WEBVTT 00:09.919 --> 00:11.910 {Man Narrating) By the late 50s, Alfred Hitchcock 00:12.079 --> 00:15.310 was probably the most recognisable director in the world. 00:15.880 --> 00:19.839 His name alone was enough to get audiences in the theatre. 00:19.999 --> 00:23.628 In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock's career hit its highest point 00:23.799 --> 00:25.790 with the release of Psycho. 00:25.959 --> 00:30.908 It was followed by The Birds in 1963, and Marnie in 1964. 00:31.799 --> 00:33.391 Although today considered a classic, 00:33.640 --> 00:35.835 Marnie was a boxoffice and critical failure. 00:36.799 --> 00:39.154 Marnie also marked the end of the collaborations 00:39.320 --> 00:41.629 between Hitchcock and two of his colleagues. 00:41.799 --> 00:44.233 Both his director of photography, Robert Burks, 00:44.399 --> 00:46.390 and his editor, George Tomasini, 00:46.559 --> 00:49.517 passed away as Hitchcock was preparing his 50th film. 00:50.159 --> 00:52.832 Sadly, Marnie would also be the last Hitchcock film 00:53.000 --> 00:55.355 featuring a score by Bernard Herrmann. 00:58.399 --> 01:00.549 In the mid 60s, the master of suspense 01:00.719 --> 01:02.789 was competing not only with himself, 01:02.960 --> 01:05.952 but with a whole new generation of filmmakers. 01:06.119 --> 01:08.075 Everyone was now imitating him. 01:08.240 --> 01:11.118 Everyone aspired to be the next Hitchcock. 01:11.640 --> 01:15.076 But to the critics, his films were becoming old-fashioned, 01:15.239 --> 01:18.072 and when Torn Curtain was released in 19686, 01:18.239 --> 01:20.912 they called it “ordinary” and sluggish.” 01:21.080 --> 01:24.595 One reviewer wrote, "When was Hitchcock last at the movies?’ 01:24.760 --> 01:26.557 "Has he lost his touch?’ 01:26.720 --> 01:29.188 Was the director who had been ahead of his time, 01:29.360 --> 01:31.157 now behind his time? 01:31.559 --> 01:33.675 Curiously, despite the bad notices 01:33.839 --> 01:36.273 the film was successful at the box office. 01:37.000 --> 01:37.989 Looking at it today, 01:38.320 --> 01:39.833 while the film is not in the same league 01:39.999 --> 01:42.832 as North by Northwest , or The Man Who Knew Too Much, 01:43.559 --> 01:46.915 Torn Curtain is full of great ideas and full of life. 01:47.080 --> 01:48.911 In fact, several of the sequences 01:49.080 --> 01:52.470 stand out as pure and genuine Hitchcock moments. 01:52.640 --> 01:55.393 Alfred Hitchcock once said, I want to be remembered 01:55.559 --> 01:59.074 as a man who entertained millions through the technique of film.” 01:59.400 --> 02:01.834 Despite the rumours with Torn Curtain, 02:02.000 --> 02:04.036 Mr Hitchcock, you did not fail. 02:26.239 --> 02:28.230 (Narrator) Hitchcock got the idea for Torn Curtain 02:28.920 --> 02:31.957 when he heard of the true story of two British diplomats, 02:32.120 --> 02:36.716 Guy Burgess and Donald MacLean, who bad defected to Russia. 02:36.879 --> 02:38.790 Hitch, as his friends and collaborators 02:38.959 --> 02:40.108 affectionately called him, 02:40.480 --> 02:44.075 wondered, "What did Mrs Maclean think of the whole thing?” 02:44.439 --> 02:45.508 Excuse me. 02:46.560 --> 02:48.391 The theme of Torn Curtain 02:48.560 --> 02:51.358 deals with the average man feeling what it's like to be a spy 02:52.039 --> 02:53.916 and what a dirty business it is. 02:54.080 --> 02:55.798 You told me nothing. 02:57.600 --> 02:58.794 You know nothing. 03:00.159 --> 03:03.231 (Narrator) Novelist Brian Moore was hired to write the script. 03:03.399 --> 03:06.755 Later on, British writers Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall 03:06.999 --> 03:08.751 did a dialogue polish. 03:09.639 --> 03:11.789 However, an arbitration with the Writers Guild 03:11.959 --> 03:15.747 determined that their contribution did not justify screen credit. 03:17.120 --> 03:18.394 The script was a problem, 03:18.560 --> 03:21.199 and Hitchcock was not satisfied with it. 03:21.359 --> 03:23.634 For one thing, it seemed to lack humour, 03:23.799 --> 03:27.269 an essential ingredient to all of the master's thrillers. 03:27.920 --> 03:30.070 At one point, the script was sent for comments 03:30.240 --> 03:33.630 to the famous Italian writing team of Age and Scarpelli, 03:33.800 --> 03:36.678 who were developing a project with Hitchcock at the time. 03:37.160 --> 03:39.913 "Construction is excellent,” they wrote to Hitchcock, 03:40.079 --> 03:42.274 "and should not be changed at all.” 03:42.440 --> 03:47.719 ‘But the dialogue needs to be revised. It is flat and has no sparkle.” 03:48.560 --> 03:51.120 In the meantime, Julie Andrews and Paul Newman 03:51.280 --> 03:53.510 had been cast in the leading roles. 