--- title: "Sabotage" year: 1936 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/sabotage" fi1m_id: "sabotage" imdb_id: "tt0028212" tmdb_id: 12684 wikidata_id: "Q500488" fi1m_score: 77 critics_score: 71 critics_reviews: 5 published: "2026-09-25T02:31:10.708367+00:00" updated: "2026-09-25T02:31:26.421660+00:00" region: "HU" 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." --- # Sabotage (1936) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock · 1h 17m · Drama, Thriller, Crime ## Identity Sabotage - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/sabotage - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** sabotage - **IMDb ID:** tt0028212 - **TMDB ID:** 12684 - **Wikidata ID:** Q500488 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028212/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/12684, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q500488 **Fi1m score: 77** · Critics 71 (early) from 5 reviews *In a sentence:* Alfred Hitchcock makes a trip to the aquarium feel like something the police should know about > Alfred Hitchcock’s *Sabotage* is a gripping thriller with an unusually cruel streak. Its family relationships give the suspense weight, though obscure plotting and ill-timed comedy keep interrupting the fear. ## Synopsis In London, Mrs. Verloc (Sylvia Sidney) is married to Karl Verloc (Oskar Homolka), and Stevie (Desmond Tester) is her young brother. A bomb plot brings the threat of violence close to their family. Ted (John Loder) and Superintendent Talbot (Matthew Boulton) also figure in the unfolding crime, while an aquarium becomes the setting for a sinister encounter. The people involved do not all have the same understanding of the danger, leaving family loyalties exposed to plans made beyond the home. ## Review Alfred Hitchcock’s *Sabotage* is a good, disquieting thriller, though its comic interruptions and cloudy plotting keep it from being a wholly satisfying one. The bomb plot supplies the danger, but the family caught close to it gives that danger a weight the mechanics alone could not carry. Hitchcock understands how frightening an ordinary place can become once we know something is wrong. At 77 minutes, the film has little space to waste, which makes its occasional distractions more noticeable. Sylvia Sidney gives Mrs. Verloc enough emotional substance to prevent the film becoming an exercise in threatening people we scarcely know. We care about her because Sidney makes the domestic relationships seem worth protecting, even when the plotting demands more attention than it deserves. Oskar Homolka, as Karl Verloc, is absorbing without making the man easy to understand, and his performance sustains interest where the writing leaves questions. Desmond Tester gives Stevie a place in that family, so our concern for him begins with his relationship to his sister. The aquarium sequence shows Hitchcock’s control at its most assured. Bernard Knowles’s photography makes the setting feel inhospitable, giving an ordinary public attraction a chill that needs little explanation. We felt uneasy because a place devoted to quietly looking at fish had become a place to fear the people. The setting does useful work: it makes the encounter strange without making it remote from everyday life, and allows Hitchcock to suggest how close danger can come to an innocent outing. Charles Frend’s editing gives the suspense time to gather, making anticipation an uncomfortable part of watching. We have time to imagine what might go wrong before the film presses on. The music, credited to Jack Beaver, Hubert Bath and Louis Levy, supports that unease without becoming the chief source of it. We remember the aquarium more readily than a musical phrase, and the film benefits from giving the pictures so much responsibility. Charles Bennett’s screenplay adapts a novel by Joseph Conrad, and the underlying intrigue is not always as clear or persuasive as the immediate threat. Some motives remain obscure long enough to distract us from what is happening in front of us. The comic interludes cause a different problem: they loosen the tension without consistently earning the interruption. Humour can make screen danger nastier by catching us unprepared, but here it sometimes feels as though we have wandered into another film just when the first one was getting somewhere. By the usual crime-thriller measure of how neatly everything has been arranged, *Sabotage* is imperfect. Hitchcock’s treatment of the family makes neatness seem a secondary concern, although it cannot excuse every awkward change of tone. We recommend it to anyone who wants suspense with some emotional risk; save the comfortable detective story for another evening. *Fi1m score 77, published 25 September 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is Sabotage worth watching?