Sabotage

 SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

 According to the dictionary definition that is written on the opening title card, the title of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1936 film Sabotage means to “destroy buildings or machinery with the object of alarming a group of persons or inspiring public uneasiness.” So, it is an act of terror that upends the normalcy of society. To achieve this goal, the implication is the saboteur must perform a covert act which means someone has to put on a false, benign appearance to fool others. The dominant theme in this film, as in so many others analyzed here, is that a benevolent facade may be hiding a malevolence beneath the surface. 

The second image is that of a lightbulb, which reminds one of the opening of the last film analyzed here, Murder, My Sweet. The brightness is followed by the city at night. The contrast with light and darkness suggests the desire to reveal, to be aware in order to protect, versus the one to hide an act of wrongdoing. The setting is London, and there is a power failure, symbolizing the dark deed that is taking place, and maybe how evil forces can drain the power from decent people. Men stand around a piece of machinery. They speak succinctly to sum up what is happening. They have found “sand” in the device and say it is “sabotage.” They ask, “Who did it?” and the film visually answers the question when the face of Karl Anton Verloc (Oskar Homolka) appears, appropriately out of the darkness, accompanied by sinister music. A sign is displayed for a station on London’s subway system, the “Underground,” a fitting word since the secret agent carries out his acts beneath the surface to avoid detection. (The movie is based on the novel The Secret Agent by renowned author Joseph Conrad).

 

At this point the citizens are not alarmed, and they light matches and candles in the streets, not appreciating any true danger. There is a crowd outside the Bijou movie theater because the show has been interrupted. Mrs. Verloc (Sylvia Sydney) deals with demands from audience members to refund their money because of the blackout, which she says was not the theater’s fault. Movies are pretend stories, and when the film is interrupted, this movie suggests, the effect is to destroy the illusion of reality that provides escapism from the harshness of the real world. 

 

Karl sneaks into the theater and washes his hands, leaving a residue of sand in the sink, suggesting that he can’t hide his crime. However, Ted Spencer (John Loder) saw him enter and tells Mrs. Verloc of her husband’s arrival. Karl pretends to have fallen asleep on his bed while reading a newspaper, which he places over his face, a literal cover-up, disguising his deception. His wife enters using a flashlight and shines it in Karl’s face, supposedly startling him out of his slumber. Hitchcock, even at this early stage in his career, puts the audience in the role of the criminal, as the light shines directly at us, implicating us, suggesting we also try to hide our infractions from scrutiny. Mrs. Verloc reveals to us their dire financial situation when she says that dinner may not be affordable without the cash from the night’s earnings. But Karl says not to worry since he will be obtaining money (for his nefarious activities?). He tells his wife to return the money to the audience since it’s not wise to upset the public. But, causing chaos is exactly the goal of his secret job. 

 

The people outside argue whether the electricity going out is an “act of God,” which would mean there is no human responsibility. Who is at fault is brought up here. Ted Spencer (John Loder), the grocer next door, is funny as he acts like he is an authority on the law, saying no refunds are in order. But he just spouts phony legal citations and provides double-talk, which is also an act of falseness, adding to the pervasiveness of duplicity. There is humor in the film, as Ted, in response to a question about what is an act of God, says, “I call your face one.” Mrs. Verloc says that they are willing to refund the money just as the lights come back on, so there is no need for any monetary reimbursement. Karl stares at the shining lightbulb again, as if it is his enemy, trying to illuminate what he wants to keep in the shadows. 

 

Just before dinner, Mrs. Verloc’s young brother, Stevie (Desmond Tester), breaks a plate accidentally, and hides the pieces in a drawer (another hint at the theme of appearance hiding reality). At dinner, Karl says he was willing to reimburse the movie patrons because he dislikes any commotion. He doesn’t want to attract any attention to him that might lead to further investigation into his activities. Ted arrives and mentions that he saw Karl and thus assumed he witnessed the uproar about the power outage. But Karl maintains that he was already there sleeping, thus showing inconsistency in his fake story. There is a window open toward the ceiling in the room that allows for a scream to startle them. It is noted that it sounds like someone is being murdered, and Karl says probably someone is, and after a hesitation notes it is in the movie. The thin line between illusion and reality is stressed here.

