The Iron Curtain
Director: William Wellman
Year:
1948
Rating: 6.0
This is primarily interesting because it sticks
to the real facts for the most part. Directed by William Wellman in very
straightforward quasi-documentary style, it relates the story of a Russian
spy ring in Ottawa, Canada during WWII. Igor Gouzenko (Dana Andrews) is assigned
by Russia to work in their Canadian Embassy in 1943 as a cipher clerk. His
wife (Gene Tierney) comes as well. They love Canada, have a child, begin
to fall for Canadian charms, probably eat a lot of poutine and have no desire
to go back to Russia where there is a war going on and multiple families
live in one apartment. In his work he is able to access information that
a Soviet spy ring has been organized by a Russian agent (played by the almost
always villainess sneering Berry Kroeger who always reminds me of a young
nasty Charles Laughton) that has recruited many Canadians including a Member
of Parliament and a scientist helping with the Manhattan Project.
The Russians are rigid certainly and polemic at times, but surprisingly not
portrayed as horrible evil - just working for their government and dreading
having to go home - where an uncertain fate awaits them. Gouzenko and his
wife defect two days after WWII ends and he takes along a lot of names and
secrets with him. Or he tries to defect - as the film shows the Justice Dept.
doesn't want him, the newspapers think he is a crank and the Russians are
searching for him everywhere. Not said in the film is that the Prime Minister
at the time William Lyon Mackenzie King wanted to turn him back to the Russians
and have nothing to do with him since Russia was in theory still an ally.
An underling though brought him in from the cold. The spy ring was broken
up and many went to jail. Gouzenko and his wife got secret identities and
lived out their lives in Canada. Interesting story but not with a lot of
style or personality and some hokey dialogue at times. Andrews, who I have
yet to understand how he became a star, is as emotionless as a garden rock.
Tierney of course is lovely.
The title The Iron Curtain came from the book Gouzenko wrote in 1948 about
his life.
