Rent Torn Curtain (1966)

Of its time - Torn Curtain review by JD

This 1966 Hitchcock stars Julie Andrews and Paul Newman as proper film actresses/actors, not Mary Poppins and the Sundance kid. The plot is difficult to follow ad sometimes a little unbelievable but intriguing and pleasant. Production a little basic by todays standard but very watchable.

A disappointment - Torn Curtain review by DH

This minor Hitchcock was a disappointment. The plot was not remotely credible and the film has dated badly.

Lesser Hitchcock is still better than most! - Torn Curtain review by NP

If you're a Hitchcock acolyte, you may find more to enjoy here than you'd expect. If you're ambivalent or prone to dislike him, this is probably not going to be for you.

Formally, this is a very beautiful piece of work. Hitchcock's precision with the camera – never wasting a shot, always prioritising clarity – makes so many filmmakers look hopelessly slack and sloppy.

Is it his most sensational or compelling narrative? No, not by a long stretch; it might've worked better – and been more quintessentially Hitchcockian – if the film had followed Julie Andrews' questing female protagonist for all of its length, as it does in the early sections, instead of cleaving to Newman's stolid and rather uninteresting professor. It is also sadly lacking in a lot of the black humour that the director famously brought to his films.

Nevertheless, it is more than watchable in my opinion, with a few wonderful and idiosyncratic set-pieces, like the clumsy and brutal murder of the East German agent at the farmhouse, the encounter with the eccentric Polish countess (the most emotional part of the film) and the escape from the theatre.