Torn Curtain (1966)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writer:

Brian Moore (written by)
(more)

Release Date:

July 1966 (UK)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

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

Plot:

An American scientist publicly defects to East Germany as part of a cloak and dagger mission to find the solution for a formula resin and then figuring out a plan to escape back to the West.

Plot Keywords:

Scientist | Germany | Defection | Europe | East Berlin East Germany

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Professor Michael Armstrong
Julie Andrews	...	Sarah Sherman
Lila Kedrova	...	Countess Kuchinska
Hansjörg Felmy	...	Heinrich Gerhard (as Hansjoerg Felmy)
Tamara Toumanova	...	Ballerina
Wolfgang Kieling	...	Hermann Gromek
Ludwig Donath	...	Professor Gustav Lindt
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 Gorvin	...	Fräulein Mann
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Boon	...	Professor Winkelmann (uncredited)
Peter Bourne	...	Professor Olaf Hengström (uncredited)
Linda Carol	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Rico Cattani	...	Heinrich - Escape Bus Driver (uncredited)
Andrea Darvi	...	Gretl Koska (uncredited)
Maurice Doner	...	Hugo - Baggage Manager (uncredited)
Harold Dyrenforth	...	Otto Haupt (uncredited)
Horst Ebersberg	...	East German Interpreter (uncredited)
Ben Frommer	...	Sceptical-Looking Airline Passenger (uncredited)
Sasha Harden	...	Border Guard (uncredited)
Joe Harris	...	Ballet Member (uncredited)
Mischa Hausserman	...	Idealistic Young Man (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Man in Hotel Lobby with Baby (uncredited)
Erik Holland	...	Hotel Travel Clerk (uncredited)
Nancy Kilgas	...	Ballet Member (uncredited)
Peter Lorre Jr.	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Jan Malmsjö	...	Swedish Photographer (uncredited)
Hedley Mattingly	...	Airline Official (uncredited)
Norbert Meisel	...	Factory Manager (uncredited)
Frank Oberschall	...	Airport Security Man (uncredited)
Gerd Rein	...	East German Arresting Officer in Bus Sequence (uncredited)
Gene Roth	...	Guard in Post Office (uncredited)
Norbert Schiller	...	Professor Gutman (uncredited)
Lyle Sudrow	...	Swedish Captain (uncredited)
Wilhelm von Homburg	...	Blonde Twin in Bus (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
Brian Moore		(written by)
Willis Hall		contributor to screenplay (uncredited)
Keith Waterhouse		contributor to screenplay (uncredited)

Produced by
Alfred Hitchcock	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
John Addison

Cinematography by
John F. Warren		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Bud Hoffman		(film editor)

Production Design by
Hein Heckroth

Art Direction by
Frank Arrigo

Set Decoration by
George Milo

Makeup Department
Jack Barron	....	makeup supervisor
Lorraine Roberson	....	hair stylist
Hal Saunders	....	hair stylist: Miss Andrews
Peter R.J. Deyell	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Jack Corrick	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Donald Baer	....	assistant director

Art Department
Joseph Musso	....	production illustrator (uncredited)

Sound Department
William Russell	....	sound
Waldon O. Watson	....	sound

Visual Effects by
Albert Whitlock	....	pictorial designs

Stunts
David Sharpe	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Leonard J. South	....	camera operator (as Leonard South)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Edith Head	....	costume designer: Miss Andrews
Grady Hunt	....	costume supervisor

Music Department
John Addison	....	conductor (uncredited)
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Peggy Robertson	....	assistant: Mr. Hitchcock
Lois Thurman	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures (presents) (as Universal)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1966) (USA) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1966) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Universal (1966) (France) (theatrical) (as Universal Films, Inc.)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1970) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• MCA Videocassette (1982) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures (1999) (Germany) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (2002) (Germany) (VHS)
• Universal Film (1966) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Väinän Filmi (1966) (Finland) (theatrical)
• CIC Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Esselte Video (1980s) (Finland) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (199?) (USA) (VHS) (199?)
• Nelonen (1998) (Finland) (TV)
• TV3 (1989) (Finland) (TV)
• Universal Home Video (Brazil) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2002) (Finland) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Nordic (2002) (Sweden) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes

Also Known As:

"Cortina rasgada" - Argentina, Mexico (imdb display title), Spain (imdb display title)
"Cortina Rasgada" - Brazil, Portugal
"Le rideau déchiré" - Canada (French title), France
"Bag jerntæppet" - Denmark
"Cortina esquinçada" - Spain (Catalan title)
"Der zerrissene Vorhang" - West Germany
"En läcka i ridån" - Sweden
"Esrar perdesi" - Turkey (Turkish title)
"Full alarm" - Norway
"Il sipario strappato" - Italy
"Pocepana zavesa" - Serbia (imdb display title)
"Revitty esirippu" - Finland
"Rozdarta kurtyna" - Poland
"Shismeno parapetasma" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"Szakadt függöny" - Hungary
"Trasig ridå" - Finland (Swedish title)

Runtime:

128 min | Germany:126 min | France:126 min | Netherlands:118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | Swedish | Norwegian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

France:U | Spain:18 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Germany:12 (re-rated) (video) | Brazil:14 | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Peru:14 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:16 (f) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:15 (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

One of the reasons Alfred Hitchcock did not want to use Paul Newman and Julie Andrews was their very high fees.For the rest of his career Hitchcock would never hire performers with the same sort of fee or above.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Professor Michael Armstrong (Paul Newman) is writing the address on a piece of paper in the beginning of the movie he writes: Kobenavn. The actual spelling is: Kobenhavn.

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!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech (2009)

Soundtrack:

Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32

Stealing What's Locked Up in the Grey Cells

Paul Newman nuclear physicist has volunteered for an unusual espionage mission. He's to fake a defection in order to get close to East German scientist Ludwig Donath and find out what advances he personally has given the Soviet bloc.

As he says to agent Mort Mills, he's one of the few people in the world who would know exactly what to look for. The trick is to make Donath write it down.

Nice plan, except for that fact that intrepid Julie Andrews, Newman's fiancé suspects something's up and follows him first to Copenhagen and then East Berlin. It would have run so much easier without her, but then again there would have been no film.

This was Alfred Hitchcock's last star vehicle. His last three films were done with second rank players. At the time this was made Julie Andrews was fresh from Mary Poppins and had all kinds of roles offered her. I suppose she couldn't turn down a chance to appear in a Hitchcock film, but she and Newman really have no chemistry at all. I suppose Newman also wanted to work with Hitchcock.

There are some good moments in Torn Curtain. The highlight easily has to be the killing of an East German security agent by Newman and Carolyn Conwell with the creative use of a gas stove. The agent is played by German actor Wolfgang Kieling and has the best role in the film. Funny how during World War II, Germans were sometimes shown as colossally stupid, Kieling is not. He's a very tough and shrewd adversary who catches on to Newman's scheme and has to be eliminated.

Hitchcock also stole from himself here. The ride and Newman and Andrews take on a bus from Leipzig to East Berlin that is stage managed by David Opatoshu is ripped off from Saboteur and the bus passengers are just like the circus people in Saboteur. Good, but done before.

Devoted fans of the stars and of Alfred Hitchcock will want to see Torn Curtain, others might want to for curiosity's sake.