03:54.120 --> 03:55.997 Julie Andrews only had a small window 03:56.159 --> 03:57.911 during which she could make the film, 03:58.359 --> 04:00.077 and Hitchcock had to rush into production 04:00.239 --> 04:02.673 before he was completely satisfied with the script. 04:03.799 --> 04:06.757 Shooting began in the fall of 1965. 04:07.799 --> 04:09.710 What in hell's name are you doing here? 04:10.200 --> 04:12.395 - Hello, Michael. - Listen to me. 04:12.799 --> 04:15.108 Now, you stay away from me. Don't talk to me. 04:15.280 --> 04:17.236 When this plane lands, you take the next one out! 04:17.399 --> 04:19.151 Anywhere. Go home! 04:22.199 --> 04:23.188 Do you understand? 04:23.960 --> 04:25.473 (Narrator) At the time of Torn Curtain, 04:25.640 --> 04:27.835 Paul Newman was already an established actor 04:27.999 --> 04:29.637 and an international star. 04:30.279 --> 04:33.157 Julie Andrews had received an Oscar for Mary Poppins 04:33.319 --> 04:36.789 and was fresh out of the hit musical The Sound of Music. 04:37.600 --> 04:40.558 But Hitchcock had mixed feelings about his female star 04:40.720 --> 04:42.950 and said he had been talked into hiring her 04:43.479 --> 04:45.947 because she was so hot at the time. 04:46.119 --> 04:48.110 The frustrated director said, 04:48.280 --> 04:50.555 "Then everybody sat around waiting for her to sing.” 04:50.719 --> 04:53.279 - | have nothing to say. - Sarah. 04:54.960 --> 04:57.269 You tell them. You tell them! 04:57.440 --> 05:00.034 You joined them. You're the one who sold out. 05:00.199 --> 05:02.474 You tell them, Professor Armstrong. 05:04.840 --> 05:06.114 Like Hitchcock himself, 05:06.280 --> 05:08.635 Newman was unsure about the script. 05:09.199 --> 05:10.837 Newman was of a new generation 05:11.000 --> 05:13.116 and had been trained at the Actors Studio. 05:13.680 --> 05:16.274 It wasn't in his nature not to speak up. 05:16.840 --> 05:19.479 Newman let Hitchcock know of his problems with the script 05:19.639 --> 05:23.154 in a letter detailing 14 specific points, 05:23.319 --> 05:25.594 some of them having to do with the tone of the film, 05:26.600 --> 05:28.397 some with specific scenes, 05:29.440 --> 05:30.839 some with credibility, 05:31.400 --> 05:34.631 and others with the characterisation of his role. 05:35.479 --> 05:38.551 In his note, the actor also objects to the title. 05:38.719 --> 05:41.358 To him, it lacks the mystery which titles like 05:41.520 --> 05:44.432 North by Northwest and Notorious had. 05:45.800 --> 05:48.314 Looking back at his experience on Torn Curtain, 05:48.479 --> 05:49.958 Paul Newman declared, 05:50.120 --> 05:52.076 1 think I could have hit it off with Hitchcock 05:52.240 --> 05:53.673 if the script had been better.” 05:54.400 --> 05:57.472 ‘It was not a lack of communication, or a lack of respect.” 05:57.640 --> 06:01.076 "The only thing that constantly stood in our way was the script.” 06:02.239 --> 06:03.911 As they were embarking on the film, 06:04.080 --> 06:06.719 Hitchcock sent Newman the following note: 06:06.880 --> 06:10.395 ‘Dear Paul, Around the beginning of the 19th century, 06:10.559 --> 06:13.232 the judge at the Old Bailey always carried a nosegay 06:13.400 --> 06:16.710 which he occasionally sniffed to alleviate the odours of evil 06:17.120 --> 06:19.839 from the Newgate Jail next door.” 06:20.240 --> 06:22.231 "When you come on to the Hitchcock set, 06:22.400 --> 06:25.710 have a good, deep sniff. Love, Hitch.” 06:26.680 --> 06:28.716 Years later, Hitchcock said that Newman 06:28.879 --> 06:32.508 was an actor who liked doing things his own particular way, 06:32.680 --> 06:34.432 and he was fine with that. 06:34.599 --> 06:36.908 On the other hand, he resented performers 06:37.079 --> 06:39.149 who tried to get in the way of his camera 06:39.319 --> 06:41.913 and compromised the editing of a scene. 06:42.080 --> 06:46.153 Hitchcock respected actors as long as they respected him. 06:52.560 --> 06:55.028 (Narrator) Hitchcock knew the beginning of a story 06:55.200 --> 06:56.519 could be rather tedious. 06:56.680 --> 06:58.989 The opening credit sequence was an opportunity 06:59.159 --> 07:02.071 to set the tone of the story and to hook his audience. 07:10.800 --> 07:12.597 Early in his American movie career, 07:12.760 --> 07:16.389 Hitchcock liked to make a statement with interesting openings. 07:16.560 --> 07:17.993 In Saboteur, for instance, 07:18.160 --> 07:21.470 the credit sequence immediately tells us something about the story. 