The foreign correspondent
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The foreign correspondent German original title: Mord |
| Original title | Foreign correspondent |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1940 |
| length | 120 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Alfred Hitchcock |
| script |
Charles Bennett Joan Harrison James Hilton (dialogues) Robert Benchley (dialogues) Ben Hecht (final dialog) |
| production | Walter Wanger |
| music | Alfred Newman |
| camera | Rudolph Maté |
| cut | Dorothy Spencer |
| occupation | |
| |
The Foreign Correspondent is a 1940 thriller by British director Alfred Hitchcock commissioned as a propaganda film. It is based on the autobiographical novel Personal History by Vincent Sheean .
In Germany , where it was called Mord for a long time , the film was shortened to 98 minutes because of the plot. It was only much later that a reconstructed version was shown on ZDF under the title The Foreign Correspondent.
action
August 1939: Mr. Powers, the editor-in-chief of the New York Morning Globe , wants to report more and more about a crisis in Europe, where a Second World War is looming. In order to have a fresh perspective, he sends John Jones to Europe as a reporter, a criminal reporter who was previously little interested in politics. In London he meets the wealthy Stephen Fisher, the chairman of a pacifist organization, and falls in love with his daughter Carol.
In Amsterdam he witnessed an assassination attempt on the Dutch politician Van Meer, who is committed to peace in Europe and knows the secret clause of an alliance treaty, the content of which is important in the event of a war. With the help of Carol Fisher and his British colleague Scott ffolliott ("with a small double-f"), Jones finds out that the attack was only fake and that Van Meer was actually kidnapped. Jones suspects a conspiracy and wants to make a big story out of it for his newspaper. With his persistent research, however, he puts his life in danger: the hit man Rowley wants to throw him from Westminster Cathedral , but Jones can evade at the last moment and Rawley falls down.
Finally, the hiding place where Van Meer is being held and questioned can be located by ffolliott and Jones. Stephen Fisher turns out to be a mastermind behind the kidnapping. Since Van Meer is still unconscious and cannot testify, Fisher wants to flee to America with his daughter by plane. On the plane, Fisher reports to his daughter Carol that he leads a double life and works as a spy, which she had already suspected. Jones and ffolliott are also on the plane to confront Fisher. The plane is shot down by a German ship and falls into the sea, Fisher sacrifices his life for the rest of the castaways. An American ship rescues the survivors.
Jones has his "story" for the newspaper. Newspaper articles written by him are displayed that report on the German invasion of Poland, Denmark and Norway. At the end, with Carol at his side, he gives a fiery radio speech in London for America's entry into the war, while the city is being bombed.
background
In the fall of 1939, Hitchcock was loaned by David O. Selznick to the independent producer Walter Wanger for The Foreign Correspondent . He was supposed to film the autobiographical novel Personal History by Vincent Sheean , which deals with the experiences of a foreign reporter in the crisis-ridden Europe of the 1930s. Wanger wanted to keep the film as up-to-date as possible and to incorporate the current events in Europe ( German attack on Poland , England entered the war). However, this was not possible due to the overlapping events. Around a dozen scriptwriters tried unsuccessfully on the script over the course of the months, until Hitchcock called his old colleague Charles Bennett from England to completely rewrite the script with him and Joan Harrison in the shortest possible time. Only the initial constellation in Holland remained of Sheean's novel.
Although the film was originally commissioned as a propaganda film , it ultimately holds back with political messages - mainly due to political pressure to maintain the strict neutrality of the USA. The driving force of the film is the hunt for an important "secret clause" between two (unspecified) European countries, a typical MacGuffin . Only the ending, which was shot by Hitchcock shortly after the start of the war but before the bombing of London , shows Jones broadcasting a rousing radio address to the United States under a hail of bombs calling on America to "be vigilant" and its freedom defend with arms. A clearer appeal was not possible due to the principle of neutrality.
As in many of Hitchcock's films, for example The 39 Steps (1935), then Saboteurs (1942) or even later The Invisible Third (1959), a man is shown again driving across various countries (in contrast to the other films but does not do so as an innocent persecuted). The climax and turning point of the journey from New York via London to the Netherlands and back is the scene at the Dutch windmills , where the kidnappers, pursued by Jones, his friends and the police, hide. Typical for Hitchcock is the inclusion of country-specific features in the plot: In Holland it is the windmills (in The Invisible Third Hitchcock will later exaggerate a similar situation).
