MovieChat Forums > Torn Curtain (1966) Discussion > Shouting 'Fire' at the concert

Shouting 'Fire' at the concert

posted 15 years ago by trickard
19 replies | jump to latest

I thought the plot had a major hole. Paul Newman cries 'Fire' from his seat in the theatre as the police close in and that leads to immediate panic by the whole audience. Surely the audience would be almost entirely German-speaking and would not respond to such a cry in a foreign language? The fact that so much German language is in the film, only emphasises the absurdity of this to me. Or do you think the German 'Feuer' would sound the same? I would also think that most audiences would tell the nutter to be quiet and get him ejected anyway.

[–] knifeparty2004 15 years ago

Yeah I thought this too. Also you would think people would have to see smoke before they start rushing out of the theatre like children...

[–] fabelwesentlich 15 years ago

that was exactly what i was thinking. i watched the movie yesterday and the scene was SUCH a let-down, i still can't believe it! the scene in the theater hall really had me on the edge of my scene, it was a good build-up of suspense - but what came after that disappointed me so much!
a) the panic that rises immediately is absurd
b) FIRE for FEUER is nothing else but coincidency and armstrong couldn't have know that for obviuously he didn't speak a single word german even though he had plenty of time to take lessons in america

[–] juanmonge69 15 years ago

This is "Mass hysteria". There is no reason why anyone would doubt a man in the ballet shouting "Fire". They would all be in a similar social class.

It is almost impossible for a physicist in the 1960's not to know German. Many of the major scientist from the golden age of Physics were German or associated with them. Einstein and many Germans escaped and found work in American Universities. Also he confirms to one of the Scientists that he read one of his articles in a Science journal. They were probably written in German and were not translated. He tells Gromek that he was visiting the farm because the woman was a relative; That could have easily been checked. Armstrong not knowing German was a device for the audience-He can't understand the loud speaker messages or what is being said on the bus.

[–] g-moff 15 years ago

Ok, but if that what you say is true then it is proof that the script is weak. As Armstrong knew he would 'defect' to East Berlin he'd certainly have learned a few German phrases and vocabulary - but he didn't. Doesn't make him a convincing traitor really. The script should've rather given him a sudden chance to get to the Eastern Block, on the ship conference f.e., then his not-knowing of German would've made more sense.
And, I agree with the other post, there would hardly be a mass hysteria that sudden when a visitor, not an usher, shouted 'fire' in a ballet, theatre etc. without a trace of smoke anywhere.

[–] napalminthemorning47 14 years ago

The movie gives me the idea that if I'm ever seeing a play or a movie that I really don't like and I feel the rest of the audience shouldn't be sitting through it either than I'll just shout at the top of my lungs "Fire!"

"Sir! I have a plan!" [standing up from his wheelchair] Mein Fuhrer! I can walk!"

[–] fatpie42 12 years ago

"There is no reason why anyone would doubt a man in the ballet shouting "Fire"."

I'd say the fact that the guy is speaking in English in the middle of East Berlin would be a pretty good reason to doubt him.

"It is almost impossible for a physicist in the 1960's not to know German."

So why didn't he say the line in German then?

And, my goodness, when they are wandering around trying to get people to understand that they want to get to the post office. They clearly aren't speaking in German there since otherwise people around them would instantly understand the phrase "post office". And they make very clear in early scenes that Dr. Armstrong doesn't understand basic German phrases then either.

[–] trhickey 12 years ago

As an undergraduate physics major in the 70s, my university only allowed me the choice of German or Russian as a language as it was expected I would need to read scientific journals in those languages. It's absurd to think that Armstrong wouldn't have at least a rudimentary knowledge of the language.

[–] JoeinFla 13 years ago

You all are thinking of "The Prize," not this one. I often mix them up myself. Paul Newman was in both, and there was a lot of cloak and dagger stuff in both, but one co-starred Julie Andrews, and the other Elke Sommers.

[–] herjabram 13 years ago

the German -feuer- sounds pretty much the same as -fire-, I listened to it several times, and speaking English as well as German, I'm almost certain that Newman, doesn't even shout -fire-, but he actally shouts -feuer-.

Besides that, Germans aren't stupid, I think they know what the word -fire- means.

[–] canuckteach 12 years ago

As audiences became more sophisticated, some of Hitchcock's devices became a bit 'dated' - from what I know of STASI, there's no way Armstrong could have eluded them, in the ways shown. however, if we overlook that, the film comes off as a semi-decent thriller.

I don't think Hitch would have worried about having an espionage consultant on the set to give advice on how surveillance or police round-ups really worked.

however, recent innovations such as call display, or easy access to cell phones and databases have made even recent productions semi-obsolete. I laugh when I watch the detectives on the Law & Order episodes from the mid 90-s stopping at phone booths to call into HQ for the results of lab tests.

:-) canuckteach (--:

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[–] javiikiller 12 years ago

Everybody knows that Americans don't know any language besides English. But let me tell you that many people around the world speaks or at least knows a little of English (mainly in Europe). So... Fire is not a word really hard to understand.

[–] Sitcom_Sally 12 years ago

True. I've never been to any country (in South America, Europe, Africa) where there weren't plenty of people who knew English well.

- Sally

The perfect human being is uninteresting. - Joseph Campbell

[–] joeparkson 12 years ago

Hitchcock had a droll sense humor. It's an American cliche that freedom of speech doesn't mean you can yell fire in a crowded theater. Doesn't it occur to anyone that this scene might be Hitchcock's way of making a visual cliche? He did something similar in Psycho when the buyer (Janet Leigh) high pressures the used car salesman.

Absurdity: A Statement or belief inconsistent with my opinion.

[–] hisgrandmogulhighness 12 years ago

The whole scene could've been better handled . . .

[–] newguyindc2001 11 years ago

It's also lame that the Julie Andrews character did not know how to say "post office" in German. It's "Post", but she made herself totally incomprehensible to German passersby.

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