07:22.319 --> 07:25.789 The couples dancing to a waltz in the opening in Shadow of a Doubt 07:25.959 --> 07:28.314 is a recurring image and theme in the plot. 07:29.319 --> 07:31.435 But the most impressive openings, perhaps, 07:31.600 --> 07:35.195 remain those designed by creative genius Saul Bass. 07:36.400 --> 07:38.470 From the opening credits of Torn Curtain, 07:38.640 --> 07:40.631 Hitchcock tries to grab our attention 07:40.799 --> 07:44.633 with interesting and almost mysterious images from the film. 07:44.799 --> 07:47.791 The director had originally intended to have the opening credits 07:47.960 --> 07:50.872 against a blackboard covered with scientific equations, 07:51.039 --> 07:53.633 echoing one of the key scenes in the film. 07:53.799 --> 07:57.235 But instead, he settled for something more sophisticated. 07:57.400 --> 07:59.789 The credits, designed by Mel Stadler, 07:59.960 --> 08:03.919 show on one side of the screen a rocket spitting fire and smoke 08:04.080 --> 08:07.038 and on the other side, images from the film, 08:07.199 --> 08:11.590 subliminal faces suggesting the different aspects of the story. 08:11.760 --> 08:14.797 Hitchcock teases us with a succession of puzzling images 08:14.960 --> 08:17.155 meant to whet our appetite. 08:19.879 --> 08:23.076 Right from the beginning of the film, Hitchcock creates mystery 08:23.240 --> 08:25.276 in a series of quick shots. 08:25.439 --> 08:26.792 There is no dialogue, 08:26.960 --> 08:30.270 and yet we know that we are on a ship with scientists, 08:30.439 --> 08:32.236 that it is very cold, 08:33.279 --> 08:37.067 and that two members of the group are suspiciously missing. 08:39.159 --> 08:41.548 The music in the next scene immediately tells us 08:41.720 --> 08:45.076 that we are witness to a romantic interlude. 08:45.239 --> 08:48.914 It seems the two stars of the film, Paul Newman and Julie Andrews, 08:49.079 --> 08:51.912 have found a rather obvious way to remedy the cold. 08:53.160 --> 08:55.833 The actors are introduced in a very tight close-up, 08:55.999 --> 08:58.069 putting the camera, and therefore the audience, 08:58.239 --> 08:59.752 in a voyeuristic position. 09:00.720 --> 09:02.950 Production photographs of that particular scene 09:03.119 --> 09:05.235 reveal that Hitchcock might have initially wanted 09:05.400 --> 09:06.913 to be a bit more explicit 09:07.080 --> 09:11.073 by showing pieces of clothing strategically spread across the room. 09:11.879 --> 09:12.914 But in the editing, 09:13.079 --> 09:15.593 Hitch decided not to give us the bare facts, 09:15.760 --> 09:17.079 just the essentials. 09:18.799 --> 09:20.835 After their introduction aboard the ship, 09:20.999 --> 09:23.467 we follow our heroes to Copenhagen. 09:23.639 --> 09:26.233 Hitchcock chose to do his famous cameo appearance 09:26.399 --> 09:27.991 in the lobby of the hotel, 09:28.160 --> 09:30.151 which composer John Addison punctuates 09:30.320 --> 09:32.072 with a few notes from the famous theme 09:32.239 --> 09:36.073 of the Alfred Hitchcock Presents television series. 09:36.999 --> 09:41.038 The film was shot on sound stages at Universal Studios in Hollywood, 09:41.199 --> 09:43.872 with some of the exteriors on location. 09:44.039 --> 09:45.552 In preparation for the film, 09:45.720 --> 09:47.950 Hitchcock apparently went on the same journey 09:48.119 --> 09:50.553 as the two main characters in the story. 09:50.719 --> 09:52.550 He flew to Copenhagen. 09:52.719 --> 09:56.109 Then, via Romanian airline, went to East Berlin, 09:56.399 --> 09:57.468 Leipzig, 09:58.079 --> 09:59.273 East Berlin again, 09:59.680 --> 10:00.715 and finally Sweden. 10:02.160 --> 10:04.720 During preproduction, Hitchcock also recorded sounds 10:04.879 --> 10:08.155 in East Germany to get a flavour of the atmosphere. 10:08.520 --> 10:11.717 Hitchcock had originally intended to set the film in Poland, 10:11.879 --> 10:14.712 but was convinced otherwise by a leading Polish producer 10:14.879 --> 10:16.995 who was in America at the time. 10:17.160 --> 10:19.594 Hitchcock met with him as part of his research, 10:19.999 --> 10:22.308 and the man immediately suggested East Germany 10:22.480 --> 10:23.959 rather than Poland for the film. 10:29.999 --> 10:33.469 Oh, could you tell me where the Elmo Bookstore is, please? 10:33.640 --> 10:36.598 - Taxi? - Uh, no. | want this address. 10:38.320 --> 10:41.198 Oh. Hotel d'Angleterre. 10:42.160 --> 10:43.878 No, the address underneath. 10:47.560 --> 10:50.472 It is quite near. We will go together. 10:51.920 --> 10:54.354 (Narrator) Hitchcock knew how to keep the audience alert. 10:54.519 --> 10:57.636 His visuals, even in simple scenes, were unconventional 10:57.799 --> 11:00.632 and often underlined important information. 11:00.799 --> 11:03.438 By focusing on a book that Sarah delivers to Michael, 11:03.600 --> 11:06.034 Hitchcock wants us and Sarah to realise 11:06.200 --> 11:08.794 that something strange is going on. 11:08.959 --> 11:09.994 Up to that point, 11:10.160 --> 11:13.232 The story is told almost exclusively from Sarah's point of view, 11:13.400 --> 11:16.358 making the character of Michael all the more suspicious, 11:16.520 --> 11:18.909 the action all the more suspenseful. 