Topaz (1969)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Leon Uris (novel)
Samuel A. Taylor (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 December 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Agent | Spy | Cold War | Mistress | Cuba

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

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	...	Michele Picard
Michel Subor	...	Francois Picard
Roscoe Lee Browne	...	Philippe Dubois
Per-Axel Arosenius	...	Boris Kusenov
John Forsythe	...	Michael Nordstrom
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)
Roberto Contreras	...	Muñoz
Carlos Rivas	...	Hernandez
Roger Til	...	Jean Chabrier
Lewis Charles	...	Pablo Mendoza
Sándor Szabó	...	Emile Redon (as Sandor Szabo)
Anna Navarro	...	Carlotta Mendoza
Lew Brown	...	American Official
John Roper	...	Thomas
George Skaff	...	Rene d'Arcy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Henri Attal	...	Man on boat (scenes deleted)
Dominique Zardi	...	Man on boat (scenes deleted)
Fidel Castro	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Rita Conde	...	Dolores (uncredited)
Ann Doran	...	Mrs. Forsyth (uncredited)
Abel Fernandez	...	Cuban Guerrilla Fighter (uncredited)
Gregory Gaye	...	Meeting Co-Ordinator (uncredited)
Trent Gough	...	UN Visitor (uncredited)
Ernesto 'Che' Guevara	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Man in wheelchair at airport (uncredited)
John Holland	...	(uncredited)
Ray Kellogg	...	Security Guard (uncredited)
John Stephenson	...	State Department interrogator (uncredited)
Hal Taggart	...	Ambassador (uncredited)
Ben Wright	...	French Officer (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
Leon Uris		(novel)
Samuel A. Taylor		(screenplay) (as Samuel Taylor)

Produced by
Herbert Coleman	....	associate producer
Alfred Hitchcock	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Maurice Jarre		(music composed by)

Cinematography by
Jack Hildyard

Film Editing by
William H. Ziegler

Production Design by
Henry Bumstead

Set Decoration by
John P. Austin		(as John Austin)

Costume Design by
Edith Head

Makeup Department
Leonard Engelman	....	makeup artist
Larry Germain	....	hair stylist
Nellie Manley	....	hair stylist
Bud Westmore	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Fred Surin	....	production manager: Paris
Wallace Worsley Jr.	....	unit production manager (as Wallace Worsley)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Douglas Green	....	assistant director
James A. Westman	....	assistant director (as James Westman)
Cassius Weathersby	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Thomas Wright	....	storyboard artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Robert R. Bertrand	....	sound
Waldon O. Watson	....	sound

Visual Effects by
Albert Whitlock	....	special photographic effects

Camera and Electrical Department
William Dodds	....	camera operator
Bill Johnson	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Sherman Kunkel	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Pierre Zucca	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Peter V. Saldutti	....	costume supervisor: men (as Peter Saldutti)

Editorial Department
Jeff Gourson	....	assistant film editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Maurice Jarre	....	conductor

Other crew
Odette Ferry	....	technical advisor: France
J.P. Mathieu	....	technical advisor: Cuba
Hal Mohr	....	photographic consultant
Peggy Robertson	....	assistant: Mr. Hitchcock
Trudy von Trotha	....	script supervisor (as Trudy Von Trotha)
Orin Borsten	....	publicist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures (presents) (as Universal)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1969) (USA) (theatrical)
• MCA Home Video (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (1969) (UK) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1970) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Väinän Filmi (1970) (Finland) (theatrical)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1972) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Universal Home Video (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (1999) (Germany) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Pierre Balmain, Paris  costumes

Runtime:

143 min | 127 min (edited version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Spain:18 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:PG (DVD rating) | Iceland:12 | UK:A (original rating) | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1970) | Peru:14 | Sweden:11 | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Knowing that he had no ear for music, Alfred Hitchcock didn't even bother listening to Maurice Jarre's completed score for the film, slotting it onto the images without a quibble.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: 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 forwards).

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Featured in 'Topaz': An Appreciation by Film Critic/Historian Leonard Maltin (2001) (V)

Truly Hitchcockian despite its weaknesses

Unfortunately, I'd only come across the weak ending version. Despite of that, it's a truly Hitchcockian film. The memorable scenes are pure and exclusively visual: the intriguing start, the stealing of the documents, the death of Juanita, the torturing of the cuban spies, the discovery of the body at Jarre's apartment, the meal of the french officers...

Hitchcock used to take technical challenges in every one of his films, I assume that here he committed to deliver the most complicated information concerning the plot without using dialogue, and he succeed.

There's a lot of subtle humor and some clever twists. The cuban officers are just great, absolutely surreal. I loved the atmosphere in that hotel room, with people doing paperwork, smoking cigars and drinking, and the detail of the hamburger wrapped in the document. I think the very broad differences in tone between the three main sections of the film affects the pace and the appreciation of the story as a whole.

It's amazing how Hitchcock managed to survive in it in the light of the multitude of trouble this film went through.

Watching the video version edited in Norway had its extra. Amazingly, all subtitles were delayed a good five, six minutes throughout the entire film, so you actually had text during the silent scenes and incongruities such as love words during killings.