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Torn Curtain
Torn Curtain | |
Theatrical release poster by Howard Terpning
Directed by | Alfred Hitchcock |
Produced by | Alfred Hitchcock |
Written by | |
Screenplay by | Brian Moore |
Starring | |
Music by | John Addison |
Cinematography | John F. Warren |
Edited by | Bud Hoffman |
company |
Universal Pictures
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release dates
Running time
128 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $3 million[1] |
Box office | $13,000,000[1] |
Torn Curtain is a 1966 American political thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Paul Newman and Julie Andrews. Written by Brian Moore, the film is about an American scientist who pretends to defect to East Germany as part of a clandestine mission to obtain the solution of a formula resin and escape back to the United States.
Michael Armstrong (Paul Newman), an esteemed American physicist and rocket scientist, is to attend a scientific conference in Copenhagen. He takes a cruise ship to Copenhagen along with his assistant and fiancée, Sarah Sherman (Julie Andrews). Armstrong tells Sherman that he did not want her to come along, and en route to Copenhagen, he receives a radiogram to pick up a book once in Copenhagen. The book, allegedly a first-edition of one of Armstrong's book, actually contains a message that says, "Contact π in case [of emergency.]" He tells Sherman he is going to Stockholm, but she discovers he is flying to East Berlin, and she follows him there. When they land, he is welcomed by representatives of the East German government, and Sherman realizes that Armstrong has defected to the other side. Sherman, however, is extremely uncomfortable with this move, realizing if the apparent defection is in fact real, given the circumstances of the Cold War of the period, she would likely never see her home or family again. They are constantly accompanied by Professor Karl Manfred (Günter Strack), who took part in arranging Armstrong's defection to the East.
Armstrong visits a contact, a 'farmer' (Mort Mills), where it is revealed that his defection is in fact a ruse to gain the confidence of the East German scientific establishment in order to learn just how much their chief scientist Gustav Lindt (Ludwig Donath) and by extension, the Soviet Union, knows about anti-missile systems. While Armstrong does not inform the U.S. government of his plan, he has made preparations to return to the West via an escape network, known as π. However, Armstrong is followed to this farm by his official body man, Hermann Gromek (Wolfgang Kieling), an East German security officer assigned to him. Gromek realizes what π is and that Armstrong is a double agent, and as Gromek is calling the police to report his suspicions, a tortuous fight scene commences that ends with Gromek being killed. So as to not arouse the suspicion of the taxi driver who brought Armstrong to the farm, a gun is not used to kill Gromek, but instead he is choked, stabbed, hit with a shovel, and, ultimately, gassed to death by Armstrong and the farmer's wife (Carolyn Conwell). Gromek and his motorcycle are then buried by the 'farmer' and his wife. The taxicab driver (Peter Lorre Jr., uncredited) who drove Armstrong to the farm, however, reports on Armstrong's behavior to the police when he sees Gromek's missing person ad in the newspaper. The remains of Gromek are found; the fate of the farmer's wife is not given.
Armstrong visits the physics faculty of Karl Marx University in Leipzig, where his interview with the scientists is abruptly ended when he is questioned by security officials about the missing Gromek. The faculty try to interrogate Sherman about her knowledge of the American "Gamma Five" anti-missile program, but she refuses to cooperate and runs from the room even though she had agreed to cooperate and defect to East Germany. At this point, Armstrong secretly confides to her his actual motives, and asks her to go along with the ruse. He finally goads Professor Lindt into revealing his anti-missile equations in a fit of pique over what Lindt believes are Armstrong's mathematical mistakes. When Lindt hears over the university's loudspeaker system that Armstrong and Sherman are being sought for questioning, he realizes that he has given up his secrets while learning nothing in return. Armstrong and Sherman escape from the school with the help of the university clinic physician Dr. Koska (Gisela Fischer).
They travel to East Berlin, pursued by the Stasi, in a decoy bus operated by the π escape network, led by Mr. Jacobi (David Opatoshu). Roadblocks, highway robbery by Soviet Army deserters, and bunching with the "real" bus result in the police becoming aware of the decoy bus and everyone fleeing. While looking for the Friedrichstraße post office, the two encounter the exiled Polish countess Kuchinska (Lila Kedrova) who leads them to the post office in hopes of being sponsored for an American visa. The police find Armstrong and Sherman at the post office, and Kuchinska throws herself in front of the police so they can go to their next destination, a travel agency.