The initially naive hero Jones faces Stephen Fisher as a strong opponent, torn between his political convictions and the love and responsibility towards his daughter. Covering up and faking false identities permeates the entire film: John Jones, as a foreign correspondent, is supposed to adopt a "more credible" name ("Huntley Haverstock"), Scott writes down his already strange last name in small letters (ie " f folliott"), the assassination attempt Van Meer is faked by a doppelganger, Carol Fisher initially withholds from Jones her membership in a pacifist organization, the alcoholic reporter Stebbins mimics the interested journalist. Even windmills aren't just windmills, they transmit a secret code to planes.
For the scene of the plane crash, Hitchcock used a rear projection of the ever-approaching sea, the screen of which was torn apart with a load of water to stage the impact. For the following scene of the airplane floating in the sea, a large water basin was built in which the model of the airplane could be moved on rails. Even by today's standards, the recording is still very convincing in terms of trick technology.
The film is very comical, both in the dialogues and partly in the cast. Robert Benchley , known for his own short film comedies such as How to Sleep , plays Jones' drunken colleague in the film; he was allowed to design his dialogues himself. A running gag in the first half of the film is provided by Edward Conrad as a Latvian, who always smiles understandingly at his interlocutors without understanding them (the others don't understand him either). Laurel and Hardy antagonist James Finlayson makes a silent brief appearance as a villager who tries in vain to cross the street in front of his house during a car chase.
Another special feature of the film is the role of Albert Bassermann , whom Hitchcock greatly admired. He spoke no English and recited his dialogue from the memorized phonetic sounds.
Cameo
Hitchcock appears as a newspaper passerby in London. In contrast to Jones, who is correctly dressed in the English style, Hitchcock wears more typical American clothes.
German dubbed versions
The first German dubbing for the theatrical release was made in 1961. The dialogue book was written by Eberhard Storeck and the dialogue was directed by Wolfgang Schick . In this first German version, which was shortened to 98 minutes and the text was changed, under the title Mord , the original film music by Alfred Newman was replaced by a much more jazzy music in the style of the German Edgar Wallace films . There is no radio address in which the Americans are called upon to be vigilant and to give up their neutrality policy. The characterization of the Nazis was also very watered down.
In 1986 the ZDF had a new dubbed version created, which was broadcast on April 20, 1986 and has been used ever since. The political references are correctly reproduced therein.
| role | actor | Voice actor (theatrical version 1961) | Dubbing actor (TV version 1986) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Jones aka Huntley Haverstock | Joel McCrea | Harald Juhnke | Sigmar Solbach |
| Carol Fisher | Laraine Day | Kerstin de Ahna | Heidi Treutler |
| Stephen Fisher | Herbert Marshall | Wolfgang Eichberger | Thomas Reiner |
| Scott ffolliott | George Sanders | Horst Naumann | Frank Engelhardt |
| Van sea | Albert Bassermann | Walther Suessenguth | Hans Paetsch |
| Stebbins | Robert Benchley | Ernst Constantine | Bruno W. Pantel |
| Bodyguard Rowley | Edmund Gwenn | Werner Peters | Leo Bardischewski |
| Publisher Powers | Harry Davenport | Klaus W. Krause | Günter Sauer |
Reviews
"Exciting espionage film [...], a highlight in Alfred Hitchcock's work."
“'[…] B-thriller about a mysterious doppelganger in the tried and tested Hitchcock manner.' (Rating: 2½ out of 4 possible stars = above average) "
Awards
In 1941 the film was nominated for six Academy Awards, but couldn't win any of the awards. Were nominated Walter Wanger as producer for Best Picture , Albert Bassermann as best supporting actor , Charles Bennett and Joan Harrison for best original screenplay , Rudolph Maté for the best camera (B / W) , Alexander Golitzen for Best Production Design (b / w) and Paul Eagler and Thomas T. Moulton for the best trick effects .
literature
- Robert A. Harris, Michael S. Lasky, Joe Hembus (Eds.): Alfred Hitchcock and his films (OT: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock) . Citadel film book from Goldmann, Munich 1976, ISBN 3-442-10201-4 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ The foreign correspondent (1st synchro) in the German dubbing index; Retrieved September 29, 2007
- ^ Filmdienst.de (Credits) and Spiegel.de
- ↑ Thomas Bräutigam: Lexicon of film and television synchronization. More than 2000 films and series with their German voice actors, etc. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-289-X , p. 63 / The foreign correspondent (2nd synchro) in the German dubbing index; Retrieved September 29, 2007
- ^ "Lexicon of International Films" (CD-ROM edition), Systhema, Munich 1997
- ↑ Adolf Heinzlmeier, Berndt Schulz in: Lexicon "Films on TV" (expanded new edition). Rasch and Röhring, Hamburg 1990, ISBN 3-89136-392-3 , p. 65
Web links
- The foreign correspondent in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Foreign Correspondent background information at members.liwest.at