Review of Torn Curtain (1966) by Donna D — 31 Oct 2008

Flawed but underrated. The first hour or so is pure Hitchcock, it's only as the central characters are on the run that the film loses its way and begins to drag. The famous murder scene - where Hitch aimed to show audiences just how hard it is to kill a man - is particularly memorable.

Hitch may not have wanted either Paul Newman or Julie Andrews cast in the film, but I think they gave reasonably good performances. Hitch & Newman are said to have argued constantly, which I can well imagine considering their different viewpoints on acting, but I don't think such disputes are really that noticeable in the end result.

It's a shame that Hitch also fell out with longtime collaborator Bernard Herrmann during this shoot. The troubled set and the constant script re-writes probably did have a detrimental effect on the film, but all things considered I think it's a decent effort.