--- title: "Foreign Correspondent: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/foreign-correspondent/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/foreign-correspondent" critics_score: 74 critics_reviews: 10 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Foreign Correspondent (1940): what the critics said Critics' score 74 from 10 reviews: 9 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics enjoy Foreign Correspondent as a brisk espionage thriller and one of Hitchcock’s more assured early Hollywood films. The praise gathers around the set pieces: nearly every review names the Dutch windmill sequence, and the rain-soaked assassination under a sea of umbrellas and the effects-heavy plane crash also draw notice. Several see it as a rehearsal for the chase thrillers he made later, and the cast is consistently approved, with Joel McCrea’s mix of confidence and naivety and George Sanders, Edmund Gwenn and Herbert Marshall in support singled out. The reservations cluster at the ending. The patriotic finale strikes more than one critic as florid, and Time Out finds it embarrassing today and misses the cruelty and pessimism of Hitchcock’s other work. The spread is narrow, running from warm to enthusiastic, with the Los Angeles Times the lone mixed voice, calling it good rather than great and complaining of too much talk about patriotism. ## The AV Club — Ben Kenigsberg Rating A-. 19 February 2014. The critic finds the film spectacularly entertaining as a prime example of Hitchcock's breakneck travelogue thrillers and a dry run for later classics like North by Northwest. The rain-soaked assassination scene with the sea of umbrellas and other set pieces like the windmill and plane crash are highlighted as standout moments. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/criterion-makes-hitchcock-s-exciting-foreign-correspond-1798179524) ## The New Yorker Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 31 August 1940. The incidents are extraordinarily exciting and up-to-the-minute, dramatizing current news events as a perfect thriller with Fifth Columnists, assassinations, kidnappings, and a tremendous finale aboard a plane on the day war is declared. Hitchcock's unfailing contribution is the smooth piecing together of these elements. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1940/08/31/1940-08-31-051-tny-cards-000003201) ## Slant Magazine — Jordan Cronk Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 20 February 2014. The critic views the film as a key early Hollywood work that foreshadows Hitchcock's later style and scale through its ambitious production and memorable set pieces. The windmill chase, rooftop escape, and plane crash sequence are singled out as impressive examples of cinematic spectacle. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/foreign-correspondent/) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 27 August 2012. The critic describes the film as a breathless yarn with serious intent that soars well beyond mediocrity but just below genius, and argues it deserves a place among Hitchcock's best. They single out its humour and brilliance in staging, along with its clear propagandistic purpose to inspire American audiences about events in Europe. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2012/aug/27/favourite-hitchcock-foreign-correspondent) ## Empire — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 28 April 2006. The critic calls it highly-wrought entertainment in the vein of Hitchcock's other thrillers, with the hero getting into scrapes across London and Holland. They single out the windmill sequence, Edmund Gwenn's creepy cameo, and the effects-laden plane crash climax for praise. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/foreign-correspondent-review/) ## The New York Times — Bosley Crowther Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 28 August 1940. The critic finds the film packed with romantic action, melodramatic hullabaloo, comical diversion, and an illusion of momentous consequence. It is high-geared entertainment for those who can take sensationalism without skepticism, with uniformly good cast and excellent photographic sequences like the Dutch windmill. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1940/08/28/archives/the-screen-at-the-rivoli.html) ## Time Out — GA Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 22 September 2014. Hitchcock's espionage thriller is a thoroughly enjoyable affair with memorable set pieces, even if the propagandistic finale feels embarrassing today and it lacks the director's usual cruelty or moral pessimism. McCrea and Day search out Nazi agents in London and Holland, with fine support from Sanders, Gwenn and Marshall. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/foreign-correspondent) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1939. The story is essentially cops-and-robbers set against international political intrigue with a war flavor, though not a war picture, featuring mystery and intrigue. The cast is carefully selected and tops, with Joel McCrea blending self-confidence and naivete as the reporter-hero and strong support from the ensemble. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1939/film/reviews/foreign-correspondent-1200413046/) ## Los Angeles Times — Mark Chalon Smith Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 31 January 1992. It is a good movie but not great, part thriller and part propaganda with too much blabbing about patriotism at the florid ending. Several juicy Hitchcock set pieces stand out, including the striking windmill sequence involving the apparent murder of a Dutch diplomat. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-01-31-ca-1060-story.html) ## Collider — Luc Haasbroek Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 2026. The critic calls it a fast-moving political thriller that showcases Hitchcock's growing mastery of scale and momentum. It balances entertainment with a warning about the stakes of war and misinformation, earning notice even from Joseph Goebbels as effective propaganda. [Read the review](https://collider.com/best-1940-movies-classics/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/foreign-correspondent.md