When Armstrong and Sherman arrive at the travel agency, however, the police were performing a raid. Two men from the travel agency walk up to them on the sidewalk - one is the 'farmer' - and give them tickets to the ballet, with the plan being to travel with the troupe to Sweden later that night. While they are attending the ballet and waiting for the pick-up, the are reported to the police because they were spotted by the lead ballerina (Tamara Toumanova), who bears a bit of a grudge: she flew to East Berlin on the same airplane as Armstrong, and mistakenly believed the press were there to greet her, rather than Armstrong. Armstrong and Sherman escape through a crowded theater by shouting fire, and after Armstrong and Sherman hide in a crate of props belonging to a traveling Czech troupe, they cross the Baltic Sea to Sweden on a freighter. The ballerina makes a mistake in uncovering where Armstrong and Sherman are hiding on the ship, the wrong crates are fired on when already dangling over the pier (thus, Swedish crane operators technically have control over the property once it was off an East German boat), and Armstrong and Sherman are able to escape by jumping overboard and swimming to a Swedish dock.
Background and production[edit]
This section needs additional citations for verification. (July 2012) |
By the time Torn Curtain, his fiftieth film, was conceived, Alfred Hitchcock was the most famous film director in Hollywood, having already reached the pinnacle of commercial success six years before with Psycho. Audiences eagerly expected his next film. To find a gripping plot, Hitchcock turned towards the spy thriller genre, which was greatly in fashion since the early 1960s with the success of the James Bond series starting in 1962 with Dr. No.
The idea behind Torn Curtain came from the defection of British diplomats Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean to Russia in 1951. Hitchcock was particularly intrigued about Maclean's life in the Soviet Union and about Melinda Marling, Maclean's wife, who followed her husband behind the Iron Curtain a year later with the couple's three children. With these facts as a starting point Hitchcock created a plot line involving an American nuclear physicist, Professor Michael Armstrong, defecting to East Germany. Against his will, the physicist is followed to East Berlin by his fiancée and assistant, who decides to remain loyal to him regardless of his intentions. The twist of the story is that Professor Armstrong is in fact a member of a secret spy ring and he has defected only with the idea of stealing a formula from an East German scientist.
The script was commissioned to Irish-Canadian writer Brian Moore, author of Judith Hearne. Moore moved to California to work on on the script, but neither Hitchcock nor Universal were satisfied with his script. It lacked the humor characteristic of a Hitchcock film. They found the dialogue flat and lacking sparkle. Brian Moore's own dissatisfaction with the project was reflected in his novel Fergus (1970), which features Bernard Boweri, an unsympathetic character based on Hitchcock.[2]
An extensive rewrite was commissioned to British authors Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall, known for their screenplay for Whistle Down the Wind (1961), A Kind of Loving (1962), and Billy Liar (1963), the latter based on the novel by Waterhouse.
Universal Pictures executives insisted on famous stars being cast for the leads after The Birds (1963) and Marnie (1964), both of which featured Hitchcock's discovery Tippi Hedren, were box office disappointments. Paul Newman and Julie Andrews were "recommended" to Hitchcock by the studio rather than being his real choices. The director felt that the stars were ill-suited to their roles, while their salaries of $750,000 each took a big part of the film's $5 million budget. After the back-to-back successes of Mary Poppins (1964) and The Sound of Music (1965), Julie Andrews was Hollywood's biggest star at the time. As she was much in demand, she was only available for a short period of time, and that meant that the production of the film was rushed, although Hitchcock was not yet satisfied with the script.
Hitchcock surrounded Newman and Andrews with colorful supporting actors: Lila Kedrova as the eccentric and flamboyantly dressed Countess Luchinska who helps Armstrong and Sherman in their escape in return for their sponsoring her to go to America; Tamara Toumanova as the haughty prima ballerina whose limelight Armstrong steals when he arrives in East Berlin; Ludwig Donath as the crotchety professor Lindt, eager to cut the chat and get down to business; Wolfgang Kieling as the sinister Hermann Gromek, the gum-chewing personal guide the East German authorities provide to shadow Armstrong's every move.
The film's climax in a theatre was filmed on Sound stage 28 at Universal Studios. Sound stage 28 was also used in the 1925 and 1943 versions of The Phantom of the Opera with Lon Chaney, Sr. 41 years earlier. The set remains in use and is a major tourist attraction.[3]
During production, the film faced some major setbacks. The original script was found unsuitable by both Hitchcock and Universal. British authors Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall had to do extensive re-writes and script doctoring before any filming could be completed, despite their efforts being uncredited.
Perhaps the best-known scene is the fight to the death between Armstrong and Gromek, a gruesome, prolonged struggle. In conversation with François Truffaut, Hitchcock said that he included the scene deliberately to show the audience how difficult it can be to kill a man, because a number of spy thrillers at the time made killing look effortless.