 

Another example of deception, only this time on the part of the police, is the fact that Ted is really an undercover agent for Scotland Yard. He has been spying on Karl, and he tells his superior, Superintendent Talbot (Matthew Boultun) that the man came back to the Bijou right after the act of sabotage. Talbot says that acts of disruption are diversions to draw attention and resources away from the war effort. Ted is told that they don’t have much chance of catching who is behind these operations, so Scotland Yard must try to apprehend the operatives. The implication is that some hide their evil ways so deep that exposing them is almost impossible. Ted’s assignment is to get closer to Mrs. Verloc to see what her husband is up to.

 

Ted encounters Karl who says he is going out on business. There is an interesting image of a man excavating the street with a pick close to where Karl waits for a tram. It seems as if Hitchcock is providing an image which suggests how the police are trying to unearth what is going on beneath Karl’s seemingly innocent surface. Ted signals another undercover man, who jumps on the tram. It seems deception is needed to fight deception.

 

Karl’s true destination is the zoo. He visits the aquarium, another reference contrasting the difference between what is going on underneath the surface compared to what is happening above. He meets Vladimir (Austin Trevor) who hired him. The man is not grateful and will not pay Karl because the Londoners seemed to enjoy the power outage, and he wanted an act of terrorism. He suggests that Karl must leave some “fireworks” at the crowded Piccadilly Circus during a celebration. Karl was doing the job for the money, and says he doesn’t want to be involved in killing people. Vladimir tells him to meet someone who will help him earn his money. After the man leaves, Karl gets a vision while looking into a fish tank. He sees Piccadilly Circus melting in an explosion, which shows his troubled mind. He goes to the exit, but is flustered by the revolving exit door, which implies that he feels trapped by his situation. The policeman tailing him helps him out, suggesting that complying with the law may be the best way to escape his guilt.

 

Ted acts as if he has a chance encounter with Mrs. Verloc and Stevie and invites them to a steak dinner. Stevie is thrilled about the opportunity since the poverty of the family has left them with a diet of just fruits and vegetables. Ted, trying to get information from Mrs. Verloc, asks if Karl has a “sideline” to help with the family income. Ted says he is willing to pay for the expensive dinner despite his grocery job, but we know his real occupation. Mrs. Verloc does not seem very “happy” about her “happy little family,” as Ted calls it. But she is grateful with how Karl has taken care of Stevie, which shows again that Karl is not a typical villain. When asked by Mrs. Verloc if he had ever been to the restaurant, Ted says never. But the man bringing their order notes Ted hadn’t been there for a while but remembered how he likes his meat. So, she has caught the man who is investigating her husband’s lies, telling lies about himself. Mrs. Verlock calls him on his deceptions, and he says that everyone has some mysteries (the film again insinuating we all practice duplicity), and asks about hers, hoping to discover more about Karl. They joke (only partly so on his part) about Karl being sneaky, but she assures him that her husband is “the quietest, most harmless, home-loving person.” The serious look on Ted’s face suggests otherwise.

 

