Hitchcock darkened the mood for Sabotage compared to his other British films, in this loose adaptation of Joseph Conrad's classic, The Secret Agent.
The film needed a skilled dramatic lead and the production was blessed by the brilliant, liquid eyed Sylvia Sidney. This is nearly as much a Sylvia Sidney picture as a Hitchcock. How frustrating that Robert Donat was cast to co-star but was unable to appear due to illness.
A gang of saboteurs is active around London (their aims are vague) and plan to leave a bomb at Piccadilly Station which is entrusted to Sidney's young brother and timed to detonate. While he dawdles across London, he is unaware of what his package contains. The staging and editing of this episode was widely praised. We are aware of the time of detonation, and Hitch cuts ever more rapidly between clocks, the package and the fatal distractions of the big city.
It is a political thriller, and one of the master's best and most suspenseful films with many memorable set pieces and some atmospheric location work.