Torn Curtain
During the Cold War, an American scientist appears to defect to East Germany as part of a cloak and dagger mission to find the formula for a resin solution—but the plan goes awry when his fiancee, unaware of his motivation, follows him across the border.
Critics Sentiment
Armstrong and farmer's wife kill Gromek in kitchen struggle
Armstrong visits physics faculty at Karl Marx University
The film dramatically spikes during Gromek's brutal murder sequence, jumping from routine spy plotting to Hitchcockian intensity, then settles back to workmanlike thriller territory.
Torn Curtain receives mixed appreciation as a competent but unremarkable Hitchcock thriller that suffers from sluggish pacing and artificial production values. The standout Gromek murder sequence and Lila Kedrova's scene-stealing performance elevate specific moments, but the film fails to maintain consistent suspense. Critics generally view it as passable entertainment that falls short of the master's earlier achievements.
Full cast
Showing 20 of 42
Paul Newman
Michael Armstrong
Julie Andrews
Sarah Sherman
Lila Kedrova
Countess Kuchinska
Hansjörg Felmy
Heinrich Gerhard
Tamara Toumanova
Ballerina
Ludwig Donath
Gustav Lindt
Wolfgang Kieling
Hermann Gromek
Günter Strack
Karl Manfred
David Opatoshu
Mr. Jacobi
Gisela Fischer
Dr. Koska
Mort Mills
Farmer
Carolyn Conwell
Farmer's Wife
Arthur Gould-Porter
Freddy
Gloria Govrin
Miss Mann
Norbert Schiller
Professor Gutman (uncredited)
Leoda Richards
Woman Backstage (uncredited)
Frank Baker
Party Guest (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock
Man in Hotel Lobby with Baby (uncredited)
William Glover
British Correspondent (uncredited)
Mischa Hausserman
Idealistic Young Man (uncredited)
Crew
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