Financial problems and several filming location changes also delayed the production.
The working relationship between Hitchcock and Newman was also said to be problematic. Newman came from a different generation of actors from the likes of Cary Grant and James Stewart and questioned Hitchcock about the script and the characterization throughout filming. Hitchcock later said he found Newman's manner and approach unacceptable and disrespectful. Newman insisted that he meant no disrespect towards Hitchcock, and once said, "I think Hitch and I could have really hit it off, but the script kept getting in the way." When Newman, a Method actor, consulted Hitchcock about his character's motivations, the director replied that Newman's "motivation is your salary." Furthermore, as Hitchcock discovered, the expected onscreen chemistry between Newman and Andrews failed to materialize. McGilligan wrote that Hitchcock shifted his attentions to the colorful international actors who played supporting roles in the film.
Brian Moore's own dissatisfaction with the project was reflected in his novel Fergus (1970), which features Bernard Boweri, an unsympathetic character based on Hitchcock.[2]
Alfred Hitchcock's cameo is a signature occurrence in most of his films. In Torn Curtain he can be seen (8 minutes into the film) sitting in a hotel lobby holding Julie Andrews' young daughter, Emma Kate. His presence is signaled by a trombone playing the theme of his TV series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
Steven Spielberg told James Lipton on Inside the Actors Studio that as a young man he sneaked onto the soundstage to observe the filming, and remained for 45 minutes before an assistant producer asked him to leave.
The film had two scores. The first was written by Bernard Herrmann, a recurrent contributor to Hitchcock's work. Hitchcock and Universal, though, asked Herrmann for a soundtrack that was more upbeat than the material initially provided by the horror-genre veteran, from whom a pop- and jazz-influenced composition was requested for this latest project. Biographer Patrick McGilligan wrote that Universal hoped Herrmann might even write a song for lead actress Julie Andrews to perform. However, even when Herrmann revised his score, it still was not as Hitchcock or the studio had wanted. Hitchcock and Herrmann ended their long-time collaboration and John Addison was approached to write the score.
In the climactic scene involving the ballet at the East Berlin theatre, the music was excerpted from Tchaikovsky's Francesca da Rimini.
Torn Curtain was released without any rating on 14 July 1966 (see original 1966 movie poster above). However, the film was given an "M" (for "Mature"—later changed to "PG") under the MPAA film rating system that took effect November 1, 1968.
The film earned $7 million in North American rentals in 1966.[4]
- ^ a b "Torn Curtain, Box Office Information". The Numbers. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
- ^ a b Busby, Brian (2003). Character Parts: Who's Really Who in CanLit. Toronto: Knopf. p. 32. ISBN 0-676-97578-X.
- ^ Perry, George (1987). The Complete Phantom of the Opera. New York: Henry Holt and Company. p. 48. ISBN 0-8050-1722-4.
- ^ "Big Rental Pictures of 1966", Variety, 4 January 1967 p 8
External links[edit]


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Deadline Archives - Comics Should Be Good! @ Comic Book Resources
What I bought – May and June 2011
Hey, look at that! I'm back in Arizona and I picked up almost two months' worth of comics! Yeah, I'm not going to review them properly here – that would take waaaaaaaay too long. This is more of a "What I bought and the random thoughts I have about the issues and, why not, what I did in Pennsylvania for seven-and-a-half weeks." Can you handle that??????
Continue Reading »
Committed: Different Issues with Back Issues, Pt 2
Continuing the epic forage through my childhood comic book collection, moving into the realm of comix. Once I'd browsed and reminisced through my superhero comics to my hearts content, I moved on to the darker, more mysterious contents of the remaining boxes. Continue Reading »

subset: commoncrawl


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David worked in the banking industry for ten years in management and was promoted into retail administration where he worked as a product specialist and sales trainer across Indiana. In 2008 he started his own business as an independent broker in health and life insurance. His business covers a fifteen State area. David resides in Carmel with his wife Jacqueline and daughter Tatiana
As a Republican David Stockdale is a strong voice for limited government, fiscal conservatism, individual liberties, and the U.S. Constitution. He has become increasingly frustrated with the apathy in Congress on our national debt and the desire to increase the size and scope of the federal government. His campaign will be a call to "Restore your Liberty" and bring attention back to our Constitution, economic freedom, and liberty.
David believes that many politicians have become arrogant when running for office and do not feel they have to provide voters with specifics and accountability. Far too often those seeking public office rely on talking points and empty rhetoric rather than allegiance to the framework already provided to us in our Constitution. When elected to Congress, David will only vote for legislation that is constitutional, fiscally responsible, respectful of our individual liberty, and in the best interest of the United States and you in the Fifth District.
