Movie Review: Sabotage - (England, 1936)


Figure 1.--This is Stevie who is about 13 or 1 years old. He always wears his school clothes--a short pants suit with collared shirt and school tie, grey knee socks, and low-cut shoes. This was standard dress for middle-class school boys in the London of the 1930s.

This British thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock has a British school boy, Stevie (Desmond Tester). I'd say he was about 13 years old. He features prominently and wears a short pants suit throughout as was common in Britain during the 1930s. It is presumably his school uniform as he wears it with a school cap that has a "B" shield. Interesting how boys used to dress up, he never appears without his tie on, even in the evening. I one scene he pulls up his knee socks smartly and even brushes his shoes on the back of his socks. Unfortunately he gets blown up by a bomb. Several other school boys appear in shorts in various street scenes, but only Stevie has a real role.

Filmology

Alfred Hitchcock's famous early film "Sabotage" (UK 1936) was based on a novel by Joseph Conrad one of the greatest English novelist who of course was Polish. Conrad's novel was sent in an earlier period.

Setting

The film was shot in London during 1935 or 36.

Cast

Stevie was played by Desmond Tester. He brings off the part quite well. His older sister is played by Sylvia Sidney.

Plot

This British thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock has a British school boy, Stevie. The story involves one Mr. Verloc, who runs a cinema in London and is secretly connected with a gang of foreign saboteurs. His anguished wife and her innocent teenage brother "Stevie" live with the sabateur but know nothing of his nefarious secret life. The most memorable and suspenseful sequence in the film is that in which the teenage boy Stevie is sent to deliver a canister of film which, unbeknownst to him, contains a lethal bomb. The bomb is set to blow up at a specific time, and the camera follows the boy through the streets of London as he dawdles, is interupted and delayed. Unfortunately the bomb explodes before Stevie can reach his destination and the intended victim.

Costuming

Stevie is about 13 or 14-years old. He always wears his school clothes--a short pants suit with collared shirt and school tie, grey knee socks, and low-cut shoes. He also has a segmented peaked school cap. The front segment is a light color with a shielded "B". Notice his tie has horizontal stripes and is cut flat at the bottom. His outfit was standard dress for middle-class school boys in the London of the 1930s. We are never told what kind of school he attended. I think it sould have been grammar school. Interesting how boys used to dress up, he never appears without his tie on, even in the evening. I one scene he pulls up his knee socks smartly and even brushes his shoes on the back of his socks. Unfortunately he gets blown up by a bomb. Several other school boys appear in shorts in various street scenes, but only Stevie has a real role. We suspect that many of the children in the various scenes just wore ther own clothes. Thus the film is a wonderful time capsule.






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Created: May 19, 2004
Last updated: 6:24 AM 5/5/2008