Foreign Correspondent

Play trailer

Foreign Correspondent

Released Aug 16, 1940

1h 59m

Mystery & Thriller

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

95%

Tomatometer

43 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

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).

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

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

Full Review

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

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

Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

Though suffering from the effect of too many cooks in the writing kitchen, it's a title as filled with plot twists as it is wit, as well as Hitchcock's signature elaborate set pieces.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 12, 2020

Full Review

Read all reviews

Paula M

I love this movie. I have watched it many times and the actors are great, and there are a number of subtle visuals. There is a scene when the main character, Johnny Jones, is sneaking down the staircase in an old windmill…you can see a light and shadow outline of Hitler’s face. Of course there is the great assassination scene in the rain in Amsterdam which was amazing. But, to me, it is the story of a person of conviction making a difference by never compromising his belief in uncovering untruths while facing personal, social and political denials. An old trope but one we need to remember.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/25/25

Full Review

Stephen C

A spy movie success story in 1 hour and 49 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/02/25

Full Review

Will G

A great Alfred Hitchcock film. It’s about a man who’s a newspaper reporter. Who goes to Europe to cover the news there. There is some suspense and a man gets pushed off a tall building. It was neat to see Holland in the movie.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/25

Full Review

David S

I love this film- one of my 3 favorite Hitchcock films.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/28/24

Full Review

Daniel C. M

Great suspense and direction as expected from Hitchcock; alongside some nice comedy. Unfortunaly, it has many flaws in it's script and drags itself for way too long; making it a pretty boring, formulaic and cliche picture. The acting is ok. Rebecca -- which came out in the same year also by Sir Alfred -- is 10 minutes longer -- making it up for 2 hours and 10 minutes total -- and feels like not even 90 minutes.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

09/30/24

Full Review

Audience Member

I always remember when watching movies from the distant past, what my father would say to me about the '30s and '40s; one can never really understand how those times were for people, unless you went through it. It's easy to underestimate the level of anxiety and desperation.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

08/13/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Alfred Hitchcock

Director

Joel McCrea

John Jones

Laraine Day

Carol Fisher

Herbert Marshall

Stephen Fisher

George Sanders

Scott Ffolliott

Albert Basserman

Van Meer

Young and Innocent

100%

62%

Young and Innocent

Watchlist

Saboteur

81%

72%

Saboteur

Watchlist

The 39 Steps

96%

85%

The 39 Steps

Watchlist

Suspicion

97%

77%

Suspicion

Watchlist

The Woman Alone

91%

70%

The Woman Alone

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

On DVD This Week: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Ted 2, and More

Now Streaming: The Theory of Everything,The Great Beauty, and More

View more photos

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: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 16, 1940, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 19, 2016
Runtime: 1h 59m

Most Popular at Home Now