Michael Armstrong vs. James Bond
- Similarities
- Differences
- The Women
That Arresting Rhythm: Opening Credits and Murders
"After All, She Is My Girl."
Hitchcock creates in Sarah Sherman a female lead who works in opposition to the Bond Girls in a way analgous to the way Michael works in opposition to Bond.
When coming up with the idea for Torn Curtain, as mentioned earlier, Hitchcock drew upon the story of real defectors Burgess and MacLean who left England for Russia and pondered what the wife thought about it 31. Sarah, as the wife-to-be, has a much more prominat role in the film than Tatiana. Not only is the first third of the film from her point of view, but Addison also ascribes her a leitmotif which nealry dominates the score, emphasizing her role in the film.
Even in these stills the differences between the women can be described simply by their position to the men. Bond is above Tatiana emphasizing his dominance. Though she is more sexually dominant that Sarah, who plays the role of the submissive wife-to-be, Bond ultimately is the hero of the film. With Sarah, however, her position over Michael emphasizes his weakness as a hero, especially when compared to Bond, and the more prominant role she plays in the film overall when compared to Tatiana.
Click on each woman to examine the role she plays in the film and in relation to the hero.