Torn Curtain (1966)

An American scientist publicly defects to East Germany as part of a cloak and dagger mission to find the solution for a formula resin before planning an escape back to the West.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writer:

Brian Moore

Stars:

Paul Newman, Julie Andrews, Lila Kedrova

2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Paul Newman	...	Professor Michael Armstrong
Julie Andrews	...	Sarah Sherman
Lila Kedrova	...	Countess Kuchinska
Hansjörg Felmy	...	Heinrich Gerhard (as Hansjoerg Felmy)
Tamara Toumanova	...	Ballerina
Ludwig Donath	...	Professor Gustav Lindt
Wolfgang Kieling	...	Hermann Gromek
Günter Strack	...	Professor Karl Manfred
David Opatoshu	...	Mr. Jacobi
Gisela Fischer	...	Dr. Koska
Mort Mills	...	Farmer
Carolyn Conwell	...	Farmer's Wife
Arthur Gould-Porter	...	Freddy - the Bookseller
Gloria Govrin	...	Fräulein Mann (as Gloria Gorvin)

Storyline

Professor Michael Armstrong is heading to Copenhagen to attend a physics conference accompanied by his assistant-fiancée Sarah Sherman. Once arrived however, Michael informs her that he may be staying for awhile and she should return home. She follows him and realizes he's actually heading to East Germany, behind the Iron Curtain. She follows him there and is shocked when he announces that he's defecting to the East after the US government canceled his research project. In fact, Michael is there to obtain information from a renowned East German scientist. Once the information is obtained, he and Sarah now have to make their way back to the West.

---

Plot Keywords:

scientist | east germany | germany | defection | iron curtain | 

---

Taglines:

Suspense! Azione! Sorpresa! [Suspense! Action! Surprise!]

---

Genres:

Thriller

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Swedish Norwegian

Release Date:

11 August 1966 (UK)

Also Known As:

Cortina rasgada

Filming Locations:

Hotel d'Angleterre, Copenhagen, Denmark

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$13,000,000, 31 December 1966

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the book "Hitch: The Life and Times of Alfred Hitchcock", Alfred Hitchcock Hitchcock was unsatisfied with Brian Moore's screenplay, so he brought in Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall to do a rewrite job on it. Their contribution was considerable enough for Hitchcock to feel strongly that they should receive screen credit. However, Moore disputed this, and an adjudication by the Screenwriters Guild gave him sole credit, to Hitchcock's irritation.

---

Goofs

Or their shadow, anyway. On the road-level shot of Armstrong's taxi leaving the farm (Gromek's motorbike is visible on the left of the screen), just at the very bottom of the image can be seen the shadow of the camera (4:3 television version only).

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Professor Karl Manfred: Are they ever going to get the heating fixed?
Norwegian crewman: They are working at it, Professor. Perhaps some of you scientists would like to give us a helping hand!

---

Connections

Referenced in Paint It Black (1989)

---

Soundtracks

Torn Curtain (Main Title)
Written by John Addison

User Reviews

Very good, but not a Hitchcock masterpiece

"Torn Curtain" is an exceptional Alfred Hitchcock film that is for the most part intriguing, suspenseful, and entertaining. But it's not a masterpiece. Paul Newman stars as an American scientist who appears to be defecting to Germany. Julie Andrews, coming off her Oscar-winning film debut in "Mary Poppins" and her Oscar-nominated role in "The Sound of Music", plays Newman's associate and girlfriend who tags along for the ride. Along the way they run into an assorted bunch of odd but colorful supporting characters. "Torn Curtain" isn't as good as "Psycho", "The Birds" and "North by Northwest", but that doesn't make this a bad movie. Even though the movie moves a little slow at times, it's still an interesting and sometimes funny movie, well acted by Newman and Andrews.

*** (out of four)