THE IRON CURTAIN [1948] [Blu-ray + DVD] [1948 / 2017] [UK Release] The Most Amazing Plot in the History of Recorded Espionage!
Based on the true-life defection of Soviet Embassy code specialist, Igor Gouzenko, who was posted to the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa, Canada in 1943 and defected in 1945, to reveal the extent of Soviet espionage activities directed against Canada.
FILM FACT No.1: The story for this 1948 film is based on The Royal Commission on Espionage and the Spy Trials of 1946-1949: A Case Study in Parliamentary Supremacy and evidence presented in Canadian Courts in the conviction of ten secret agents of the Soviet Government. The messages and other documents quoted and seen in this film are exactly the same as those presented as exhibits in the trials of the accused agents. All were authenticated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. All exterior scenes were photographed in Canada in the original locations.
FILM FACT No.2: In Shostakovich v. Twentieth Century-Fox, Russian composer Dmitry Shostakovich unsuccessfully sued Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, the film's distributor, in New York court, for using musical works of his that could not be excluded from the public domain. However, the plaintiffs were victorious in the French Analog: Société Le Chant du Monde v. Société Fox Europe and Société Fox Americaine Twentieth Century. Twentieth Century-Fox bought the rights to Gouzenko's articles about his experiences, as Hollywood began producing films regarding Communist infiltration in the late 1940s. The studio also purchased the rights to two historical books on Soviet espionage, George Moorad's Behind the Iron Curtain and Richard Hirsch's The Soviet Spies: The Story of Russian Espionage in North America, but no material from the two books was used in the film. The film was produced by Daryl F. Zanuck in response to claims by Rep. J. Parnell Thomas, chairman of the House Un-American Activities Committee, that Hollywood did not make anti-communist films. Soviet sympathizers attempted unsuccessfully to disrupt location shooting in Ottawa, where Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation captured exteriors during a cold Canadian winter. In a blurb noting the movie's release, The New York Times observed: “The Iron Curtain...has been under attack since January by various groups including the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship.”
Cast: Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, June Havoc, Berry Kroeger, Edna Best, Stefan Schnabel, Nicholas Joy, Eduard Franz, Frederic Tozère, Leslie Barrie (uncredited), Noel Cravat (uncredited), Anne Curson (uncredited), Helena Dare (uncredited), John Davidson (uncredited), Michael Dugan (uncredited), Reed Hadley (Narrator) (uncredited), Mauritz Hugo (uncredited), Christopher Olsen (uncredited), John Ridgely (uncredited), John Shay (uncredited), Brick Sullivan (uncredited), Charles Tannen (voice) (uncredited), Ken Terrell (uncredited), Joe Whitehead (uncredited), Peter Whitney (uncredited) and Victor Wood (uncredited)
Director: William A. Wellman
Producer: Sol C. Siegel
Screenplay: Milton Krims (screenplay) and Igor Gouzenko (personal story)
Make-up and Hair Department: Ben Nye (Make-up Artist), Dick Smith (Make-up Artist) (uncredited) and Marie Walter (Hair stylist) (uncredited)
Costume Design: Bonnie Cashin
Cinematography: Charles G. Clarke, A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Special Photographic Effects: Fred Serzen
Image Resolution: Blu-ray: 1080p (Black and White) + DVD: 1080i (Black and White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
Audio: Blu-ray: English: 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio
DVD: English: 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono Audio
Subtitles: None
Running Time: Blu-ray: 86 minutes + DVD: 83 minutes
Region: Blu-ray: Region B/2 + DVD: PAL
Number of discs: 2
Studio: 20th Century Fox / Signal One Entertainment
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘THE IRON CURTAIN’ [1948] begins with Soviet soldier turned bureaucrat Igor Gouzenko [Dana Andrews] is assigned to his first overseas posting in 1943 to Ottawa, Canada, as a cipher clerk for the military attaché, their offices in a secret wing of the Soviet embassy. Igor is not to tell anyone what he does for a living, he given a cover story which he is to recite even when questioned by his own people. Igor Gouzenko and his wife Anna Gouzenko [Gene Tierney] are supposed to be cordial to their Canadian neighbours and associates, but not fraternize or befriend them, as they are still considered the enemy, despite both countries being on the same side in the war.
Igor Gouzenko follows his instructions to the letter, but it is more difficult for Anna Gouzenko, who does not have the distraction of work during the day, and who can see that their neighbours are not their enemies but good people much like themselves. Over the next few years, Igor sees that what is happening around him and the work in which he is involved will not result in a world in which he wants to raise his new-born son.
