Film: Torn Curtain
Date Released: July 14, 1966
What Else Happened in History on That Date: Richard Speck rapes and murders 8 nurses in a Chicago dormitory.
Writer: Screenplay by Brian Moore
Stars: Oscar winners Paul Newman, Julie Andrews, & Lila Kedrova
Oscars: None
Plot: American physics professor defects.
Analysis: This is not one of the lowlights of Hitch’s career, but it is not exactly a highlight either. The script has some interesting ideas, but is not well written. There are some really good individual scenes (the murder, the bus trip), but they never add up to much. Andrews is given so little to do that it is a wonder why they wanted a star for the part.
Murders: 1- villian is stabbed, strangled, and shoved in an oven.
Hitch’s Trademarks: Guilt. Long takes.
Hitch’s cameo: At 8:18, sitting in a hotel lobby with a child on his lap.
Hitch said: “I thought it was time to show that it was very difficult, very painful, and it takes a very long time to kill a man.”
New York Times said: “Here he is so badly burdened with a blah script by Brian Moore and a hero and a heroine, Paul Newman and Julie Andrews, who seem to miss the point, that he has come up with a film that plows through grimly, without any real surprises, suspense or fun.”
Religious imagery: None
Influenced: None
Next Month: Topaz