Torn Curtain

Torn Curtain
film poster by Howard Terpning
Directed by	Alfred Hitchcock
Written by	Screenplay: Brian Moore Uncredited: Willis Hall Keith Waterhouse
Produced by	Uncredited: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring	Paul Newman Julie Andrews Lila Kedrova Wolfgang Kieling Hansjörg Felmy Tamara Toumanova David Opatoshu Ludwig Donath
Cinematography	John F. Warren
Edited by	Bud Hoffman
Music by	John Addison
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	July 14, 1966
Running time	128 min 126 min 126 min
Language	English
Budget	US$ 6,000,000

Torn Curtain (1966) is a political thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, featuring his trademark characters and camera techniques.

Plot

When Michael Armstrong (Paul Newman), an esteemed professor and rocket 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 escape network) when he is followed to the home of his contact (on an isolated farm) by the Stasi officer Hermann Gromek (Wolfgang Kieling) assigned to his case. Armstrong kills the man, who is then buried by the "farmer" (Mort Mills) and his wife (Carolyn Conwell), 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. They leave to East Berlin in a false bus operated by the escape network. Travel incidents and bunching with the real bus increase the suspense. The escape eventually leads to an alliance with an exiled Polish countess (Lila Kedrova), and a typical Hitchcock set piece, an escape through a crowded theatre. 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.

Background and production

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Lobbycard for Torn Curtain with David Opatoshu, Andrews, Newman

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, including Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music. 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.

Initially, Hitchcock wanted to cast Eva Marie Saint, the blond star of North by Northwest but the studio forced him to cast Julie Andrews. The director also spoke in 1965 to Cary Grant about appearing in the film, only to learn that Grant intended to make just one more film and retire.

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. 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. Biographer Patrick McGilligan wrote that Universal hoped Herrmann might even write a song for Julie Andrews. However, even when Herrmann revised his score, it still was not what Hitchcock or the studio wanted. Herrmann and Hitchcock had a major falling out, and the long-time collaborators never worked together again. Instead, Hitchcock used the British composer John Addison, who had recently achieved notoriety with his offbeat scoring of the film version of Tom Jones.

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." Newman, who was known as a "Method" actor, consulted Hitchcock about his character's motivations and the director replied that Newman's "motivation is your salary." Furthermore, as Hitchcock discovered, the expected onscreen "chemistry" between Newman and Andrews failed to materialize. McGilligan wrote that Hitchcock shifted his attentions to the colorful international actors who played supporting roles in the film.

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.

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.

Paul Newman misspells the Danish word for Copenhagen when he answers the radiogram by writing Kobenavn; the correct spelling is København.

External links

• Torn Curtain at IMDb
• Torn Curtain Eyegate Gallery