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Foreign Correspondent

Play trailer Poster for Foreign Correspondent 1940 1h 59m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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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).
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Foreign Correspondent

Foreign Correspondent

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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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Critics Reviews

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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 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

Audience Reviews

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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
Foreign Correspondent

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Cast & Crew

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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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Foreign Correspondent

Foreign Correspondent (1940) Foreign Correspondent (1940) View more photos

Movie Info

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
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