David believes that the Bill of Rights is not a suggestion but rights guaranteed by our Constitution and our Creator. He believes that the U.S. Constitution is not a suggestion but rather the law that we must strictly adhere to at all times. He will fight against those in power that seek to utilize the Constitution as a tool to advance personal ideology or special interests.
David believes that the threats to our individual liberty, our continued economic prosperity, and our future are urgent. That is why he is running to be the representative of Indiana's Fifth District in Congress.
Please join David in his fight to Restore Your Liberty!


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Health Admissions Office Sylvania HT 205 | 971-722-4795 | Staff
Before you Apply
PCC's Dental Lab Technology Program admits up to 28 students each year. The program begins every fall term and applications are accepted on a rolling admission basis. PCC offers both a Certificate and AAS Degree option.
Program Prerequisites
- MTH 20 COMPASS placement*
- RD 90 or WR 115 or COMPASS placement into RD 115
- High school diploma or GED
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- Wax carving test – after completing the above requirements and submitting an application, the Dental Department will contact applicants to schedule a wax carving test. Applicants must successfully pass the test to be considered for the program.
*The math placement test may be used to meet entry requirements. Once admitted, students with no previous math course must complete MTH 20 or higher to meet DLT graduation requirements.
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The displayed pieces are the result of the practical rejection of redundant, sheep and vacuous. The names of the works are an integral part of the works themselves. All of this is intimately related to my stage performance, which integrates the textual and visual dynamic and the musical.
Dealing with every object and concept of the world until you make yourself a picture of it, until a sufficient number of variations on the subject occurred as to have allowed for a plausible esquisse of its essence. To document everything lived of the world, to learn everything of the world, a reading bulimia, further knowledge input, in a rush, a quantity.
The album "Vernissage" is the soundtrack to those static visual works.
Diving into my songs, swimming around their atoms. Sipping the juice of the words that generated them. Experiencing the undistorted purpose of these words, not being blinded by their phonemes. At least not by their phonemes. Ignoring entirely where the sound is going as well as from where and when. Just letting it be what it is.
Regarding the album "Vernissage", I've probably made it because I couldn't leave any non-audio work audioless.
As some of you know, prices of works evolve sharply with each new instance and the attachment I gain for the works over time, which makes it unlikely that any work would reach its maximum number of instances beyong a retained instance: 10. The works, outside of side-products like posters, are always subjected to the following treatment: either meditated in front of or slept next to, signed and imprinted with my ear shape.


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Dr. Conte attended medical school at University of Connecticut School of Medicine and graduated in 1978 having 37 years experience.
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Boys Basketball: Warren hires Ryan Webber as head coach
Ryan Webber is shown coaching his Moline Maroons. Next November, he'll be directing the Warren Blue Devils. | PHOTO COURTESY MOLINE DISPATCH/ROCK ISLAND ARGUSRYAN WEBBER'S COACHING NUMBERS
AT MOLINE Year W- L
2009-10: 15-11
2010-11: 19-13
2011-12: 23-9
4-Year Totals: 78-39 March Madness
2009-10 — lost 26-21 to East Moline in regional semifinals
2010-11 — lost 60-40 to Normal in sectional semifinals
2011-12 — lost 41-32 to Pekin in regional finals
AT BYRON Year W- L
2006-07: 29-2
2007-08: 21-7
3-Year Totals: 64-24 March Madness
2006-07 — lost 43-30 to Putnam County in Round of 16 after winning regional and sectional titles
2007-08 — lost 48-45 to Winnebago in sectional semifinals
Was an assistant/lower-level coach at Hononegah High School, which plays in same league with Rockford schools
In just 15 words Tuesday night, Warren superintendent Dr. Philip Sobocinski accurately summed up the hiring of Ryan Webber as the Blue Devils' varsity boys basketball coach:
"You have big shoes to fill, but I'm sure you'll be up to the challenge."
Webber was officially hired by the School Board at its regularly scheduled meeting to replace longtime coach Chuck Ramsey. Ramsey was asked to call it a career by the administration after 34 years, including the last 19 as varsity head coach during which time he put Warren basketball on the state radar screen.
It's now up to the 32-year-old Webber to keep the Blue Devils there.
Based on his body of work — three solid seasons at sByron followed by four very good years at Moline — he's the right man for the huge job.
"He's had success at every level of high school basketball he's coached," said Warren athletic director Mark Pos. "He knows what it's all about, and he knows what it means to be a Blue Devil."
Webber attended the board meeting with his wife Megan, and he will be in Gurnee on Wednesday to meet with his new co-workers, plus administrators and, of course, the basketball players and their families.
