Torn Curtain

A movie that manages to shred the reputations of all involved couldn't do better than having the word 'torn' in its title. As here. Abysmal drivel from beginning to end, it's hard to know whether to laugh or cry -- the latter, perhaps, yet then again, cinema-goers are here confronted with at least some of the truth about Mr Hitchcock. Though 'Frenzy' was to expose Hitchcock's odious pathology in all its nauseating glory several years later -- in an extended murder scene that says nothing about the plot but everything about the director -- here in 'Torn Curtain' exists its progenitor: as risibly inept an extended murder scene as has ever been committed to celluloid. That it doesn't work at any level is self-apparent. That Hitchcock failed utterly to realise that, ditto. But as an insight into the Hitchcock psyche, it's well-nigh priceless: the slavering camera work, the stupendously unrealistic acting, the inability of both direction and editing to appreciate the difference between butchery and burlesque; all testify to a directorial presence and a directorial personality to which application of the description 'seedy' would be a polite under-statement. Currently, in the UK at least, there's an issue about 'seniors' working on. Hitchcock's oeuvre proves, conversely, that age is not to be desired, for as a film-maker he was already in a decline made all the more embarrassing for the way his output reflected his inner demons. To be fair, there's also a sadness about 'Torn Curtain' too, in particular the desperately pathetic harking back to the chillingly ominous vistas of 'North By North West', reprised here -- though without any success at all -- in Newman's visit to a quite ludicrous tractor-driving US spy on a farm outside East Berlin. Elsewhere though, it's mere floundering, an irredeemable mess of a movie where the pace drags as if through treacle and nothing, not even the music -- Addison's contribution very probably tolled the knell for this kind of English score writing, a brick being more subtle by comparison -- can rescue it from its vanities and, in the director's case, morbid voyeurism. 'Frenzy' was cheap, nasty, and a sign of a great talent finally expunged. 'Torn Curtain' is in every sense the sad, bad curtain-raiser to it.

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Trailer—Torn Curtain

Torn Curtain

This is the last Hitchcock movie with huge stars in main roles. When you hear names Hitchcock, Paul Newman and Julie Andrews in same sentence you expect masterpiece, but you'll get just a decent thriller without bigger flaws, but which does not stand out from the average in any way. If you decide to see this film you won't be bored, but I honestly doubt that tomorrow you'll even remember what you saw. Unless you are true fan of some of the above mentioned legends, I recommend skipping it. 6/10

This is a rather ordinary film from Alfred Hitchcock than looks very little like his previous films. And this is a problem, as many in the audience will no-doubt expect more suspense and a psychological thriller--which this is not. Paul Newman plays a scientist that defects from the West to the Soviet Bloc. His wife, Julie Andrews, impulsively follows--this all takes her by surprise but she must find out why Newman would do such a thing. And, as the movie unfolds, you too discover why he did this. Unfortunately, the real reason really doesn't come as that big a surprise and the film, though original in some ways, just isn't all that interesting. All-in-all, a bit of a letdown.

This hardly ever appears in the lists of the master's best films, but it is a real gem - superbly acted, inventively filmed with great music, dialogue and plot. Julie Andrews and Paul Newman work really well together - a very sexy scene early in the film is a delight, filmed in extreme close-up. And Lila Kedrova's cameo is Oscar worthy. This is also a memorable look at the Cold War at its height, and although the pro-West propaganda is a little thick at times, there is still a sense of the absurdity of the situation. And there is a murder scene of unbelievable savagery that really left me shaken - excellent work here from Newman and Carolyn Conwell. The most memorable scene is the bus pursuit sequence, and the theatre audience turning into an hysterical mob when Newman yells "fire" is a great Hitchcock moment. One of his best cameo appearances too. I think this film deserves re-examination.

Hitchcock's fiftieth film continues to be grievously underrated; although it broke even at the box office and even it's detractors concede it contains one his most memorably grisly murders (which never fails to make your eyes water no matter how many times you've seen it). Despite a hammy lead performance by Paul Newman - double-taking throughout the film like James Finlayson - who ungraciously later dismissed it as "Not so good", it nevertheless contains several other vintage scenes (including one in which the Newman actually shouts "Fire!!" in a crowded theatre), and also probably Hitchcock's greatest McGuffin of all, mathematical formulae on a blackboard which we barely see. It also features a cameo by Mort Mills, the politely inscrutable patrolman in 'Psycho', here hiding behind an enormous moustache.

"Torn Curtain" is an exceptional Alfred Hitchcock film that is for the most part intriguing, suspenseful, and entertaining. But it's not a masterpiece. Paul Newman stars as an American scientist who appears to be defecting to Germany. Julie Andrews, coming off her Oscar-winning film debut in "Mary Poppins" and her Oscar-nominated role in "The Sound of Music", plays Newman's associate and girlfriend who tags along for the ride. Along the way they run into an assorted bunch of odd but colorful supporting characters. "Torn Curtain" isn't as good as "Psycho", "The Birds" and "North by Northwest", but that doesn't make this a bad movie. Even though the movie moves a little slow at times, it's still an interesting and sometimes funny movie, well acted by Newman and Andrews. *** (out of four)