The Prize (1963)

As the Nobel Prize winners come to Stockholm to receive their awards, their lives are overturned and perturbed in various ways.

Director:

Mark Robson

Writers:

Ernest Lehman (screenplay), Irving Wallace (novel)

Stars:

Paul Newman, Edward G. Robinson, Elke Sommer

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Newman	...	Andrew Craig
Edward G. Robinson	...	Dr. Max Stratman
Elke Sommer	...	Inger Lisa Andersson
Diane Baker	...	Emily Stratman
Micheline Presle	...	Dr. Denise Marceau
Gérard Oury	...	Dr. Claude Marceau (as Gerard Oury)
Sergio Fantoni	...	Dr. Carlo Farelli
Kevin McCarthy	...	Dr. John Garrett
Leo G. Carroll	...	Count Bertil Jacobsson
Sacha Pitoëff	...	Daranyi (as Sacha Pitoeff)
Jacqueline Beer	...	Monique Souvir
John Wengraf	...	Hans Eckhart
Don Dubbins	...	Ivar Cramer
Virginia Christine	...	Mrs. Bergh
Rudolph Anders	...	Mr. Rolfe Bergh

Storyline

For some reason, this year's Nobel prize in literature has been awarded to the young author Andrew Craig, who seems to be more interested in women and drinking than writing. Another laureate is Dr. Max Stratman, the famous German-American physicist who comes to Stockholm for the award ceremony with his young and beautiful niece Emily. The Foreign Department also assigns him an assistant during his stay, Miss Andersson. Craig soon notices that Dr. Stratman is acting strangely. The second time they meet, Dr. Stratman does not even recognize him. Craig begins to investigate.

---

Plot Keywords:

espionage | hitchcockian | partial remake | woman in jeopardy | man wrapped in a towel | 

---

Taglines:

People go to nudist meetings for various reasons...his was murder! [Video Australia]

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Pan American jet on which Paul Newman arrives, a Boeing 707 (N704PA 'Jet Clipper Defiance') was an actual Pan Am aircraft, and it was the jet that delivered The Beatles to New York on their American debut on February 7, 1964.

---

Goofs

Emily cautions the fake Dr. Stratman that her uncle cannot see anything closer than six feet without his glasses, but when examining the gift basket, her real uncle reads the label of a bottle of Aquavit easily without glasses, even though it is only about 18 inches from his eyes.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Count Bertil Jacobsson: I wonder if everything will go well this time?

---

Crazy Credits

Opening credits share the screen with newscasters from various countries announcing the Nobel prize headlines.

---

Connections

Referenced in Dark Shadows: Episode #1.90 (1966)

---

Soundtracks

The Villa
(uncredited)
Music by Harold Gelman

User Reviews

Lovely

Absolutely lovely movie. A lovely 60's Stockholm and its Grand Hotel, an adorable and extremely beautiful Elke Sommer, a very young and charismatic Paul Newman, the glamour of the Nobel prize and lots of what we now a days consider that romantic innocence from the older times.

The movie itself is not exactly a good one. First of all you can notice that every scene outside is shot with a film behind so that very probably, Mr.Newman never got to go to Stockholm at all, but was filmed in some studio in Hollywood. Then all these stereotypes that are making angry to Italians, Swedes and even Danes. Well, take a look at any Hollywood movie happening in Spain and you will find see that those old stereotypes are there for every nationality and are certainly annoying. We are bullfighters here theoretically.

The plot is very simplistic, the bad guys are really clumsy, some scenes are taken from other movies and as mentioned before by someone else, it is a photocopy of Hitchcock's Torn Curtain as well.

Still, as imperfect as it is, it is just lovely, and the little romance of Newman and Sommers, those innocent but very hot kisses dressing up so smart are worth the movie for those who feel romantic.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

Russian English French German Swedish Italian

Release Date:

25 December 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Prize

Filming Locations:

Royce Hall - 340 Royce Drive, UCLA, Westwood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Roxbury Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1