Torn Curtain, Alfred Hitchcocks' fiftieth film, is unfortunately anything but a culmination of the work of the famous suspense film director. It's typical of his work following The Birds -- suspenseful, but not very tightly put together. Torn Curtain, a lightweight espionage thriller, has some tense, wondrously memorable moments masterfully put together -- but they don't fit together very well to make a cohesive whole. The fight scene in the kitchen, for example, is a brutal, nightmarish scene, effectively edited and unforgettable. The scene where Paul Newman attempts to swindle a mathematical formula out of a German scientist is innovative and suspenseful. But for every scene that works, there's another that doesn't. The film focuses too much on minor or even inconsequential details, such as a woman our heroes meet trying to escape back to the West. I recommend Torn Curtain to the director's fans, for there are moments when Hitchcock's mastery of the medium shine through, but I don't recommend it to anyone else.