| Beyond the Curtain | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Compton Bennett |
| Written by | Compton Bennett Charles F. Blair John Cresswell |
| Produced by | John Martin |
| Starring | Richard Greene Eva Bartok Marius Goring Lucie Mannheim |
| Cinematography | Eric Cross |
| Music by | Kenneth Pakeman |
Release date |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Beyond the Curtain is a 1960 Britishdrama film written and directed byCompton Bennett, and starringRichard Greene andEva Bartok.[1][2][3] It was written by Bennett, Charles F. Blair and John Cresswell.
A refugee fromEast Germany finds herself trapped in her home city ofDresden when a plane she is travelling on between Berlin and West Germany is forced down. She is used by theStasi, who want her to help them to find her dissident brother.
It was the first British feature film from producer John Martin, who had a strong record in documentaries. It was made in association with the companies of Sydney Box. Filming began in September 1959.[4][5]
Kinematograph Weekly wrote "The picture creates little emotional impact or excitement during the first half, but, although human interest remains flabby, its climax, staged among the rubble and ruins of theReichschancellery, thrills."[6]
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This inept melodrama creates little impact or excitement during the first half, and its later attempts at suspense belong to the early days of the serial. Human interest remains flabby throughout, Eva Bartok's strident and hysterical performance being just about what the woefully unconvincing script deserves, and onlyEric Cross's photography, and a dash of surface action, rise above the generally tepid level."[7]
Picture Show wrote: "The film's not too bad in places, the backgrounds look authentic enough but the whole thing could have been a lot more exciting if the direction and acting had been more imaginative.[8]