Rent Torn Curtain (1966)

Of its time - Torn Curtain review by JD

This 1966 Hitchcock stars Julie Andrews and Paul Newman as proper film actresses/actors, not Mary Poppins and the Sundance kid. The plot is difficult to follow ad sometimes a little unbelievable but intriguing and pleasant. Production a little basic by todays standard but very watchable.

A disappointment - Torn Curtain review by DH

This minor Hitchcock was a disappointment. The plot was not remotely credible and the film has dated badly.

Cold War Thriller 1. - Torn Curtain review by Steve

 Uninvolving cold war thriller starring Paul Newman and Julie Andrews as a pair of nuclear scientists/lovers feigning to defect in order to gather some scientific MacGuffin. At their back Hitch assembles a supporting team of West Germans and expat Russians, but is unable to get much trademark humour from these unfamiliar character actors.

The great production crew that Hitch had collected in the late fifties has now drifted away and the problems with now dated in-camera effects are harder to overlook. We often defend great talents in late career because they are so often compared with themselves at their peak which is less flattering than being ranked against other lesser contemporary directors. But this just isn't realistic; there were many better films about East/West rivalry being made at that time.

The scene usually used to promote Torn Curtain is the assassination of a Stasi bruiser in a gas oven, which is an exciting moment. Was that supposed to make us think of the holocaust and the possibility that some of these German heavies are former Nazis?

 There is an uncomfortable element of hamfisted propaganda, and a scene with Lila Kedrova at the end is unfathomable. There are three good scenes, but too many bad ones. The story is just not that interesting. The most startling moment is seeing two Hitchcock stars in bed together and not even married! Censorship sure was changing fast.