Topaz (1969)

A French intelligence agent becomes embroiled in the Cold War politics first with uncovering the events leading up to the 1962 Cuban Missle Crisis, and then back to France to break up an international Russian spy ring.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Leon Uris (from the novel by), Samuel A. Taylor (screenplay)

Stars:

Frederick Stafford, Dany Robin, John Vernon

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Frederick Stafford	...	Andre Devereaux
Dany Robin	...	Nicole Devereaux
John Vernon	...	Rico Parra
Karin Dor	...	Juanita de Cordoba
Michel Piccoli	...	Jacques Granville
Philippe Noiret	...	Henri Jarre
Claude Jade	...	Michèle Picard
Michel Subor	...	Francois Picard
Per-Axel Arosenius	...	Boris Kusenov
Roscoe Lee Browne	...	Philippe Dubois
Edmon Ryan	...	McKittreck
Sonja Kolthoff	...	Mrs. Kusenov
Tina Hedström	...	Tamara Kusenov (as Tina Hedstrom)
John Van Dreelen	...	Claude Martin
Donald Randolph	...	Luis Uribe (as Don Randolph)

Storyline

A high ranking Russian official defects to the United States, where he is interviewed by US agent Michael Nordstrom. The defector reveals that a French spy ring codenamed "Topaz" has been passing NATO secrets to the Russians. Michael calls in his French friend and counterpart Andre Devereaux to expose the spies.

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Plot Keywords:

agent | spy | cuba | nato | mistress | 

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Taglines:

Hitchcock takes you behind the actual headlines to expose the most explosive spy scandal of the century!

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Genres:

Thriller

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Certificate:

M

Details

Official Sites:

Topas: Gallery, Credits, Plot, Links.

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish French Russian

Release Date:

19 December 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock's Topaz

Filming Locations:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

143 min 127 min (edited)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alfred Hitchcock shot three versions with completely different endings. All are included in the laserdisc reissue.

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Goofs

Later in the film, as the camera pushes through the open front door into the house party, the closed door to the left of the screen can be seen to slide out of the way before it has gone out of shot (allowing the camera to continue forward).

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Quotes

Michèle Picard: Oh, the Cubans. I love the Cubans. They are so wild!

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Connections

Referenced in The Psycho Legacy (2010)

User Reviews

Not a great movie, but it has some fair moments.

This movie is not the best one Hitchcock has ever made I totally agree, but it does have some very good scenes. For example the opening scenes are filled with action. And I don't mean the Rambo-kills-all-evil-guys kind of action, but the ways in which the scenes are shot and thereafter edited, the camera angles, this subtle creation of 'suspense' Alfred Hitchcock is so well known for. I also remember the scene in which Juanita is killed, where again the camera angle is chosen splendidly so that her beautiful dress fills the screen. This is one of the most aesthetic killings I've ever seen. So the superior talent of the unquestionable master surely is present some times. So if one learns to value these moments and neglects the terribly eclectic plot (Hitchcock was forced to extremely cut down the movie), it's not so bad a movie after all.