Ted is drawn to Mrs. Verloc, as is seen by his tearing up a request for payment for the lunch. He tells Talbot that she is innocent, and his boss quickly deduces that Ted is attracted to her. Talbot tells Ted of Verloc’s wanderings at the aquarium and that he is currently at a bird shop. (The birds are obviously in cages, but Hitchcock uses the cage as a symbol for entrapment of people later in The Birds. The aquarium here containing the fish is also a sort of prison). The owner of the shop, Professor Chatman (William Dewhurst), is the one who Vladimir told Karl to visit. The man’s daughter and granddaughter are present. Karl, feeling uneasy that the child is around explosives, asks if the girl knows about what’s going on. The man says he doesn’t know if she knows, and isn’t sure if his daughter does either (although the look on her face is one of distaste). He even admits that he doesn’t know if the child’s father is alive. Everything is a mystery, hidden in the dark, even to the conspirators carrying out the orders delivered by anonymous employers. Karl notes that the objects in the conspirator’s pantry appear to be “harmless,” but the man notes that mixing “a little tomato sauce with some strawberry jam” would cause an explosion. Once more, we have appearances being deceiving. Chatman makes it clear to Karl that he will set off a bomb if ever cornered by the police. The Professor finds his granddaughter's doll next to the explosives, and is apologetic about allowing it to be there. The discovery shows how the innocent are at risk when conspirators plot their plans.

 

To continue with the deceptive appearance theme, Stevie, with Karl and his wife, says he was talking with Ted who said that gangsters don’t appear threatening, and actually are “quite ordinary looking” like Mr. Verloc. That phony surface, like Verloc’s, makes them more dangerous because they throw people off guard. Mrs. Verloc has discovered that Ted isn’t who he pretends to be, but she innocently attributes his having money to being a member of the family which owns the chain of food stores, and is learning the business. Most of the time, the movie implies, the default of most people is to believe the best about others. 

 

Ted sees suspicious types entering the Bijou, and he goes in to investigate, pretending (that word again) to just wanting to watch the film. He runs into Stevie, who takes him where the screen and loudspeakers are. Ted acts as if he wants to surprise Karl and he climbs up to a window to look in on Karl’s meeting with the other conspirators. Behind the make-believe danger in the movie theater is the real threat being formulated (but, of course, it isn’t real, because we are watching a movie ourselves). However, one of those in attendance sees Ted’s hand and pulls him into the room. Ted goes along with Stevie’s story about just wanting to see the theater. But, after Ted leaves, one of the men says he recognizes Ted as a policeman who arrested him before. The group begins to disperse, saying they must cancel their project.

 

The Professor sends Karl a birdcage which, on the surface, seems harmless, but actually carries a deadly bomb in a wrapped package underneath its base. The birds are supposed to be a present for Stevie (more examples of deceptive appearances). Karl, knowing about Ted’s true identity now, asks his wife if Ted was asking questions about him. After she is alone, Stevie appears taller than he is as he pokes his head out from a curtain. Afterall, the theater is a place that presents illusions. He is actually sitting on Ted’s shoulders. But the opening of the curtain coincides with Ted revealing to the suspicious Mrs. Verloc who he really is. He stresses that Karl lied about where he was the night of the blackout. As Ted asks Mrs. Verloc questions about the men who met with her husband, Karl overhears the interrogation, standing behind a curtain to hide his eavesdropping. 

 

There are more actions that fake safe appearances. Karl tells Stevie to deliver some film reels and along with the disguised explosive package, which he says is a film projector part, to a cloak room in Piccadilly Circus to be picked up. Since the police are suspicious of Karl, and he needs an alibi, he uses Stevie as the courier because his innocent youth will not make him seem like a suspect. Ted confronts Karl without any more deceptions and asks him questions as Stevie proceeds with his task. On his way, Stevie encounters a street salesman who pressures the boy to demonstrate his toothpaste and hair lotion. It is a funny scene, but the fraudulent claims of the salesman contribute to the presentation of false pretenses, and his stress on tooth decay can be a metaphor for social corruption. 

 

Hitchcock builds suspense by telling us that the bomb is scheduled to go off at 1:45 pm and we see clocks counting down the time as Stevie continues his journey, being interrupted by the day's festivities along the way. His smiling, naive face contrasts with shots of the dangerous package. He hops aboard a bus, but the conductor tells him that the film he carries is flammable, yet he still allows him to step aboard. It is an ironic warning, since the undisguised film is not the threat, but the wrapped benign looking package is. Stevie plays with a sweet puppy on the bus, adding to the feeling of how the innocent are at risk from disguised malevolence. The bus is caught up in traffic and the big hand on a clock moves to the time of detonation. The bomb goes off on the vehicle. (Hitchcock later said he made a mistake killing off a youth in whom the audience became emotionally invested). 

