In my opinion, great (or even just good) movies must contain some facet that goes above and beyond the other fare, whether that rests with the characters, plot, direction, or any number of different things. "Torn Curtain", despite being a Hitchcock production, stands out in absolutely no area.For a basic plot summary, this movie focuses on the unexpected defection of American scientist Michael Armstrong (Paul Newman) to Soviet Russia. He is followed by his assistant (and subsequent love interest) Sarah Sherman (Julie Andrews) as she tries to ascertain the reasons for his strange behavior.There is nothing abhorrently wrong with the overall plot of this movie, but it just doesn't generate any excitement in any facet of the experience. It is a very typical "Cold War spy" tale that could have been written by anyone from amateur to seasoned film veteran. Seeing Hitch's name attached to such a pedestrian project makes one pause considering his other incredible works.The only thing that can save a mediocre plot, of course, is terrific acting, and this film fails to deliver that piece of the puzzle as well. Newman is decent as the leading man, but Andrews is pretty much a blank slate as the female lead. I don't even think it is the "Mary Poppins/Sound of Music" typecast bias here, either. Her role is just not crafted very well at all in the script.Overall, then, "Torn Curtain" is one of the poorer Hitchcock movies I've seen (even the middling "Topaz" packs more thrills than this one). It isn't "bad" in the traditional sense of the word, but it isn't "classic Hitch",

Alfred Hitchcock produced and directed this film (written by Brian Moore); it's a Cold War thriller that hardly does (thrill, that is), and barely resembles the director's other works excepting one scene in which he succeeds by showing how difficult it is to "kill a man". Having two of the day's hottest stars, Paul Newman and Julie Andrews, and running on for more than 2 hours didn't help it. The cast includes Lila Kedrova (who'd just won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in Zorba the Greek (1964)), Hansjörg Felmy, ballerina Tamara Toumanova in one of her few movie roles, Wolfgang Kieling (who was to play twins in the original script) as the villainous security bodyguard, Ludwig Donath, Günter Strack, Gisela Fischer, Mort Mills, and Liv Ullmann-lookalike Carolyn Conwell.Newman plays American nuclear scientist Professor Michael Armstrong, Andrews his assistant and fiancée Sarah Sherman. Armstrong (in a sense) feigns defection to continue working on a project of his that was cancelled by the United States. In fact it had just stalled and he needed to pick the brain of a Russian named Lindt (Donath) who was behind the Iron Curtain. An East German professor (Strack) helps Armstrong make his passage, whereupon security chief Gerhard (Felmy) assigns Gromek (Kieling) to watch him and Sherman, who had followed her fiancé without knowing the ruse.When Armstrong contacts an amateur underground group named 'pi' (Mort Mills, playing a farmer), he and the farmer's wife (Conwell) have to kill Gromek in the aforementioned scene. Fischer plays a doctor and David Opatoshu (uncredited) plays a pi leader with a phony bus that help Armstrong and his now "in the know" fiancée with their escape.Kedrova plays (a deposed?) Countess Kuchinska, who also helps the couple, hoping her assistance will lead to their sponsorship, enabling her to leave the Communist state. Toumanova's ballerina, who at first provided some comic relief - having been insulted at the attention paid to Armstrong vs. herself, ends up figuring in some last minute drama when she recognizes him during the escape. Clever use of yelling "fire" in a crowded theater.

Torn Curtain, in spite of what some may believe, was not a flop. Critically mauled, it did however not fail at the box office. This can most likely be attributed to the fact that it's directed by Alfred Hitchcock and stars Paul Newman and Julie Andrews, three of the biggest names in cinema history.It's a film that isn't as awful as you may have been led to believe, in fact it's a passable Cold War suspenser, but it's just that it's a muted picture on auto pilot, an overlong spy caper encompassing a thematic beat about fidelity and trust. Plot involves defection, double agents, undercover missions and a whole host of shaky spy like shenanigans. However, these things are never developed into a thrilling movie. It exists, and cheekily for a while it holds the interest.Atmosphere is set at bleak, which is in keeping with the atmosphere behind the scenes of the production - casting decisions, fall outs et al - so really it's not a must see movie. There's some merit here, with ironic smarts and genuinely good ideas, it's just that come the 90 minute mark you will be looking at your watch and thinking the big names involved should be producing something a whole lot greater. 5/10

Torn Curtain (1966) ** 1/2 (out of 4) American professor Michael Armstrong (Paul Newman) goes on a vacation where he plans on dumping his fiancé Sarah Sherman (Julie Andrews) so that he can attend to business. The fiancé ends up following him and she's shocked and horrified to see them end up in Germany behind the Iron Curtain. Soon the woman begins to fear that her fiancé has sold out America and plans on helping Germany.Alfred Hitchcock apparently hated making this film and hated being forced to use Newman and Andrews. The film isn't nearly as bad as the legendary director made it out to be, although there's no doubt that it's not a classic by any stretch of the imagination. As for Hitchcock's hatred, I'm going to guess he spoke even worse about the film simply because the studio didn't give him the cast he wanted.As far as the film goes, it's pretty entertaining and I think Hitchcock was wrong when he criticized the two lead performers. Yes, I think both Newman and Andrews are quite good here and they're certainly believable as the couple behind the Iron Curtain trying to find a way out. I thought Newman was very believable in the role of the scientist and I think Andrews does good during her more emotional scenes. Lila Kedrova, Hansjorg Felmy and Wolfgang Kieling are also very good in their supporting roles.The film also benefits from some nice cinematography and a good music score. As for the flaws, there's no question that the story itself really isn't anything fresh or original. In fact, the spy genre was at full force during this era due to the James Bond movies so TORN CURTAIN does feel a tad bit old fashioned and its story just seems like something that would have been better twenty years earlier. Also the 128 minute running time is a bit too long. With that said, the cast is good and there are some nice suspense scenes so TORN CURTAIN is still worth watching.