11:19.079 --> 11:20.228 By the way, Professor, 11:20.399 --> 11:22.230 | promised to take Miss Sherman to lunch at Tivoli. 11:22.400 --> 11:24.630 - You don't mind, do you? - Oh, but | do mind. 11:24.799 --> 11:27.791 You are robbing me of the company of a beautiful girl. 11:27.959 --> 11:30.837 Oh, well, go ahead. Enjoy yourself. 11:30.999 --> 11:33.069 Just a moment. | want to leave this book with the concierge. 11:33.239 --> 11:34.467 Be right back. 11:39.559 --> 11:42.631 Well, Michael, will you tell me before we eat or after? 11:42.800 --> 11:45.758 Uh, aren't you going to try your martini? 11:45.920 --> 11:48.150 What are you so upset about? 11:48.319 --> 11:50.355 And what were those tickets you picked up? 11:50.640 --> 11:52.835 (Narrator) As customary in many of Hitchcock's films, 11:52.999 --> 11:56.150 Torn Curtain deals with the improbability of marriage. 11:56.319 --> 11:58.150 In this case, the Newman character 11:58.320 --> 12:01.357 has concealed from his girlfriend his true motives. 12:01.520 --> 12:03.715 In fact, he's trying to protect her, 12:03.879 --> 12:07.349 but neither she nor the audience are aware of it just yet. 12:07.520 --> 12:08.509 Well, | was going to - 12:08.679 --> 12:11.716 Darling, you must have known about this for a long time. 12:11.879 --> 12:13.312 Is that why you didn't want me to come? 12:13.480 --> 12:15.550 | did want you - | thought we had an agreement - 12:15.719 --> 12:16.788 Oh, to hell with the agreement. 12:16.960 --> 12:19.076 You did everything you could to stop me from coming. 12:19.239 --> 12:20.991 The thing with Hengstrom just - 12:21.160 --> 12:23.037 You never intended to give a speech tonight, did you? 12:23.200 --> 12:25.077 To hell with the speech! Let somebody else give it. 12:25.760 --> 12:27.637 (Narrator) Hitchcock shot the couple's confrontation, 12:27.799 --> 12:30.552 as well as several other scenes, the old-fashioned way, 12:30.719 --> 12:32.152 in front of a process screen. 12:32.319 --> 12:33.752 Did you ask him why he made the last-minute switch? 12:36.480 --> 12:39.233 Hitchcock also used a lot of matte paintings in the film 12:39.399 --> 12:42.038 by his longtime collaborator Albert Whitlock. 12:42.799 --> 12:46.553 At a time when film makers were trying to go out on locations, 12:46.719 --> 12:48.630 Hitchcock proved to be set in his ways, 12:48.799 --> 12:52.109 choosing what appeared to be old-fashioned tricks. 12:52.680 --> 12:55.069 But in fact, Hitchcock was reminding us 12:55.239 --> 12:58.072 that his imagery belonged to the artificial world of movies, 12:58.239 --> 13:01.311 even while exploring at the same time current events 13:01.480 --> 13:03.675 like the Cold War in Torn Curtain. 13:05.920 --> 13:08.753 Nothing in Hitchcock's films is gratuitous, 13:08.960 --> 13:10.234 even humorous touches 13:10.400 --> 13:13.039 that seemingly are meant to keep the audience alert. 13:13.200 --> 13:16.237 The gags with the ballerina, for instance, eventually pay off 13:16.399 --> 13:17.991 and are an integral part of the story. 13:20.639 --> 13:21.833 (Speaking In German} 13:23.279 --> 13:25.156 - (Speaking In Swedish) - (Speaking In German} 13:27.639 --> 13:28.867 (Speaking In German} 13:31.879 --> 13:34.996 Narrator) Hitchcock always composed his shots carefully. 13:35.160 --> 13:37.037 In the scene in the airport security office, 13:37.400 --> 13:40.153 Newman is sitting alone on this side of the room, 13:40.320 --> 13:41.719 Sarah is on that side. 13:41.880 --> 13:45.190 They're never contained in the same shot with anyone else. 13:45.400 --> 13:46.628 Is he alone? 13:47.000 --> 13:47.989 She alone? 13:48.159 --> 13:49.478 The others alone? 13:49.639 --> 13:51.869 It's Hitchcock's way of emphasising visually 13:52.040 --> 13:55.715 the alienation that exists between the three parties at that point. 13:55.880 --> 13:59.634 This is Mr Gromek. He will be your personal guide. 13:59.799 --> 14:01.152 - Hello. - Anything you need? 14:02.040 --> 14:04.031 | lived many years in United States. 14:04.720 --> 14:06.472 If he gives you any trouble come to me. 14:07.280 --> 14:08.633 (Narrator) German actor Wolfgang Kieling 14:08.799 --> 14:11.472 was a perfect choice for Gromek. 14:11.640 --> 14:14.552 Hitchcock cleverly punctuates the importance of his role 14:14.720 --> 14:16.950 with a memorable, recurring little detail. 14:17.639 --> 14:19.436 His lighter never works. 14:21.359 --> 14:23.714 Hitchcock stated, "Gromek was created, 14:23.879 --> 14:26.757 as all the characters were, as a human being.” 14:26.920 --> 14:29.559 | lived in 88th Street in New York. 14:29.999 --> 14:32.115 - Oh, good. - (Clears Throat) 14:33.080 --> 14:34.399 Hitchcock continued: 14:34.560 --> 14:36.391 ‘Most films seem to make the Communists 14:36.559 --> 14:39.198 rather granite-faced individuals and humourless.” 14:40.080 --> 14:42.150 By making the enemy practically likeable, 14:42.319 --> 14:46.676 the director was purposely going against conventions and clichés. 14:47.040 --> 14:48.792 Sir, is it true you're defecting? 14:49.320 --> 14:51.629 - Is that the antimissile - - Your plan is to hand over 14:51.799 --> 14:54.438 your secret work to a Communist country? 14:54.600 --> 14:55.749 (Narrator) At the press conference, 14:55.920 --> 14:58.434 Hitchcock puts the audience in Sarah's position. 14:58.920 --> 15:01.718 She never quite sees Michael in the clear. 15:01.879 --> 15:04.632 "Having both of them in the shot would have been objective,” 15:04.800 --> 15:06.916 Hitchcock explained, "Rather like a play.” 15:07.080 --> 15:09.514 Film,” he said, "is subjective.” 15:10.280 --> 15:12.794 (Sarah) How could you do it? How could you tell those lies? 15:12.960 --> 15:17.590 Well, | just... thought it would be better if you didn't know about this. 15:17.760 --> 15:20.228 Narrator) Interestingly enough, Hitchcock decides 15:20.400 --> 15:24.234 to film the confrontation between Michael and Sarah like a stage play. 15:24.399 --> 15:25.752 The camera is not moving, 15:25.920 --> 15:29.196 and both actors are present at opposite ends of the room. 15:29.359 --> 15:30.838 Rather than experiencing it, 15:30.999 --> 15:33.559 the audience is now witnessing the action. 15:33.720 --> 15:36.314 As a result, we are uncomfortable. 15:36.480 --> 15:37.879 We feel like voyeurs, 15:38.040 --> 15:40.508 and that is exactly what Hitchcock intended 15:40.680 --> 15:42.432 when he put us in that position. 15:44.840 --> 15:47.274 Good stories are structured in three acts, 15:47.439 --> 15:49.475 and Torn Curtain is no exception. 15:49.639 --> 15:52.358 In the second act, we completely change point of view. 15:52.519 --> 15:54.987 We have left Sarah's for Michael's. 15:58.559 --> 16:00.072 Hitchcock hated to waste money, 16:00.239 --> 16:03.549 and he resisted building an entire set for the hotel lobby. 16:03.720 --> 16:06.473 He decided instead to film the scene from a high angle 16:06.639 --> 16:09.233 with cleaning women scrubbing the floor. 16:09.400 --> 16:12.836 He added a couple of columns and the elevator doors. 16:12.999 --> 16:14.114 It's quite simple, 16:14.280 --> 16:17.033 and yet the tension comes from the camera angle. 16:17.199 --> 16:20.635 It's a great introduction to the second act of the movie. 16:24.880 --> 16:27.440 The scene at the museum is vintage Hitchcock. 16:28.160 --> 16:31.277 In this sequence, Hitchcock builds incredible suspense, 16:31.439 --> 16:33.828 using almost exclusively the sound of footsteps. 16:33.999 --> 16:35.990 (Footsteps) 16:43.519 --> 16:45.555 Hitchcock always challenged himself 16:45.719 --> 16:47.789 and always tried to find interesting ways 16:47.960 --> 16:50.599 of showing something as obvious as one man following another 16:50.760 --> 16:53.149 in an all new and different way. 16:59.720 --> 17:02.188 - Come here, Professor. - What for? 17:02.359 --> 17:03.872 "What for?" 17:04.040 --> 17:06.110 Come here. That. 17:08.759 --> 17:11.432 - What do you mean? - "What do you mean?” That. 17:13.040 --> 17:15.873 (Narrator) If Torn Curtain had to be remembered for one sequence, 17:16.040 --> 17:18.349 it would have to be the murder of Gromek. 17:18.520 --> 17:21.034 Hitchcock builds the prelude to the murder with quick cuts, 17:21.480 --> 17:23.391 - Hmm? - | don't know. 17:23.879 --> 17:25.551 "| don't know." Answer. 17:25.719 --> 17:26.708 and then initiates it 17:26.880 --> 17:29.997 with the crashing sound of the pot exploding against the wall. 17:33.240 --> 17:35.231 Like the shower murder in Psycho, 17:35.399 --> 17:37.469 this sequence is perfectly designed 17:37.639 --> 17:40.358 and made of precise pieces of film. 17:41.200 --> 17:44.476 Cut it out. Don't be stupid. | was trained by experts. 17:45.279 --> 17:46.837 Torn Curtain was done at a time 17:47.000 --> 17:49.514 when spy thrillers simplified the act of murder, 17:49.680 --> 17:50.999 and it was Hitchcock's intention 17:51.159 --> 17:53.434 to show how difficult it is to kill someone. 17:54.319 --> 17:56.913 | can take you - how do you say? - 17:57.079 --> 17:59.388 one arm tied behind my back! 18:01.079 --> 18:03.639 "People are killed so easily,” Hitchcock complained. 18:03.800 --> 18:05.870 "Nobody ever goes back to take a second look 18:06.040 --> 18:07.553 to see whether they're actually dead or not.” 18:08.320 --> 18:09.992 The whole idea was not only to show 18:10.160 --> 18:12.958 how difficult it is to kill a man,” Hitchcock continued, 18:13.119 --> 18:16.475 "but to point out to the character what espionage entails.” 18:16.639 --> 18:19.233 "You're involved in killing.” 18:19.719 --> 18:22.472 ‘Murder can be fun,” Hitchcock used to say, 18:22.680 --> 18:23.669 and as a result, 18:23.839 --> 18:27.229 there is a fair amount of black humour and irony in this sequence. 18:27.399 --> 18:30.197 Part of the irony is that Paul Newman is an amateur spy; 18:30.680 --> 18:32.318 that he doesn't know how to kill. 18:32.479 --> 18:35.994 OK, you had your fun. Now we stop these games! 18:36.759 --> 18:39.034 The murder of Gromek comes under the heading, 18:39.200 --> 18:41.350 If you go into a setting, use it.” 18:42.079 --> 18:43.068 In the farmhouse, 18:43.239 --> 18:46.515 all the tools of death or torture were domestic instruments: 18:46.919 --> 18:47.908 a carving knife, 18:49.760 --> 18:50.749 a shovel, 18:53.200 --> 18:54.519 and the gas oven. 18:56.320 --> 18:59.039 Incidentally, several critics alluded to the fact 18:59.200 --> 19:01.430 that Gromek, a German, being gassed, 19:01.599 --> 19:03.396 recalled the concentration camps. 19:03.560 --> 19:05.835 Hitchcock claimed that he was always leery of the thought 19:05.999 --> 19:08.797 of using the oven as a kind of symbolic gesture, 19:08.999 --> 19:11.957 that it wasn't really a conscious decision. 19:14.320 --> 19:16.550 Hitchcock liked to manipulate sound. 19:16.719 --> 19:18.869 The murder scene is practically silent. 19:29.999 --> 19:33.514 Cut it out. Don't be stupid. | was trained by experts. 19:34.040 --> 19:36.156 Narrator) But originally, composer Bernard Herrmann 19:36.320 --> 19:38.595 had written a score for that sequence. 19:51.119 --> 19:53.587 Tell the cookie she should put that down. 19:54.159 --> 19:56.354 She's gonna cut your fingers off. 20:03.320 --> 20:05.470 - (Screaming) - (Narrator) It was Herrmann 20:05.639 --> 20:08.756 who had suggested music for the shower murder in Psycho. 20:08.999 --> 20:11.911 Initially, Hitchcock had wanted no score, 20:12.079 --> 20:15.708 Just water, screams, and the knife slicing at Janet Leigh. 20:21.959 --> 20:24.234 For Torn Curtain, Hitchcock had asked Herrmann 20:24.400 --> 20:26.391 to write a commercial score. 20:26.839 --> 20:29.558 Dissatisfied with the results, Hitchcock fired Herrmann 20:29.719 --> 20:31.789 and replaced him with John Addison, 20:31.959 --> 20:35.235 who had received an Academy Award for Tom Jones. 20:35.400 --> 20:37.038 Coincidentally, like Herrmann, 20:37.200 --> 20:39.873 John Addison also wrote a cue for the murder sequence, 20:40.039 --> 20:41.757 but Hitchcock decided not to use it. 21:08.239 --> 21:09.797 When comparing the two scores, 21:09.959 --> 21:11.950 there is not doubt that Herrmann's music, 21:12.119 --> 21:14.030 as it had been consistently in the past, 21:14.200 --> 21:16.794 would have been a nice complement to Hitchcock's visuals. 21:17.399 --> 21:19.867 One can only imagine how different the film would bave been 21:20.040 --> 21:22.235 with Herrmann's music. 21:25.400 --> 21:27.550 After the murder, in the original script, 21:27.719 --> 21:29.710 an interesting sequence took place. 21:30.239 --> 21:33.549 Michael and Sarah stop at one of the country's best restaurants, 21:33.719 --> 21:35.152 a workers’ canteen. 21:35.959 --> 21:37.711 The manager of the factory explains 21:37.880 --> 21:40.952 how he admires Michael for defecting from his country. 21:41.759 --> 21:44.512 The workers expect a speech; Michael resists, 21:45.159 --> 21:46.592 and Sarah says a few words, 21:46.760 --> 21:49.399 thanking the men for their kind welcome. 21:49.560 --> 21:52.233 Suddenly, Michael's face is drained. 21:52.400 --> 21:56.359 Standing in front of him is Gromek's older brother. 21:56.759 --> 21:58.317 The same actor played the part, 21:58.479 --> 22:01.596 wearing a moustache, a wig and glasses. 22:02.520 --> 22:04.556 Hitchcock added some twisted irony. 22:04.719 --> 22:08.837 The brother, holding a knife similar to the one used on Gromek earlier, 22:08.999 --> 22:14.073 cuts a piece of sausage and asks Michael to give it to his sibling. 22:14.440 --> 22:16.635 The scene ultimately ended on the cutting room floor 22:16.800 --> 22:18.995 when Hitchcock decided to shorten the film, 22:19.200 --> 22:21.077 but there was also another concern. 22:21.239 --> 22:23.628 At one point, the brother shows family pictures, 22:23.799 --> 22:26.472 and we find out that Gromek has three children. 22:27.039 --> 22:30.349 Ultimately, the character of Gromek began to look too sympathetic, 22:30.519 --> 22:33.317 and, logically, Newman was turning into the villain. 22:33.479 --> 22:37.233 All that's left of the sequence are a few stills and pages from the script. 22:47.520 --> 22:49.988 (Manfred) Ah, Miss Sherman. 22:51.320 --> 22:52.639 Please. 22:53.959 --> 22:56.871 (Narrator) Torn Curtain, like most Hitchcock films, 22:57.040 --> 22:58.155 is a romantic picture. 22:58.320 --> 23:00.914 Part of the suspense has to do with the tension that exists 23:01.079 --> 23:02.717 between Sarah and Michael 23:02.879 --> 23:05.029 How far is she willing to go for him? 23:05.200 --> 23:07.919 How far is he willing to go without telling her the truth? 23:08.079 --> 23:09.068 (Michael) Give me five minutes with her. 23:09.239 --> 23:11.912 - After all, she is my girl. - (Sarah) Put that in the past tense. 23:12.079 --> 23:15.913 Following his motto, that "drama is life with the dull bits left out,” 23:16.079 --> 23:19.276 Hitchcock filmed the argument between the couple from afar, 23:19.439 --> 23:22.237 sparing us from hearing that Michael is not a traitor, 23:22.400 --> 23:23.913 something that we already know. 23:24.359 --> 23:26.827 Instead of a boring sequence filled with dialogue, 23:27.000 --> 23:29.719 Hitchcock delivers an important emotional moment 23:29.880 --> 23:32.075 for both the characters and the audience, 23:32.280 --> 23:34.714 leading us into act three, which will be told 23:34.879 --> 23:37.074 through both Michael and Sarah's point of view. 23:46.680 --> 23:47.669 Oh, Michael. 24:03.280 --> 24:06.317 Gentlemen, | must know about this Gamma Five work before | leave! 24:06.879 --> 24:09.188 The "MucGuffin” is another Hitchcock trademark. 24:09.800 --> 24:12.075 It's what the characters in the story are after, 24:12.359 --> 24:15.237 but the audience doesn't really know what it is. 24:15.719 --> 24:19.837 This Gamma Five work of yours sounds interesting. 24:19.999 --> 24:21.751 You're a brilliant young man. 24:21.919 --> 24:22.908 (Narrator) In Torn Curtain, 24:23.079 --> 24:25.639 the '‘MucGuffin” has to do with a secret formula. 24:25.799 --> 24:28.029 All that's important for the audience to know 24:28.200 --> 24:30.919 is that our hero must get it from Professor Lindt 24:31.079 --> 24:32.353 played by Ludwig Donath. 24:32.519 --> 24:33.952 No, no, no, no! 24:36.719 --> 24:38.516 Look. Learn! 24:39.800 --> 24:41.233 While developing the sequence, 24:41.400 --> 24:43.470 Hitchcock hesitated between two options. 24:44.400 --> 24:46.994 At first, he felt that Michael should start the equation 24:47.160 --> 24:50.311 and that the professor should jump in and finish it. 24:50.479 --> 24:53.596 Instead, Hitchcock decided to have Lindt tell it all, 24:53.760 --> 24:55.193 and have Michael memorise it. 24:55.359 --> 24:56.678 My God! 24:58.599 --> 25:00.908 In an effort to complicate things for the audience 25:01.079 --> 25:03.877 and to divert us from concentrating on the "MucGuffin,” 25:04.040 --> 25:07.157 Hitchcock tells us something that the hero doesn't know. 25:07.320 --> 25:09.436 Gromek's body has been found. 25:09.599 --> 25:11.430 "Professor Armstrong and Miss Sherman, 25:11.599 --> 25:14.272 you are wanted at once in the vice rector's office.” 25:16.320 --> 25:18.038 (Narrator) We know that something is going to happen, 25:18.200 --> 25:19.758 and now we're afraid for Newman. 25:20.359 --> 25:21.348 The bomb is ticking. 25:21.959 --> 25:24.109 Hitchcock was called "The Master of Suspense’, 25:24.280 --> 25:26.430 not because he could surprise us with an explosion, 25:24.280 --> 25:27.989 but because he left us hanging, waiting for it to happen. 25:34.040 --> 25:35.758 (Man) Herr Jacobi. 25:38.879 --> 25:40.028 This way, please. 25:41.000 --> 25:42.149 (Narrator) The sequence on the bus 25:42.320 --> 25:44.880 gives Hitchcock another opportunity for danger, 25:45.279 --> 25:48.112 It's a roadblock. Do you have your identity cards? 25:48.919 --> 25:50.238 ispense, 25:52.719 --> 25:54.038 tension, 26:00.160 --> 26:02.310 and, of course, humour. 26:05.479 --> 26:07.709 Hitchcock said, "When employing suspense, 26:07.880 --> 26:10.030 you have to give the audience a chance to laugh.” 26:10.560 --> 26:13.711 if you don't the human body cannot stand the strain, 26:13.880 --> 26:16.519 and the whole affair will become ludicrous.” 26:17.160 --> 26:18.832 (Speaking In German} 26:22.440 --> 26:25.671 Excuse me, please. You wish information? 26:25.839 --> 26:27.318 A votre service, mademoiselle. 26:28.279 --> 26:31.794 (Narrator) Hitchcock was known for his quirky secondary characters. 26:31.959 --> 26:32.948 True to the tradition, 26:33.240 --> 26:36.994 Hitchcock cast Russian-French character actress Lila Kedrova, 26:37.440 --> 26:41.353 who had reached international fame for her role in Zorba the Greek. 26:41.520 --> 26:44.398 How exciting to meet you, Professor. 26:46.039 --> 26:48.872 It is not every day one meets a spy. 26:50.040 --> 26:52.679 The character of the countess has two faces. 26:52.839 --> 26:55.194 On one hand, she's pleading and kind. 26:55.360 --> 27:00.480 | wish very much to go to the United States of America. 27:01.239 --> 27:05.949 Unfortunately, it is necessary to have... friends there. 27:06.119 --> 27:07.711 How you say? Sponsor. 27:08.759 --> 27:11.876 On the other hand, she is a blackmailer and almost menacing. 27:13.399 --> 27:16.948 Now, | am making you proposition. 27:18.040 --> 27:22.352 You two, you promise me to be my sponsors for a visa 27:22.559 --> 27:24.390 to the United States of America. 27:24.560 --> 27:28.838 And in return, | will take you where you wish to go. 27:29.400 --> 27:31.038 (Narrator) As Hitchcock himself explained, 27:31.279 --> 27:34.476 "She was really a symbol of all the people behind the Iron Curtain 27:34.759 --> 27:35.953 who wanted to get away.” 27:37.440 --> 27:38.555 (Speaking In German} 27:39.400 --> 27:40.833 (Speaking In German} 27:43.439 --> 27:44.758 Albert? Ja, ja. 27:46.640 --> 27:49.791 Narrator) Hitchcock approached the beats of the story very carefully. 27:50.679 --> 27:51.668 In Torn Curtain, 27:51.839 --> 27:54.717 he consistently alternates between suspense and relief. 27:54.879 --> 27:55.868 Herr Albert? 27:56.039 --> 27:59.076 The scenes with Lila Kedrova exemplify both. 27:59.400 --> 28:02.472 Hitchcock gives us room to breathe in the coffee shop sequence, 28:02.640 --> 28:05.757 and then builds the suspense up again at the post office. 28:16.839 --> 28:18.158 My sponsor. 28:21.959 --> 28:24.189 (Narrator) It's no coincidence that Hitchcock selected 28:24.359 --> 28:27.032 production designer Hein Heckroth for the film. 28:27.599 --> 28:30.511 Heckroth had designed the unforgettable classic ballet story 28:30.680 --> 28:35.629 The Red Shoes for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger in 1948. 28:35.799 --> 28:37.630 His great work on that particular film 28:37.800 --> 28:41.031 came in handy for this climactic ballet sequence. 28:48.320 --> 28:50.880 Hitchcock literally sets the stage for a climax 28:51.040 --> 28:52.996 reminiscent of the Albert Hall sequence 28:53.160 --> 28:55.515 in his own The Man Who Knew Too Much. 28:56.200 --> 28:58.794 This time, we're not listening to a concert, 28:59.040 --> 29:00.598 we're watching a ballet. 29:00.759 --> 29:02.715 This time, we do not have Doris Day 29:02.879 --> 29:04.915 screaming at the crash of the cymbals. 29:05.079 --> 29:09.277 We have Paul Newman shouting in order to escape the police. 29:09.439 --> 29:13.227 But in both films, Hitchcock used a stage as part of the drama, 29:13.400 --> 29:15.356 not just as a backdrop. 29:16.200 --> 29:19.158 Basically, Michael gets the idea of screaming fire” 29:19.320 --> 29:22.073 from watching the scenery in the ballet. 29:22.479 --> 29:24.071 Hitchcock felt safe repeating tricks 29:24.239 --> 29:26.070 that had worked in his previous films. 29:26.879 --> 29:28.949 In fact he once declared, 29:29.120 --> 29:31.031 "Self-plagiarism is style.” 29:32.319 --> 29:33.308 Fire! 29:33.479 --> 29:35.197 (Screaming, Shouting} 29:41.920 --> 29:43.751 (Ship's Horn Blowing} 29:44.520 --> 29:45.953 (Narrator) The original ending of the film 29:46.119 --> 29:48.428 showed Michael burning the formula he had stolen from Lindt. 29:49.239 --> 29:50.957 - My God. - It's genius. 29:51.519 --> 29:55.398 But Hitchcock felt that by trivialising the whole point of the journey, 29:55.560 --> 29:56.754 the audience might get frustrated 29:56.920 --> 29:59.150 with the fact that the danger had been for nothing. 29:59.599 --> 30:00.714 (Shouting In German} 30:03.360 --> 30:06.875 Instead, Hitchcock settled for something romantic. 30:07.039 --> 30:08.438 We've come full circle. 30:08.599 --> 30:12.148 We leave our characters as we met them, under the covers. 30:26.999 --> 30:28.478 Michael! (Laughing} 30:33.040 --> 30:35.759 Hitchcock never felt like he had to top himself. 30:36.079 --> 30:38.354 However, his audience and the critics did. 30:39.640 --> 30:41.710 The immediate reaction to Torn Curtain 30:41.879 --> 30:44.347 was that it was no North by Northwest, 30:44.519 --> 30:46.271 but as Hitchcock once stated, 30:46.440 --> 30:49.113 ‘Most films should be seen more than once.” 30:49.759 --> 30:52.512 And on second viewing, Torn Curtain emerges 30:52.680 --> 30:55.069 as a perfectly legitimate Hitchcock picture. 30:56.079 --> 31:00.789 Hitchcock felt satisfied if he got 75% of his original vision on the screen. 31:00.959 --> 31:02.278 With Torn Curtain, 31:02.719 --> 31:06.189 he most certainly accomplished his ambition.