Torn Curtain (1966)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Torn Curtain (1966) – A. Hitchcock

Better than Topaz!  Actually, the negative reputation for Torn Curtain seems pretty unwarranted to me.  Here we have a textbook Hitchcock film wherein the Master uses all of his favourite techniques to build suspense and generally succeeds.  Paul Newman is an American nuclear scientist who defects to East Germany. The first third of the film explores his relationship with his fiancée/assistant Julie Andrews, who he has neglected to tell his intentions.  Newman does act suspiciously but since he is the hero we soon find out that he is really a double agent, seeking to secure a formula (the MacGuffin) from an East German scientist.  The rest of the film takes place behind the Iron Curtain where Newman (acting very sullenly) and Andrews (basically given nothing to do) must “woo” the scientist, get the formula, and escape back to the West.  Of course, there are many roadblocks along the way (literal and metaphorical).  This is the film where Hitchcock famously wanted to show that (unlike in the James Bond films) it is actually hard to kill a man – resulting in a very protracted fight/death scene which is an incredible setpiece.  Hitch’s dry sense of humour may be subdued but it isn’t absent.  Pictorially, the film often looks great with a sly mix of studio sets, painted backdrops, and location shooting; for example, the museum scenes show the director toying with the audience’s perspective as Newman crosses from room to room.  All told, this isn’t one of Hitch’s best but it has strong family relations to a number of his earlier films (the setpiece scene in the theatre evokes both The 39 Steps and The Man Who Knew Too Much).  Worth a look if you are a fan.