** *Sabotage* is worth watching for suspense with emotional weight, and we score it 77 out of 100. Hitchcock makes an ordinary aquarium feel threatening, while Sylvia Sidney gives us reason to care about the family near the bomb plot; obscure motives and ill-timed comedy keep it from being wholly satisfying. **How long is Sabotage, and what is it rated?** *Sabotage* runs 1h 17m. It is a drama and thriller film. **Where can I watch Sabotage in Hungary?** *Sabotage* is not on any streaming or rental service in Hungary at the moment. It is available in 7 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How violent or frightening is Sabotage, and is it suitable for children?** *Sabotage* has a UK PG certificate, but its bomb plot and threats close to a family make it an unsettling choice for children. We find the suspense unusually cruel rather than comfortable, so parental guidance matters particularly for younger or sensitive viewers; the certificate should not be mistaken for a promise of gentle entertainment. **How does Sabotage compare to The Conversation?** *Sabotage* offers family-centred danger and an unusually cruel streak, while [*The Conversation*](https://film.one/film/the-conversation) builds patient suspense through repeated listening, uncertain motives and loneliness. We recommend *The Conversation* more confidently, despite some over-arranged plotting; *Sabotage* suits those drawn to domestic relationships under threat, provided they can accept comedy that sometimes interrupts the tension. **Is Sabotage based on a true story or a book?** *Sabotage* is adapted from a novel by Joseph Conrad, with a screenplay by Charles Bennett, rather than presented as a true story. We find some of the intrigue obscure, but the immediate threat and family relationships give a newcomer enough to engage with; reading the novel first is not a prerequisite. ### Reviews we read (5) - **Radio Times**, Tom Hutchinson (4/5): The review presents the film as an unnerving, suspenseful Hitchcock thriller. It singles out the scene in which a boy carries a time-bomb aboard a bus as especially unsettling. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-eh6745/sabotage/) - **Time Out**, PT (75/100, inferred): The review presents the film as one of Hitchcock’s most playful British thrillers. It singles out its playful approach and adaptation from Joseph Conrad’s novel. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/sabotage) - **Empire**, David Parkinson (65/100, inferred): The critic finds the film an atmospheric, pessimistic London thriller, while acknowledging Hitchcock’s reservations and the film’s flaws. He especially praises the suspenseful build-up and the devastating scene of Winnie watching a cartoon after learning of Steve’s death. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/sabotage-review/) - **Variety**, Variety Staff (60/100, inferred): The review finds the film smartly made but held back by an outmoded, obscure story. It praises Oscar Homolka’s performance as a brilliant piece of character acting. [Read](https://variety.com/1935/film/reviews/sabotage-1200411189/) - **Eye for Film**, Jeff Robson (75/100, inferred): Robson finds the film a gem of cinematic storytelling, though its comic interludes blunt the impact. He especially praises the chilling aquarium sequence and the film’s growing technical ambition. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/sabotage-film-review-by-jeff-robson) ## Details - **Director:** Alfred Hitchcock - **Director:** Alfred Hitchcock - **Screenplay:** Charles Bennett - **Novel:** Joseph Conrad - **Cinematography:** Bernard Knowles - **Editor:** Charles Frend - **Music:** Jack Beaver, Hubert Bath, Louis Levy - **Producer:** Michael Balcon - **Cast:** Sylvia Sidney as Mrs. Verloc; Oskar Homolka as Karl Verloc - Her Husband; Desmond Tester as Stevie - Her Young Brother; John Loder as Ted; Joyce Barbour as Renee; Matthew Boulton as Superintendent Talbot; S. J. Warmington as Hollingshead; William Dewhurst as The Professor - **Runtime:** 1h 17m - **First release (the UK):** 2 December 1936 - **Genres:** Drama, Thriller, Crime ## Where to watch in Hungary Not streaming, renting or buying in Hungary at the last check. Also available in: AU, CA, GB, JP, MX, NZ, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The Fallen Idol* (1948): For another child’s view of adult behaviour that deserves closer supervision. - *Le Corbeau* (1943): For a small community where suspicion makes ordinary encounters feel poisonous. - *The Conversation* (1974), Fi1m 92: For patient suspense built from overheard words and uncertain motives. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-conversation.md) - *Mother* (2009): For family loyalty tested by a criminal investigation and uncomfortable doubts. - *Night Train to Munich* (1940): For another brisk thriller that lets comedy complicate the danger. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/sabotage