Hitchcock in London: Alfred Hitchcock’s “Sabotage”

The fourth and final session of the Hitchcock in London book club was led by Fr. Jim Lies and Susan Ohmer. Ohmer began by introducing Alfred Hitchcock’s Sabotage which, like The Lodger, celebrates the city of London. Ohmer pointed to a quote from Sabotage’s producer Michael Balcan, who said the film would show “the real London”. This was a sentiment somewhat echoed by Hitchcock, who in an interview in 1937, noted that the film would be populated by the kinds of characters and personalities that Hitchcock grew up with in London.

Ohmer highlighted the irony of Balcan’s quote about the “real London,” as many key scenes were not filmed on location, but on specially constructed sets, for example Stevie’s infamous walk across London was not filmed on location. 

Ohmer highlighted a key theme of the novel, which was the contrast between the characters’ experience, and audience’s. These parallels were emphasized in the film by having the Verlocs run a movie theater, as opposed to the pornography store they owned in the original text. This draws attention to the varying levels of awareness and deception in the film and the audience is made aware of information that the characters are unaware of. Using the case of a detective disguised as a greengrocer, Ohmer explained how we are aware of a character’s duplicity, whilst simultaneously seeing how they are able to relate to one another in these roles they’ve carved out. 

Fr. Lies posed a question to Ohmer on the decision to cast an American actress in this film. Ohmer explained that it was not a decision made by Hitchcock but by producer Michael Balcon. He felt that casting a well-known American actress like Sylvia Sidney would elevate the film. They even account for her being American in the script. Fr. Lies then mentioned another notable distinction from the novel – the character of Stevie, who is not the challenged, Dostoevskyian character of the novels, but a charming young boy. Ohmer agreed, noting that this change to Stevie’s character made him a more sympathetic character, and made the bomb sequence scene much more impactful for the audience. Ohmer then spoke about another major difference in the novel – the final knife scene, where Winnie, Verloc’s wife murders him. While the film did borrow from the dialogue of the novel, the direction of the scene, cinematography and editing added an extra dimension. 

Fr. Lies and Ohmer then went on to discuss the infamous scene where Stevie travels around London with the bomb. Hitchcock stated shortly after the film was released, and well into the 1960s, that he regretted the decision to blow Stevie up but that his death was necessary for the plot direction. In the book, Stevie’s death was gradually revealed to the audience. While in the film, the audience is made aware of his impending doom yet refuse to believe it happens. Hitchcock builds anticipation and suspense in the sequence, toying with the audience’s awareness and frustration. Stevie’s death however, was a controversial moment, and Hitchcock was criticized by film critics who deemed it disgraceful. As Ohmer discussed the ending of the film, she mentioned how censorship laws would not have allowed the film to mirror the book and have Winnie commit suicide. 

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