Sabotage


1h 9m 1939

Film Details

Also Known As
Headline News
Genre
Spy
Release Date
Oct 13, 1939
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Republic Pictures Corp.
Distribution Company
Republic Pictures Corp.
Country
United States

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 9m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
8 reels

Synopsis

The night before his grandson, Tommy Grayson, a mechanic at the Midland Aircraft Corporation, is to marry Gail, a former showgirl, Major Matt Grayson, a war veteran and watchman at the plant, catches two men breaking into the machine shop. The men run, but the major shoots one of them. With his dying breath the man begs the major to "stop them" and blurts out his own name, Marty Kruger. The major leaves to call the police, but when he returns, Kruger's body is missing. The next day, a new bomber crashes during a test flight, and government agents come to investigate because five recent plane crashes involved motors from the Midland plant. Suspicion falls on Tommy when an investigation reveals that all the bad piston heads that caused the engines to freeze came from his bench. When government agents arrest Tommy, the major tells Johnson, the plant manager, about Marty Kruger, but Johnson accuses the major of trying to cover for his grandson. Determined to clear Tommy's name, the major resigns as nightwatchman and recruits three of his veteran pals, Mel, Smitty and Eli, to help find the Kruger family. The major also asks a radio broadcaster friend to air a special announcement asking all persons who knew Marty Kruger to contact the major. Meanwhile, the government withdraws its payments to Midland Aircraft, forcing the plant to close and thus causing resentment against the Grayson family. Soon after, Art Kruger, a boxer, visits the major as a result of the broadcast and tells him that Marty Kruger, his brother, had written him saying that he was mixed up with some bad men and one of them was named Steve Barsht. Realizing that Barsht is a mechanic at the plant, the major and Gail go to his house. There the major engages Barsht in conversation, while Gail searches the rooms upstairs, and finds a steel marker that Barsht used to stamp Tommy's mark on the faulty pistons. The major presents the district attorney with the stamp and then visits Kannett, the superintendent of the machine shop, to make certain that Kannett will testify about the marker. Unknown to the major, Kannett is a member of the sabotage ring, and when Barsht appears, Kannett instructs him to detain the major while he goes to plant an explosive device at the factory. In Kannett's absence, the major terrifies Barsht into letting him escape. The major then recruits a group of veterans from the veterans home to stop Kannett at the factory. Taking the law into their own hands, the vets catch the saboteurs and force them to confess. As a result, Tommy is cleared, and the government arrests saboteurs all over the country, thus breaking up the ring.

Film Details

Also Known As
Headline News
Genre
Spy
Release Date
Oct 13, 1939
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Republic Pictures Corp.
Distribution Company
Republic Pictures Corp.
Country
United States

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 9m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
8 reels

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

The working title of this picture was Headline News. A news item in Hollywood Reporter notes that Sidney Salkow was originally slated to direct the picture.