Review of Topaz (1969) by Adam D — 13 Aug 2015

TOPAZ, based on a novel of the same name by Leon Uris, was Hitchcock's second (and final) foray into the Cold War, and is about a French agent who gets caught in between the Americans and the Russians.

By this point in his career, Hitchcock was quite content to plagiarize himself, as a lot of elements in TOPAZ can be found in his other (better) films, but I did find this to be a slight improvement over his previous effort, TORN CURTAIN.

Without the star power behind this as was in TORN CURTAIN, TOPAZ's story, as labyrinthine and convoluted as it is, is brought to the foreground. As always, Hitch's use of camera-work and editing to create suspense is as evident here as it is throughout most of his other work.

The sequence which stood out the most to me was a prolonged, mostly silent scene in which a Martinique agent gains access to a hotel where he will get some documents important to the plot, all while his French contact watches from the other side of the street.

There was also a just-before-death confession reminiscent of one in THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, and an exquisitely filmed death scene in which a woman's purple dress fills most of the screen. Still, the plot this time was a bit unwieldy.

As there weren't any stars in the film, there wasn't as much focus in the story as I would have liked. At first you think it will be about some Russian defectors, later American NATO agents, and then it settles on a French NATO agent who works on behalf of the Americans to get some information on Russian activities in Cuba.

Although it will probably benefit from watching it a few more times, on first viewing it was a lot of take in and keep track of. Still, the complicatedness of it all allowed for some interesting double and triple-dealings.

From an acting standpoint, I thought that most of the performances were rather wooden. Considering that this is perhaps the most talkative Hitchcock movie I've seen so far, it was a little difficult to watch in that regard.

Still, it wasn't all bad. John Forsythe (THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY) had a supporting role as an American NATO agent, and he did fine. And even though badly miscast, John Vernon did alright for himself as Cuban Rico Parra.

Switching composers again, Maurice Jarre provided the score, and while not in the same league as Bernard Herrmann (after all, who is?), his cues and main theme set the tone of the film quite nicely with some occasionally quirky touches.

The title sequence, set over a Russian parade, also had a stirring martial quality that perfectly set the mood for the tense opening scene. Overall, I would say that TOPAZ has more immediate entertainment value than did TORN CURTAIN, although the plot is more complicated and the acting isn't as good.

Still, TOPAZ is as eloquently produced as anything Hitchcock laid his hands on and provides enough thrills to balance out the long running time.