"They are working at it, Professor. Perhaps some of you scientists would like to give us a helping hand!"
On the way to a conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, American scientist, Professor Michael Armstrong (Newhart), begins acting strangely. He makes secret trips and tries to convince his assistant / fiancee, Sarah (Andrews), to stay home. Then he takes a detour and goes to East Berlin... with Sarah on his heels. Once they arrive, Michael announces his plans to defect to the Soviet Union, and Sarah half-heartedly agrees.
When they finally have a few moments alone, Michael reveals his real intentions: he is on a secret mission to find and steal an important formula from a Soviet scientist. Then they will escape via an underground network called pi. But their every move is shadowed by Professor Karl Manfred (Strack), who brought them to Germany, and Hermann Gromek (Kieling), the head of the security, who doubts their reasons to defect. And the scientist they need to see, Professor Lindt (Donath), is getting ready to take a long trip and doesn't have much time left.
I like Alfred Hitchcock films. They are full of suspense... excellent camera angles / techniques... talented cast and crew... all wrapped into a nice, neat story. Yes, it is a beautiful thing. Even when the film doesn't work, it is still better than most. "Torn Curtain" is one of the films that doesn't work as well as you hope it will. I'm not quite sure what the problem is. On paper it should work. Two big stars, Paul Newman and Julie Andrews, who made good films before and after this... but seem miscast (it doesn't help that Hitchcock wanted other actors). They both do fine, but just don't fit the characters.
The story seems so dated now. But this is Hitchcock, so the suspense is there. There are good scenes, such as Michael's fight with Gromek. The bus sequence is also well done... incredibly suspenseful. It is a good film, but not the best in the Hitchcock cannon... but not the worst.
When they finally have a few moments alone, Michael reveals his real intentions: he is on a secret mission to find and steal an important formula from a Soviet scientist. Then they will escape via an underground network called pi. But their every move is shadowed by Professor Karl Manfred (Strack), who brought them to Germany, and Hermann Gromek (Kieling), the head of the security, who doubts their reasons to defect. And the scientist they need to see, Professor Lindt (Donath), is getting ready to take a long trip and doesn't have much time left.
I like Alfred Hitchcock films. They are full of suspense... excellent camera angles / techniques... talented cast and crew... all wrapped into a nice, neat story. Yes, it is a beautiful thing. Even when the film doesn't work, it is still better than most. "Torn Curtain" is one of the films that doesn't work as well as you hope it will. I'm not quite sure what the problem is. On paper it should work. Two big stars, Paul Newman and Julie Andrews, who made good films before and after this... but seem miscast (it doesn't help that Hitchcock wanted other actors). They both do fine, but just don't fit the characters.
The story seems so dated now. But this is Hitchcock, so the suspense is there. There are good scenes, such as Michael's fight with Gromek. The bus sequence is also well done... incredibly suspenseful. It is a good film, but not the best in the Hitchcock cannon... but not the worst.
Torn Curtain (1966) 128 minutes
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Paul Newman as Michael Armstrong
Julie Andrews as Sarah Sherman
Lila Kedrova as Countess Kuchinska
Wolfgang Kieling as Hermann Gromek
Hansjörg Felmy as Heinrich Gerhard
Ludwig Donath as Professor Gustav Lindt
Gunter Strack as Professor Karl Manfred
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