Year of Release: 1966Country of Origin: USA
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Paul Newman, Julie Andrews
Plot outline: An American scientist publicly defects to East Germany as part of a cloak and dagger mission to find the solution for a formula resin and then figuring out a plan to escape back to the West (IMDb).
Torn Curtain is often considered as one among the less successful Hitchcock's movies. I think the biggest problem with this movie is the lead stars. Julie Andrews looks like she's just came out of the set of the Sound of Music (the fact is, this is her work right after that hugely popular musical); her performance is flat, there isn't much of a character to develop here. While Paul Newman doesn't look comfortable as a scientist, let alone convincing as a traitor or double-crosser. Between them, they clearly don't have chemistry. Also a problem is the musical score. The falling out between Bernard Herrmann - his longtime musical collaborator, famously known as the composer behind his masterpiece North by Northwest - and him during the production of this movie might have contributed to the less exciting musical score. Despite of these drawbacks, I can still see his masterful touch in several scenes: 1) the grueling murder scene of the security officer Gromek, 2) the bus pursuit scene between Leipzig and Berlin, 3) the photographic freeze-frames of the ballerina's distinctive face as she pinpoints Newman's character out and 4) the choice of Lila Kedrova to play a minor role with significant impression as troubled, probably disturbed, Countess Kuchinska. This is not his best work, but always worth watching.
My judgement: **1/2 out of 4 stars
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