Dana Andrews gives a decent performance, tight-lipped and determined to leave his Russian heritage behind and find freedom in Canada under the protection of the Royal Canadian police. Tierney gives one of her more sincere performances as the wife, concerned for the welfare of her child and his right to grow up under democracy's freedom.
By the late 1940’s, anti-communist fervour in Hollywood and throughout the USA had reached fever pitch. This brisk, documentary-style thriller, based on the experiences of a code clerk in the Russian embassy in Washington, captures the mood of the times. Andrews is the turncoat who wants asylum in the West so his son can grow up in “freedom.” Given that he's prepared to share all the latest dope about Soviet espionage techniques, it is not surprising his old colleagues are so keen to assassinate him.
This is an odd little movie that has basically been forgotten —but it’s actually not too bad. It was directed by William A. Wellman, who had previously directed Wings, the first film to win a Best Picture Oscar in 1927. William A. Wellman had been a fighter pilot, so that WWI fighter-pilot drama was an obvious choice, as he was the only Hollywood director with combat flying experience. William A. Wellman worked well into the 1950’s, when he finally retired. In between he directed The Public Enemy, the original A Star is Born, and the absolutely fantastic Western, The Ox-Bow Incident, with Henry Fonda.
‘THE IRON CURTAIN’ is one of the more realistic as well as honest post WWII movies about the threat of Communism simply because it was based on a true story. The film supports the well-worn notion of truth being stranger than fiction. Director William A. Wellman gets just a moderate amount of suspense out of the true life story, deciding not to go for melodramatics but having the whole story played out in low-key style befitting a documentary type of film. There's even some narration to frame the story.
THE IRON CURTAIN MUSIC TRACK LIST
YOU’LL NEVER KNOW (uncredited) (Written by Harry Warren) (Played when Igor and Nina are dancing at the restaurant)
Symphony No. 5 in D minor Op. 47 (uncredited) (Written by Dmitri Shostakovich)
Symphony No. 6 in B minor Op. 54 (uncredited) (Written by Dmitri Shostakovich)
Symphony No. 1 in F minor Op. 10 (uncredited) (Written by Dmitri Shostakovich)
Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major Op. 100 (uncredited) (Written by Sergei Prokofiev)
Lullaby (uncredited) (from "The Gayane Suite") (Written by Aram Khachaturyan)
Symphony No. 21 in F-sharp minor Op. 51 (uncredited) (Written by Nikolai Myaskovsky)
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Blu-ray Image Quality – 20th Century Fox and Signal One Entertainment presents us the film ‘THE IRON CURTAIN’ and gives us a very solid 1080p presentation with rich, impressive visuals and of course it is shown in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio. It has appealing contrast and substantial grain textures. The image is clean, consistent and of the fine quality and the whole film looks really good in high-definition and of course there is great clarity and depth is already very good. There are no traces of problematic digital work. Image stability is very good. Lastly, the entire film ‘THE IRON CURTAIN’ looks really wonderful. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – 20th Century Fox and Signal One Entertainment brings us the film ‘THE IRON CURTAIN’ with a good quality 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio experience. The dialogue is very clear, sharp, and stable. I expected to hear rather substantial fluctuations in terms of dynamic intensity/stability because of the documentary nature of film ‘THE IRON CURTAIN,’ but everything sounded really great, superb and its audio qualities are retained as best as possible throughout the movie.
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Blu-ray + DVD Special Features and Extras: Even though it is dual-format release, and unlike many Signal One Entertainment Blu-ray + DVD discs, ‘THE IRON CURTAIN’ has no special features.
Finally, ‘THE IRON CURTAIN’ [1948] is certainly one of the first “Cold War” films; and this “film noir” genre gained in intensity in the 1950’s and 1960’s and continues to some extent to modern day. It is slightly more nuanced than the typical anti-Communist films of that period, with characters that are complex. Amusingly, Soviet sympathisers did attempt to disrupt the shoot of the movie at one point. Dana Andrews was at that time primarily known for work in Westerns and other “film noirs” with his most famous role as the detective in the film Laura. Dana Andrews is perfectly fine in his role here as a conflicted Soviet agent. Gene Tierney was of course one of the most famous actresses of “film noir” that included Whirlpool and Laura. The film was probably partly made to get Gene Tierney on the screen with Dana Andrews again. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
