Review of Torn Curtain (1966) by Filipeneto — 12 Apr 2020

Forgotten for no reason.

It is more than proven that not all Alfred Hitchcock filmography is of the same level and quality. He made precious films but also many others that do not interest us, nor deserve great relevance, such as "Spellbound", which is his film that I least appreciate, so far. I read a lot of mixed or even negative reviews about this film, but I confess that after having seen it, it doesn't seem to deserve so many negative comments. Not being brilliant and having a somewhat dubious history, it is quite acceptable.

The story revolves around an international intrigue involving the feigned defection of an American scientist to East Germany in order to obtain classified information from a renowned Soviet scientist involved in rocket or missile tests. Really, there is a bit of excessive imagination here, but the film develops in such a solid way that I ended up accepting the plot as it is and letting myself go. It was the best thing I did, the movie is worth it if we give it a chance.

The cast is headed by great actors, Hitchcock found it easy to recruit them to work with him. Paul Newman is very good and Julie Andrews too, but while he is excellent in his character, she does not correspond in the same way, and the way they act together shows this clearly, with the actress well below the level of quality that she did in other films. It even gives the feeling that she was not comfortable with her character. Wolfgang Kieling, Lila Kedrova and Ludwig Donath were good additions and Tamara Toumanova also does a good job, despite having little to do.

The film has an excellent photograph, with good colors and good camera work. The direction is impeccable, as far as I was allowed to perceive, and the film has excellent moments of suspense and tension. The pace seemed reasonably satisfactory, even though certain scenes were exaggeratedly prolonged. The soundtrack is quite weak, but that was not a problem for me, and the sets and costumes seemed to me to be average.

It is not an excellent film, but it is far from the worst of Hitchcock's career. Worth seeing. Perhaps it is even forgotten without really having a reason other than the great quality of other films by the same author.