"I'm excited to be here not only to be an educator, but as the head basketball coach," Webber said. "We were attracted to the standard of excellence at Warren, both academically and athletically."
Webber won 67 percent of the games he coached at Moline (by comparison, Warren won 71 percent of the time under Ramsey), and a quality coach like him never would have become available except for a fluky set of circumstances.
Due to financial woes in the school district, Webber was a victim of a RIF — reduction in force — not once, but twice, at Moline, including this spring. He was called back to work after the first RIF, but ...
With no guarantee that he'd have a teaching job next fall, he became a candidate for the Warren post.
"He's been a successful coach for us, and we hate to lose him. But ... he's got a family and we don't know yet how many teachers we're going to be able to hire back yet. It's hard to coach without a teaching job," said Moline athletic director Todd Rosenthal.
Webber will be taking over a Warren program that is graduating all five starters from a 26-4 team.
As for coaching style, Warren clearly went with what they know works. Just like Ramsey, Ryan Webber's teams are noted for all-out defensive pressure, intensity, spirit, hustle and tenacity.
That style worked perfectly for the last 19 years. There's no reason it can't work for 19 more.
The Moline Distpatch/Rock Island Argus contributed to this report
© 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.
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For Your Business:
Smith Insurance offers a complete range of insurance solutions for your business in order to provide both The Calm Before the Storm...and After?. We are able to accommodate the needs of any industry through working with our commendable associates, partners, consultants, and business insurance providers.
Property insurance is an absolute must-have for all businesses. Without it, there is little that can be done to recover from damages and losses of business properties such as buildings, equipment, furniture, company records, and more. When dealing with infrastructure problems as well as equipment Farm Insurance can be vital. To get a better understanding of what benefits property insurance provides and why your business can't afford to be without it, please see our Business Property Insurance section.
Accidents will happen and when they do, you will want to be prepared. With these possibilities, no business can afford to be without business liability insurance. Situations such as fire damage, injuries incurred on business property, resulting medical payments and more are covered under general business liability insurance policies. To learn more about this subject, please feel free to view our Business Liability Insurance section. Professionally Liability Insurance, also known as Errors and Omissions insurance; will provide your business with protection against claims that the policyholder becomes obligated to pay as a result of an error or omission.
Closely related to business liability insurance is workers compensation insurance. Worker's compensation insurance provides coverage to businesses whose employees become injured or ill, or even killed in the line of duty. Compensation aspects covered include death benefits, compensation for lost wages, medical benefits, and rehabilitation needs. To learn more, please read our Workers Compensation section. Also in this category would be Contractors Liability Insurance. One would not want to be caught without this vital insurance.
A couple other types of Insurance that businesses should be familiar with are Directors & Officers Insurance and Cyber Liability Insurance. Directors and Officers Liability Insurance will cover damages or costs in the event of a lawsuit for alleged wrongful acts while performing under their roles as directors and/or officers for an organization. With the use of Internet continuing to grow, Cyber Liability Insurance is gaining importance. Cyber Liability takes into account first and third-party risks from privacy issues to virus transmissions. As the Internet continues to grow, unfortunately so do the risks involved in Internet business. With the amount of business being done over the Internet growing, make sure to further explore Cyber Liability Insurance.
Much like the individuals who operate them, businesses also need to have automobile insurance. Commercial auto insurance comes in many forms. These forms are as follows: fleet vehicle insurance, insurance for vehicles leased by a business, insurance for private passenger vehicles used by a business, or for any other motor vehicles or trailers used by a business. Take a look at our Commercial Auto Insurance section to learn more about what we can do for your business and its vehicles.


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Five Tips for Ballin' on a Budget at Rick Ross's Fourth of July Strip Club Party
Unfortunately, the rest of us aren't superrich and we gotta closely monitor our cash-flow situation, all day, every day. So here are five tips for ballin' on a budget at the Boss's Fourth of July strip club kickoff party.
5. Leave the Maybach at home and take public transit 'cause gasoline ain't fucking cheap.
4. Toilet hooch is the new Hennessy.
3. Benjamins are glam and glorious, but there's no shame in making it rain with a fistful of sweaty, crumpled Washingtons.
2. Don't buy Wale a lapdance, he's lying about leaving his wallet at home.
1. Keep hustling in, um, moderation.
Rick Ross. Friday, July 1. King of Diamonds, 17800 NE Fifth Ave., North Miami. The party starts at 8 p.m. and tickets cost $60 to $100 plus fees via wantickets.com. Ages 21 and up. Call 305-999-9500 or visit kodmiami.com.
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