 

Back at Karl’s house, Ted receives a message that a bus exploded. Karl asks what time it happened, which seems a suspicious question. At the bomb site, Ted finds a label that shows the title of the film that Stevie was carrying. Mrs. Verloc is worried about the missing Stevie, and when she sees the title of the film in the newspaper as being a clue to the bombing, she faints in front of the Bijou. She confronts Karl, who admits his complicity, and says he didn’t want any harm to come to her brother. Karl says his wife has to pull herself together, and says that it could have been him who was killed. He would have been carrying the bomb if Ted hadn’t been close by, spying on him. Karl is trying to dispel his guilt, but is unconvincing. 

 

Mrs. Verloc goes into the auditorium to watch a cartoon, as she is looking for escape, as most people do when they go to a movie theater. But, the story portrays the killing of “Cock Robin.” The bird in the cartoon becomes associated with the birds given to her brother and possibly even to Stevie himself, and its death in the animated story mirrors the loss of Stevie. That fine line between the real and the imaginary is again crossed here, as what is on the screen reflects upon and comments on real life. 

 

The morose Mrs. Verloc reenters the living area after the cook says dinner is ready. The scene repeats an earlier one where Karl complains about the food and wonders if they could get some vegetables from the grocer next door, where Stevie had gone to shop. Stevie’s empty seat at the table is painful to view. One wonders why Mrs. Verloc doesn’t turn Karl in at the least and maybe even attack him herself. Hitchcock makes us know that she is thinking about the latter, since she puts down the carving knife and seems to try to restrain herself from picking it up again. Karl observes her and becomes worried. He approaches her and she grabs the knife and stabs him. The parakeets chirp, suggesting Stevie is calling from the grave to acknowledge the act of justice for his death. 

 

Ted returns and tells Mrs. Verloc that he is there to arrest Karl, the title on the film containers being the conclusive evidence that he was involved in the bombing. He sees Karl’s body and Mrs. Verloc appears numb. But she wants to be transparent, saying they must go to the police. Ted, who confesses his feelings for her, closes and locks the door where the body is. Is he now also trying to cover things up so that Mrs. Verloc will not be perceived as a killer? As they exit the movie theater and go through the crowds, they see policemen escorting a woman, which suggests what is to happen to Mrs. Verloc. She thinks she sees Stevie running toward her, but it is another boy. She has left the Bijou, but she is like the rest of us, who want to remain in denial because it is an attractive alternative to dealing with the pain of actual loss. Ted wants to paint the death as an accident that occurred while defending herself. If they don’t use that scenario, he says that since the body will not be found until the morning they can escape together. They kiss, which shows that she returns his affection.

 

Miss Chatman (Martita Hunt), the Professor’s daughter, yells at her father for allowing her and her son to become vulnerable because of his activities. She sends him off to retrieve the birdcage to make it look like he was not involved (another phony act). The police follow the Professor. When they arrive at the Bijou after tracking the Professor there, Mrs. Verloc runs to confess her crime. Ted initially prevents her from incriminating herself. The Professor sees the police entering the theater, and the authorities evacuate the audience. Chatman breaks through the door to the inner room and finds Karl’s body. When Superintendent Talbot asks Mrs. Verloc about her husband she blurts out that he is dead. At that moment, the Professor makes good on his earlier threat and sets off a suicide explosion. 

 

The policeman on duty reports that the bomb’s devastation prevents identification of the bodies, which creates another form of a cover-up. The official statement will be that Karl was blown up by Chatman, thus making it appear that Mrs. Verloc had nothing to do with her husband’s death. The movie implies that sometimes hiding the truth can be the right thing to do if it serves justice and protects the righteous.

The next film is Star Wars.