Torn Curtain

1966
PG
2h 8m

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

30K

YOUR RATING

Alfred Hitchcock, Paul Newman, and Julie Andrews in Torn Curtain (1966)

Theatrical Trailer from Universal Pictures

Play trailer2:58

1 Video

99+ Photos

Spy Drama Romance Thriller

An American scientist publicly defects to East Germany as part of a cloak and dagger mission to steal a formula before planning an escape back to the West.An American scientist publicly defects to East Germany as part of a cloak and dagger mission to steal a formula before planning an escape back to the West.An American scientist publicly defects to East Germany as part of a cloak and dagger mission to steal a formula before planning an escape back to the West.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

30K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 3 nominations total

Trivia
In a conversation with François Truffaut, Sir Alfred Hitchcock said that he included the fight scene deliberately to show the audience how difficult it can be to kill a man, because several spy thrillers at the time made killing look effortless.

Goofs
In East Berlin there are several Volkswagen Käfer / Beetle on the street which is a west German car and definitely not would have been found in east Berlin. The car which they took from the airport to the hotel is a Mercedes Benz, a west German car as well.

Quotes
Professor Michael Armstrong: Just give me five minutes with her. After all, she is my girl.
Sarah Sherman: Put that in the past tense.

Alternate versions
In the original version, various German dialogues are translated to English (i.e. at the airport). In the German version, these translations were removed. Additionally, letters written in English were replaced with letters written in German.

Connections
Edited into Earthquake (1974)

Soundtracks
Torn Curtain (Main Title)
(uncredited)
Written by John Addison

User reviews204

Review

Featured review

7/10

It's a pretty good film.

Brilliant American Scientist Professor Michael Armstrong defects to East Germany, his mission, to take his research behind the iron curtain, but he is followed by his fiancée and Secretary Doctor Sarah Sherman.

It's been so interesting working my way through Hitchcock's great catalogue of films, and reading many reviews from fans, this one doesn't seem to be universally loved, for what it's worth, I quite liked it.

I enjoyed the complexity of the plot, there was definitely a degree of cleverness about it, it also had a certain amount of suspension and tension, it's not in the same league as Rope or Frenzy, but it's still a very watchable film.

The standout moment, without giving anything away, was the scene in The Kitchen, tense, gripping, unsettling, pretty violent, with shades of Psycho.

Well acted, Paul Newman and Julie Andrews did a fine job, they had a pretty good chemistry I thought.

Not exactly gripping throughout, it reminded me of Topaz, similar story, similar pacing, but this is the better movie.

7/10.