Top Secret Affair (1957)

Unhappy about the appointment of an army general to the chairmanship of an atomic energy committee, a publishing empire female tycoon invites the general at her country estate in an effort to entrap him and ruin his reputation.

Director:

H.C. Potter

Writers:

John P. Marquand (novel), Roland Kibbee

Stars:

Susan Hayward, Kirk Douglas, Paul Stewart

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Susan Hayward	...	Dorothy 'Dottie' Peale
Kirk Douglas	...	Maj. Gen. Melville A. Goodwin
Paul Stewart	...	Phil Bentley
Jim Backus	...	Col. Homer W. Gooch
John Cromwell	...	General Daniel A. Grimshaw
Roland Winters	...	Sen. Burdick
Arthur Gould-Porter	...	Holmes, Dottie's Butler
Michael Fox	...	Reporter Laszlo 'Lotzie' Kovach
Frank Gerstle	...	Sgt. Kruger
Charles Lane	...	Bill Hadley

Storyline

The head of a large publishing empire is dismayed when a top army general is about to be appointed to an atomic energy committee. She's determined to discredit him prior to the appointment and invites him to spend the weekend at her country home where she's arranged many traps.

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Plot Keywords:

tape recorder | atomic testing | secret | based on novel | u.s. army general | 

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Taglines:

SHE WAS OUT TO GET THE GENERAL...But in the mix-up wound-up getting got herself!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Under the title "Melville Goodwin, USA", the film was to star Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall - both of whom had already filmed costume and makeup tests - but Bogart's terminal illness forced his withdrawal from the project. He was replaced by Kirk Douglas. Bacall withdrew shortly afterward, opting instead to remain at home with her dying husband, and was replaced by Susan Hayward.

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Goofs

Douglas gives Susan a pistol and said it was a Luger. It was actually a Walther P-38.

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Quotes

Dorothy 'Dottie' Peale: [In front of the courthouse] You stay away from me or I'll kill you!
Maj. Gen. Melville A. Goodwin: Not here, Miss Peale. Don't you know the old saying, "generals die in bed"?

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Connections

Version of Pulitzer Prize Playhouse: Melville Goodwin, U.S.A. (1952)

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Soundtracks

Caissons Go Rolling Along
Music by John Philip Sousa from material by Edmund L. Gruber
Sung by Kirk Douglas

User Reviews

Shallow caricatures instead of real people.

Hayward is a clichéd stereotype--the tough as nails lady who really just needs a man! Because of this, you KNOW where the film will eventually go. If you think about it, this is the sort of woman she ALSO played in "The Conquerer", "Where Love Has Gone", "David and Bathsheba" and countless other films.

The movie begins with a VERY one-dimensional lady publisher (Hayward) deciding to do a hatchet piece on a famous general. In other words, while she would pretend to be fair, she already decided to make the article very negative regardless of how their interviews go. So, she invites him over to her house to stay for a few days--and again and again, she tries to trip him up and get him to say something she could twist and take out of context. As for the General (Kirk Douglas), he's almost as one-dimensional--way too perfect, sexist and in control to be real. I am surprised after this inauspicious beginning that I actually continued watching the film--especially since I knew what would happen next. After all, the fact that the movie is called "Top Secret Affair" made this deduction pretty easy! Basically, she tries again and again and again (without luck) and in the process falls in love with the guy. Is there more to the film than this? Not really.

Considering that at the time, Douglas and Hayward were top stars, it is surprising they'd be put into such a mediocre B-movie plot. Despite the budget, it's not a particularly good film and it's not surprising that the film isn't particularly famous. A must-see for die-hard fans of Douglas or Hayward but no one else.

By the way, I read one time that Kirk Douglas didn't like folks knowing he was 5'9" (which, by the way, is a perfectly fine height). In many films, they either hired very short actors or put them in trenches to make him appear taller. In the film, he even says he's 6' tall!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 January 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Melville Goodwin, USA

Filming Locations:

Santa Maria, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Carrollton Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1