Would this film be classified as propaganda during the run up to WWII or were things not hot enough yet? Also, was Hitchock as conservative? I've read that certain filmmakers have found him to be distasteful because of his political persuasion.
shareThe London blitz didn't even start until 1940, several years later. In fact, they deliberately avoided any connection to any country because they were neutral at the time. In the book, Verloc's name was Adolph, so they avoided using that name to hint at anything.
shareThere had been innumerable assassinations and bombings by anarchists and socialists in Europe and the United States, from the 1880s going forward, only interrupted by World War I. So it would not have been a shock to British filmgoers to imagine that such a thing could happen in their own country.
Usually, however, the targets had been politicians and the nobility, not just regular people on a bus.