Three years after
Torn Curtain, director Alfred Hitchcock returned to Copenhagen for his 51st film
TOPAZ. Like its predecessor, this spy thriller is set against the Cold War. The story takes place in 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In addition to Denmark, filming on location was done in France, Germany and the United States.
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| Topaz, 0:09:17 |
According to the
Internet Movie Database, the movie was filmed between November 1968 and June 1969. A short report in Dutch newspaper
Algemeen Handelsblad of 25 September 1968 shows that Hitchcock was already in Copenhagen in September of that year, the city where the film begins. Boris Kusenov (Per-Axel Arosenius), a high-ranking Soviet diplomat, has chosen the Danish capital to defect to the West with his wife (Sonja Kolthoff) and daughter Tamara (Tina Hedström) during their vacation.
Like
Torn Curtain, the film opens with a view of Copenhagen filmed from a tall building. The bridge in the middle is the Knippelsbro and dates from 1937. Since 2009, the Knippelsbro has been featured on a 200-kroner banknote.
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| Topaz, 0:02:19 |
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| Knippelsbro, Copenhagen, 30 June 2022 |
The Kusenov family walks across Rådhuspladsen (City Hall Square) and are shadowed by three KGB agents (except for Lawrence Montaigne I could not find the names of the actors).
The city hall dates from 1905. At 105 meter the clock tower is slightly higher than the tower of the Palace Hotel.
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| Topaz, 0:04:09 |
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| Rådhuspladsen, Copenhagen, 28 June 2022 |
In 1923, the Dragon Fountain was placed on the square. It features a bull in combat with a dragon. Due to renovation of the square, the fountain was temporarily stored in the autumn of 2020 and is expected to be reinstalled in May 2023.
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| Topaz, 0:04:19 |
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| Rådhuspladsen, Copenhagen, 28 June 2022 |
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| Topaz, 0:04:32 |
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| Rådhuspladsen, Copenhagen, 28 June 2022 |
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| Topaz, 0:04:34 |
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| Rådhuspladsen, Copenhagen, 28 June 2022 |
The balustrade of the town hall has ornaments that resemble the dragons of the fountain. These were not present during filming.
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| Topaz, 0:04:40 |
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| City Hall, Copenhagen, 28 June 2022 |
To the far right of the city hall is a statue of Hans Christian Andersen. He looks towards Tivoli, the amusement park featured in
Torn Curtain.
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| Topaz, 0:04:44 |
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| Rådhuspladsen, Copenhagen, 28 June 2022 |
CIA agent Michael Nordstrom (John Forsythe), who has been assigned to help the Kusenov family, is waiting for them the next day at Vesterbrogade 8, a street within walking distance of Rådhuspladsen.
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| Topaz, 0:10:15 |
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| Vesterbrogade 8, Copenhagen, 28 June 2022 |
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| Topaz, 0:10:23 |
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| Trommesalen, Copenhagen, 28 June 2022 |
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| Topaz, 0:10:31 |
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| Vesterbrogade, Copenhagen, 28 June 2022 |
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| Topaz, 0:10:58 |
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| Vesterbrogade 8, Copenhagen, 28 June 2022 |
Things threaten to go wrong when Tamara hits a cyclist while crossing the street. Finally, all of them manage to escape in the waiting car.
Apart from the names on the buildings, little has changed here in the past 50 years.
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| Topaz, 0:11:33 |
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| Vesterbrogade, Copenhagen, 28 June 2022 |
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| Topaz, 0:11:41 |
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| Vesterbrogade, Copenhagen, 28 June 2022 |
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| Topaz, 0:11:53 |
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| Vesterbrogade, Copenhagen, 28 June 2022 |
Screenshots © Universal Pictures
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