Topaz (1969)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Leon Uris (novel)
Samuel A. Taylor (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 December 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Hitchcock takes you behind the actual headlines to expose the most explosive spy scandal of the century!

Plot:

A French intelligence agent becomes embroiled in the Cold War politics first with uncovering the events leading up to the 1962 Cuban Missle Crisis, and then back to France to break up an international Russian spy ring.

Plot Keywords:

Agent | Spy | Cold War | Mistress | Cuba

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Frederick Stafford	...	Andre Devereaux
Dany Robin	...	Nicole Devereaux
John Vernon	...	Rico Parra
Karin Dor	...	Juanita de Cordoba
Michel Piccoli	...	Jacques Granville
Philippe Noiret	...	Henri Jarre
Claude Jade	...	Michele Picard
Michel Subor	...	Francois Picard
Roscoe Lee Browne	...	Philippe Dubois
Per-Axel Arosenius	...	Boris Kusenov
John Forsythe	...	Michael Nordstrom
Edmon Ryan	...	McKittreck
Sonja Kolthoff	...	Mrs. Kusenov
Tina Hedström	...	Tamara Kusenov (as Tina Hedstrom)
John Van Dreelen	...	Claude Martin

Runtime:

143 min | 127 min (edited version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Spain:18 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:PG (DVD rating) | Iceland:12 | UK:A (original rating) | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1970) | Peru:14 | Sweden:11 | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

This was the second appearance of Karin Dor in an English Language Feature but the first time her own voice was kept in the original version. She has appeared in You Only Live Twice (1967) two years before but was dubbed by another English actress then.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: A shot during the May Day parade sequence at the beginning of the film clearly reveals the parade to be taking place during the 50th anniversary of the October revolution (around the 1:29 mark), putting it in 1967 as opposed to 1961-63 when the story is supposed to have taken place. Therefore a person watching this parade could not have possibly defected to the USA and warned them of the Soviet missile deployment in Cuba (as is claimed in the beginning of the film).

Quotes:

Michèle Picard: Oh, the Cubans. I love the Cubans. They are so wild!

Movie Connections:

Featured in 'Topaz': An Appreciation by Film Critic/Historian Leonard Maltin (2001) (V)

Serviceable, workmanlike spy thriller that will never end up in anyone's "Top 10 Hitchcock films" list

"Topaz" is at its best when Alfred Hitchcock lets the camera tell the story: there are several small but brilliant moments in this film. But while his direction is still masterful, his pacing certainly isn't - the film often feels talky and plodding. The abrupt ending is another problem - one of the alternative endings, the airport one, sounds much better (unfortunately I haven't had the chance to see it yet). Frederick Stafford is no Cary Grant or even Rod Taylor, but he does the job; so do the rest of the actors, with Phillipe Noiret a standout in a brief role and Karin Dor adding a touch of sensuality to the proceedings. On the whole, "Topaz" is not even among Hitchcock's Top 10 pictures, but his fans will still have fun spotting his touches here and there. His cameo - a wheelchair-bound man who suddenly gets up and starts walking (!) - is just one of them. (**1/2)

EDIT: I finally did see the airport ending: it is undeniably better than the present one, but still a bit too abrupt.