Frederick Stafford, Dany Robin and John Vernon in the Alfred Hitchcock movie ‘Topaz’

Inspired by the 1967 Cold War novel Topaz by Leon Uris, the Alfred Hitchcock movie Topaz (1969) looks into the world of espionage and foreign intelligence with a thriller of a decent if something less than excellent quality. The film works against the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 with intrigue of countries the like of Cuba, the United States of America, the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.) and France all with a hand in the outcome.

(From left, Per-Axel Arosenius as Boris Kusenov and John Forsythe as Michael Nordstrom with a portrait of United States president John F. Kennedy in between. The image is from the Alfred Hitchcock movie Topaz).

As a film, Topaz begins with the defection of high-ranking Soviet Union intelligence agent Boris Kusenov defecting to the West. With the defection occurring in Copenhagen, Denmark, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent Mike Nordstrom learns that nuclear warheads are due to be placed in Cuba. Kusenov and Nordstrom are portrayed by Per-Axel Arosenius and John Forsythe, respectively.

(From left, Roscoe Lee Browne as Philippe Dubois and Donald Randolph as Luis Uribe in the Alfred Hitchcock movie Topaz).

Looking for physical evidence to substantiate the information shared by Kusenov, Nordstrom shares knowledge of the defect Soviet agent to French intelligence André Devereaux to assist. Nordstrom asks Devereaux, as portrayed by Frederick Stafford, to bribe Jose Uribe to provide photographs of documents that confirm the missile bases in Cuba. Uribe, portrayed by Donald Randolph, was a member of a United Nations (UN) delegation for Cuba.

(From left, Michel Subor as François Picard, Claude Jade as Michèle Picard and Dany Robin as Nicole Devereaux in the Alfred Hitchcock movie Topaz).

André Devereaux decides to make United Nations contact with Uribe in New York City, New York in the United States. Using the occasion of the honeymoon of his daughter and her new husband, Michèle and François Picard as portrayed by Claude Jade and Michel Subor, Devereaux brings his wife Nicole and connects with Philippe Dubois to contact Uribe. Dany Robin portrayed Nicole Devereaux while Roscoe Lee Browne portrayed French-Martinican agent Philippe Dubois.

(From left, Karin Dor as Juanita de Cordoba, John Vernon as Rico Parra and Frederick Stafford as André Devereaux in the Alfred Hitchcock movie Topaz).

Uribe, traveling as secretary to Cuban official Rico Parra while in New York, stayed at a hotel in Harlem as chosen by Parra. Dubois uses this fact to make contact with Uribe, conveys the necessary photographic evidence to André Devereaux while revealing Uribe to Parra and members of the Cuban delegation. The delegation gains an awareness of Devereaux in the process. John Vernon portrayed Rico Parra in Topaz.

(From left, Michel Piccoli as Jacques Granville, Claude Jade as Michèle Picard, Frederick Stafford as André Devereaux and Dany Robin as Nicole Devereaux in the Alfred Hitchcock movie Topaz).

Devereaux, despite his wife’s accusations of infidelity, flies to Cuba wherein he meets with his mistress, Juanita de Cordoba. Parra also is romantically involved with de Cordoba, a resister to the communist rule in Cuba. Devereaux asks Juanita de Cordoba, as portrayed by Karin Dor, to get pictures of the missiles in Cuba. Members of de Cordoba’s staff get the photos out of country with Devereaux, despite revealing to Parra the true nature of de Cordoba’s loyalty. This burns André Devereaux, yet not all is lost before things come to full resolution for personnel in French intelligence.

(From left, director Alfred Hitchcock and actress Claude Jade onsite of the Alfred Hitchcock movie Topaz).

While not the traditional fare offered by director Alfred Hitchcock, Topaz does enter into similar territory to the film Torn Curtain (1966). My sense is that Hitchcock brings out the interpersonal relationship between at least a pair of love interests in Topaz to a stronger degree than he did with Torn Curtain; in the case of Topaz, I reference the love interest of Juanita de Cordoba and André Devereaux. The notion of the underlying clandestine intrigue strikes me as more plausible as presented with Topaz, thus offering the film at least a second note of superiority over Torn Curtain for me. As I gave to Torn Curtain, I give Topaz as presented by Alfred Hitchcock 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, February 5, 2022

Top 20 Movie ‘Vertigo’

On December 18, 2016, we at Matt Lynn Digital published my estimation of the Top 20 Movies ever made in ranked order. At the top of that list is the Alfred Hitchcock directed movie Vertigo (1958).

(Alfred Hitchcock, left, making his cameo in Vertigo).

The greatness of this film rests first in the narrative style, mixing mystery, thriller, romance, and psychological illness. The trope of psychologically compromised characters offers compelling cinema that begets multiple film viewings that have yet to get old for me. The notion of psychological compromise in central character perhaps most famously portrayed in recent popular culture with the cable television show Breaking Bad (2008-2013).

(James Stewart starring as John ‘Scottie’ Ferguson in Vertigo).

James Stewart stars in Vertigo as John ‘Scottie’ Ferguson, a former police detective who separated from law enforcement owing to his vertigo, which in the film is associated with a fear of heights. Ferguson is called into action to assist friend Gavin Elster, who purportedly worries about the well-being of his wife who has been behaving irrationally. Tom Helmore portrays Gavin Elster. Part of the film’s mystery is Elster’s bringing his Ferguson into the story, and his motivation in seeking help from a man, Scottie, who suffers from vertigo.

(Tom Helmore as Gavin Elster in Vertigo).

Kim Novak stars as Madeleine Elster. Madeleine is the glamorous wife of wealthy husband Gavin, a noticeable effect of a romantic nature on men, and a far-fetched case of spirit possession. Scottie becomes quickly taken by Madeleine, looks to solve her mystery, and fails at the suicidal inclination of the spirit who seemingly compels Madeleine to end her life. The movie events begin moving into thriller from mystery as one must look to the involvement of Gavin Elster in ending the life of his wife while unraveling Scottie as well.

(Kim Novak starring as Madeleine Elster in Vertigo).

Midge is the logical, compassionate ex-fiancée who shares a home with Scottie. Her role, played by Barbara Bel Geddes, is to help anchor Scottie in reality. Midge attempts to win Scottie back to reality through affection, motherly nurturing, and finally the cold reality of logic when sanity is at its fullest question of fantasy. The continuing balance impairment that is metaphorically important in this tale of Scottie is clearly getting further out of hand when Midge exits the story.

(Barbara Bel Geddes as Midge Wood in Vertigo).

The entanglement of Scottie’s sanity and the identity of his ultimate love interest at the is expressed through Kim Novak. The central fiction that is not obvious to the viewer until well into the film is one I keep to myself in this review. While I choose not to reveal this for those yet to view this film, accept my point that the psychological impact is intense, meaningful in both its dark and romantic underpinnings, and full of emotional currency within the larger stories of Scottie and the people embroiled in the relationships with Gavin Ester. The choices made in service of those relationships is where the narrative force of the movie really finds its feet.

(James Stewart, left, and Kim Novak in Vertigo).

There are many layers within the movie Vertigo that make for compelling cinema. Slogging through of the layers and depth within the movie are not the easiest thing. It is partly for this reason that I can watch the movie repeatedly and still identify new subtleties and meanings. This movie is the best movie I have ever seen. While I am loath to give any movie this grade, I grant Alfred Hitchcock‘s Vertigo the top ranking in my movie listing with 5.0 stars of a scale of one-to-five stars.

Matt – Wednesday, April 3, 2019