Details

Release year: 1940

Storyline

On the eve of World War II, a young American reporter tries to expose enemy agents in London.

Top credits

Directors

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers

Cast

Joel McCrea — John Jones
Laraine Day — Carol Fisher
Herbert Marshall — Stephen Fisher
George Sanders — Scott Ffolliott

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Awards

0 wins & 6 nominations

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Did you know

• Shooting was completed on May 29, 1940, after which Sir Alfred Hitchcock made a visit to England. He returned on July 3 with the word that the Germans were expected to start bombing at any time. Ben Hecht was hurriedly called in and wrote the tacked-on final scene set at a London radio station. It was filmed on July 5, and the real-life bombing started on July 10, 1940.

• Producer Walter Wanger and Sir Alfred Hitchcock clashed repeatedly during shooting. Wanger kept wanting to have the script rewritten with every news story reporting changes in the European situation. Hitchcock, who hated making a movie without the script in absolutely final form before shooting began, pointed out that even if the movie were up-to-date at the time of shooting, it would be out-of-date by the time he finished post-production and it was ready for release.

• When the plane crash sequence was shot, a special tub within the studio tank had to be built for Sir Herbert Marshall, who couldn't swim because he only had one leg (he'd lost a leg in combat in World War I).