film industry to Hollywood. And it was quite a year: his first two American movies, REBECCA and FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, w...

Extras

  • Visual Effects in FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT

    In this 2013 interview, visual effects expert Craig Barron looks at the creation of some of FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT’s thrilling set pieces.

  • Mark Harris on FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT

    FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT was released a year before the U.S. entered World War II. The ending of the film was added at the last minute to bolster anti-isolationist sentiment among American viewers. In this 2013 piece, writer Mark Harris discusses the important role this and other Hollywood propagand...

  • Dick Cavett Interviews Alfred Hitchcock, 1972

    This interview with director Alfred Hitchcock on “The Dick Cavett Show” was originally broadcast on June 8, 1972.

  • Musical Motifs in FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT

    If you’ve always wanted to study film, here’s your chance! In this series, the authors of “Film Art: An Introduction” bring film school home in plain language. This month, Jeff Smith breaks down a classical Hollywood score with a Hitchcockian twist.

  • FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT: Radio Adaptation

    On July 24, 1946, “Academy Award Theater” broadcast this radio adaptation of FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT.