Michael Armstrong vs. James Bond
That Arresting Rhythm: Opening Credits and Murders
“.
. . alongside such Bondian adventures as From Russia With
Love .
. . [Torn Curtain] looks no more novel or sensational
than grandma’s old knitted shawl”
- Bosley Crowther, New York Times 1
In 1966 Alfred Hitchcock released his 50th film, Torn Curtain. With the previous disappointment of Marnie, Hitchcock was almost literally staring down the barrel of his own Auteur Gun, as well as the Financial Rifle his producers at Universal Studios held. He hoped that Torn Curtain would be his redemption but several factors combined to assure that this film, too, was a critical and box office flop. In addition to a poor script, mediocre acting on the part of Paul Newman and Julie Andrews, and the loss of Hitchcock's usual collaborators like editor George Tomasini, cinematographer Robert Burks and composer Bernard Herrmann, Robert E. Kapsis blames the cultural context of the mid- to late-1960s for the film's failure 2.
This website explores Torn Curtain in light of the James Bond Phenomenon that arose in the early 1960s and continued until the end of the decade. In addition to examining parallels between characters in Hitchcock's film and the 1963 Bond film From Russia With Love, I will analyze the role that music plays in both films, looking at John Barry's Bond score and both John Addison and Bernard Herrmann's scores for Torn Curtain. In my musical analysis, I hope to show how different musical styles not only affect the creation of the overall mood of a film but also how changing a scene's musical accompaniment can totally alter the pace and emotion, no matter how well-crafted the scene. Ultimately, the connections to and deliberate separations from the Bond films show that Hitchcock was struggling to continue to produce his art while remaining a commercially viable director.
To begin, click on the Introduction link.
Additionally, there is about a 20 second delay on the clips for the credit commutation, the post-murder sequence, and the murder scene scored by Herrmann; something happened during the streaming process and I sincerely apologize. Please be patient, the clips are there.