Rozdarta kurtyna

I have a soft spot for Cold War spy stories, and I have to rank this one among the best. Torn Curtain has the momentum of North by Northwest from start to finish, though, admittedly, it's not quite as majestic. The scenes on the farm, on the bus and in the theatre are particularly excellent. Paul Newman ultimately plays it entirely his own way, though it initially looks like he's going to (or should) do a James Stewart impression, and Julie Andrews keeps up with him. It's a shame that Hitchcock got into a fight with Bernard Herrmann, because his music, judging by the DVD preview, would have been better than John Addison's. (22.05.2016)