Fun Scene: The Paris Luncheon

Here I am again looking to promote "Topaz" as worth a second look.

There's a delightful scene in the film's third act in Paris, IMHO:

The upstairs luncheon during which Andre elects to confront his fellow French officials and diplomats that there is Communist spy ring in Paris and that one of them is a probable member.

First of all: what's with this ROOM? It seems insanely cramped and low in the ceiling. The scene is claustrophobic; all the men seem to be literally "tamped down from above." I'm wondering if Hitchcock ever encounted such a weird room for a luncheon in real life?

Next: as so often with Hitchcock, certain key visual elements are put into place to make his story points.

Andre has been told that the traitor in his midst is Henri Jarre (Phillipe Noiret.) And so, with every accusation that Andre makes (about Topaz, NOT about Jarre), we see..

Andre peering out around the head of the man seated next to him, trying to sneak a peek at Jarre's reactions, followed by:

POV: Jarre, eating quietly, saying nothing, reacting not at all.

This shot-countershot becomes rather a "Hitchocck rhyme," a musical note in the scene, but is "bettered" by a running gag:

Every time Andre makes a new accusation, one of the diplomats rises in anger, throws down his napkin and says something like "That's it! I will hear no more of this. I'm leaving." Whereupon the other men pull him down and beg him to stay.

It becomes an overtly funny little scene: Andre peering around the head of the man next to him to "peep" at Jarre (we see only one of Andre's eyes and his brow); Jarre not reacting; the other guy constantly rising and throwing his napkin down.

As a matter of drama, we become increasingly aware of Andre's loner-status: he is bucking the French Establishment (and is accused of being far too buddy-buddy with the Americans, even if Russia is the agreed-upon enemy of both countries.) Andre barely has a friend in the room.

The scene also continues a major theme of "Topaz": great battles are fought in this film with WORDS, men sitting around tables talking, from Washington to Paris, the fate of the world resting upon their dull chat and petty jealousies.

Eventually, the silent Jarre speaks up and pretty much accuses Andre of being a dope: "This information was planted by the Russians. Your defector is lying."

And then a scene later, we learn: No, Jarre IS a traitor. And he's not the only one...

Finally: this scene feels like it was shot IN Paris, but no: it was done on the Universal backlot in North Hollywood, in a room filled with foreign actors...and with food and wine specially flown by Hitchcock FROM Paris TO Universal Studios to make sure that everything felt "real."

A fine little scene. I always enjoy watching it. But that's just me...