Foreign Correspondent(1940) Apr 2026

Unlike many of Hitchcock’s "wrong man" thrillers, this film was born from a sense of urgent reality. Released just as the Battle of Britain was beginning, the story follows Johnny Jones (Joel McCrea), an American crime reporter sent to Europe to cover the "hatching" war.

What starts as a jaunty assignment quickly descends into a labyrinth of international conspiracies, kidnappings, and "fifth column" plots. For the audience of 1940, the film was a , designed to shake America out of its isolationist stance. Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels famously called it a "masterpiece of propaganda." Iconic Set Pieces Foreign Correspondent(1940)

While 1940 is often remembered as the year Alfred Hitchcock conquered Hollywood with the gothic romance Rebecca , he actually released a second film that same year—one that many critics argue is even better. is a high-octane spy thriller that served as a blueprint for Hitchcock's later globe-trotting adventures like North by Northwest . A Thriller with a Mission Unlike many of Hitchcock’s "wrong man" thrillers, this