The Worst Film Ever

Good concept, poorly executed.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Though I roundly consider Alfred Hitchcock to be one of the greatest film directors of all-time, there is one aspect of his filmmaking that rubs me the wrong way sometimes: a lack of a really engaging plot. Some of his films have it, while some do not. This one, unfortunately, does not.For a basic plot summary, "Foreign Correspondent" sees American reporter John Jones (Joel McCrea) sent into Europe to get the "scoop" on the upcoming war (WWII). While there, Jones and fellow lady friend Carol Fisher (Laraine Day) get caught up in an espionage plot involving the start of the war.I'll admit that the visuals are very well done for 1940, and a few sequences even provoke genuine suspense, but I just could not get into the plot whatsoever, as it seemed to drag on and on with little action or character development to move things forward.Thus, if you are a hard-core Hitch fan, watch this one. Otherwise, you might want to shy away.

Europe is on the verge of war and yet the normal reporters can't get a straight answer. The editor of the New York Globe is tired of the lack of insightful news reporting. He calls in crime reporter Johnny Jones (Joel McCrea) to be the new Foreign Correspondent. Johnny is surprised expecting to be let go. He is given two leads; Stephen Fisher (Herbert Marshall) leader of the Universal Peace Party and Dutch diplomat named Van Meer (Albert Bassermann). Van Meer is the center of a secret peace treaty but he is shot in public and assumed dead. John goes on a long winding thrill ride as he uncovers a conspiracy with the help of Stephen's daughter Carol Fisher (Laraine Day) and another reporter ffolliott (George Sanders).This has a winding twisty action adventure. It has a bit of the Hitchcock humor. Of course, it has the iconic crowd of umbrellas scene. It has often been compared to Hitchcock's other movies 'The 39 Steps' and 'North by Northwest'. The difference is that this doesn't have Cary Grant. Joel McCrea is a workmanlike actor but he doesn't have the superstar quality. Overall, this is a good thriller for the era.

Ignorant American reporter Joel McCrea (John Jones) is given the pseudonym Huntley Haverstock and sent on a mission to Amsterdam to get a story about politician Albert Bassermann (Van Meer) and obtain some news about the impending war in Europe. Well, he certainly gets involved. Can he live to tell what he knows? The film is a little too long, and the first half an hour is pretty boring. We then get some tense scenes, starting with a shooting. At last, some suspense. Unfortunately, the realism of the film is sloppy at this point. For example the victim's killer would have been caught about 20 times over. Also, the killer's getaway car would not just have disappeared like that on a large empty road, given that the pursuers had the car in sight. Another instance of stupidity occurs at this point in that the bad guys don't seem to be looking out for the car that has been chasing them. These villains are cretinously stupid not to have someone pick up that McCrea is snooping around the windmill. He stands out like a sore thumb.Another memorable section sees hit-man Edmund Gwenn (Rowley) bide his time and attempt his murderous instructions on McCrea. He has a couple of goes. And while these are suspenseful, Gwenn plays for comedy so it's never quite effective. And that's a problem with this film, there is far too much light-heartedness (eg, the Latvian bloke) which takes away any real danger.George Sanders (ffolliott) turns up after the first boring half an hour that wasn't necessary and immediately becomes the best of the cast. In fact, the lead man McCrea completely disappears from the proceedings after about two thirds of the film and we follow Sanders as he unravels and solves the whole mystery. By himself. McCrea wasn't needed – Sanders even already knew about wealthy aristocratic Herbert Marshall (Fisher).The film does have two other memorable sequences. The first is the sea of umbrellas as the assassin makes his getaway – very creative. The other is what elevates this film to the score I have given it – namely, the whole plane crash episode. I found this particularly eerie given the current explanation of what happened to that Air Malaysia plane recently. The one that just disappeared. There is real footage of the view that the pilots would have had as the plane dives towards the sea. We then get the water pouring in and a frightening aftermath. Maybe the passengers were already dead come the impact in the real life situation. Still, it made me think and go all sombre about it.Unfortunately, this film lacks something. Oh yeah, Hitchcock is easy to spot in this one, so keep an eye out near the beginning.

It is a bit overlong and Joel Mcrea is annoying while Laraine Day is unremarkable. But the thrills in this film are truly out of the world. The stark and realistic scenes at the windmill and the top of the tower without any background music might have inspired the long heist scene in Rififfi. I was thinking about RIFIFFI when i watched those scenes. The plain wreck scenes in the sea were pretty scary - the sea almost seemed like a monster. There were some extraordinary images in the film - one of the gigantic ship (at the beginning of the film) and the one of the almost monstrous sea.Albert Bassermann's performance as Van Meer needs special mention. the scene where he is tortured and interrogated seems to have inspired Brian De Palma in Sisters.Some of the twists could have been done away with. The film needed better editing. And the ending is pure propaganda. I wonder if that was the way Hitch felt about the war or if it was the studio.