Torn Curtain
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| Torn Curtain | |
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| Directed by | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Produced by | Uncredited: Alfred Hitchcock |
| Written by | Screenplay: Brian Moore Uncredited: Willis Hall Keith Waterhouse |
| Starring | Paul Newman Julie Andrews Lila Kedrova Wolfgang Kieling Hansjörg Felmy Tamara Toumanova David Opatoshu Ludwig Donath |
| Music by | John Addison |
| Cinematography | John F. Warren |
| Editing by | Bud Hoffman |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  July 14, 1966 |
| Running time | 128 min 126 min 126 min |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$ 6,000,000 |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Torn Curtain is a 1966 political thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, featuring his trademark characters and camera techniques.
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[edit] Background and production
The film caused some controversy for its somewhat racy (for the era) scenes featuring star Julie Andrews, who had recently made several successful family films for The Walt Disney Company. The criticism concerned the depiction of the two lead characters sharing the same bed in a romantic context although they were not married, which had never been allowed under the Production Code which began on July 1, 1934.
Torn Curtain was released without any rating on July 14, 1966 (see original 1966 movie poster above). However, the film was given an "M" (for "Mature" -- later changed to "PG") under the MPAA film rating system that took effect November 1, 1968.
Hitchcock later complained that Universal executives insisted on famous stars being cast -- after The Birds and Marnie both featured his discovery Tippi Hedren -- and that both Andrews and Newman were "recommended" to him rather than being his real choices. However, it was a minor hit for Hitchcock and an honorable effort, though rarely considered a Hitchcock classic. Torn Curtain features a memorable murder scene with Paul Newman and Wolfgang Kieling) that Hitchcock made specifically to show the audience how difficult it is to kill a man.
During production, the film faced some major setbacks, beyond the controversy surrounding its female star. The original script was deemed unsuitable by both Hitchcock and Universal, who financed the picture. Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall had to do extensive re-writes and script doctoring before any filming could be completed, despite their efforts going uncredited.
Bernard Herrmann, a long-time collaborator of Hitchcock, completed a full score before the film's completion, but both Hitchcock and Universal had asked for a more upbeat score, with pop and jazz influences. Herrmann and Hitchcock had a major falling out, and the long-time collaborators never worked together again. Financial problems and several filming location changes also delayed the production.
The working relationship between Hitchcock and Newman was also said to be problematic. Newman came from a different generation of actors than the likes of Cary Grant and James Stewart and questioned Hitchcock about the script and the characterization throughout filming. Hitchcock later said he found Newman's manner and approach unacceptable and disrespectful. Newman insists that he meant no disrespect towards Hitchcock, and once said "I think Hitch and I could have really hit it off, but the script kept getting in the way."
Brian Moore's own dissatisfaction with the project can be seen in his novel Fergus (1970), which features Bernard Boweri, an unsympathetic character based on Hitchcock.[1]
[edit] Plot
When Michael Armstrong (Paul Newman), an esteemed professor and scientist, begins acting suspiciously, his assistant and fiancée, Sarah Sherman (Julie Andrews), follows him to East Germany, believing he has defected to the other side. Sherman, however, is extremely uncomfortable with this move, realizing if the apparent defection is in fact real that, given the circumstances of the Cold War of the period, she would likely never see her home or family again.
It soon becomes apparent to both Sherman and the viewer that Armstrong's defection is in fact a ruse to gain the confidence of the East German scientific establishment and learn just how much they (and by extension, the Soviet Union) know about missile propulsion. Armstrong has made preparations to return to the West which are threatened (along with the entire organisation) when he is followed to the home of his contact (on an isolated farm) by the Stasi officer assigned to his case. Armstrong murders the man, who is then buried by the "farmer" and his wife, but the cab driver who carried Armstrong to the farm reports his suspicions to the police.
Armstrong visits the physics faculty of Karl Marx University, where his loyalty is suspected all along, and while he is discussing the propulsion question with a senior professor (Ludwig Donath), he is denounced over the school's loudspeaker system and must make a harrowing escape along with Sherman. The escape eventually leads to an alliance with an exiled Polish countess (Lila Kedrova), and a typical Hitchcock set piece, the scene where either the protagonist(s) or the villain(s), in this case the protagonists, must attempt to make an escape through a crowded theatre, this time in East Berlin. They then get loaded with the props, in which they have hidden, from the set of the travelling Czech show which was making its final appearance in Berlin prior to a tour of Sweden, and are taken there on a boat.
[edit] Trivia
- Alfred Hitchcock's cameo is a signature occurrence in most of his films. In Torn Curtain he can be seen (8 minutes into the film) sitting in a hotel lobby holding a blonde baby.
[edit] Reference
- ^ Brian Busby. Character Parts: Who's Really Who in CanLit. Toronto: Knopf, 2003. p. 32. ISBN 0-676-97578-X
