MovieChat Forums > Foreign Correspondent (1940) Discussion > Why did John say he needed to keep the n...

Why did John say he needed to keep the news a secret?

posted 15 years ago by NoJealousy
3 replies | jump to latest

Then he revealed it to his boss while he was listening on the phone. Wasn't that an American that John was telling he'd keep it to himself?

[–] Poppa T 15 years ago

He had to keep it a secret so that he was still in with a chance with Fisher's daughter.

Poppa T

[–] npaxton-3 9 years ago

No. The Americans were not officially in the war and the ship's captain was under orders not to get involved with any foreign spy intrigue or look like America was taking sides if the information got out. John made the decision to let his paper know because the American people and the world needed to realize what actually happened.

[–] davidjanuzbrown 8 years ago

Johnny was not going to tell the story until Larraine Day heard him tell George Sanders that he would not, since they are going to be married and he will not give her shame as a wedding present.!She did not want him protecting her father ( Herbert Marshall). She noted her father fought for his Country ( Germany) the hard way and she will fight for hers ( Britain) the hard way. When she told him that, he told the story to his boss on the phone and pretended that he is his uncle, because the American Captain was not happy he did not tell him he was a reporter. Johnny told the story but it was Larraine Day that confirmed her father was a traitor, which made the story more powerful, and at the end she is with him when the Luftwaffe is bombing London.