A strangely muted, dull effort, though still worthy of attention. Paul Newman plays an American who may or may not be a defector. Julie Andrews plays his confused fiancée who decides to follow him to Russia at any cost. Reportedly, Hitchcock and Newman did not get along, and the film also marked the unhappy end of Hitch’s collaboration with composer Bernard Herrmann. This gloomy atmosphere seems to permeate the final film, but it contains some breathtaking moments, such as a long, slow, gruesome murder scene. — Jeffrey M. Anderson