Top Secret Affair (1957)

Director:

H.C. Potter

Writers:

Roland Kibbee (writer)
John P. Marquand (novel)

Release Date:

30 January 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

The head of a large publishing empire is dismayed when a top army general is about to be appointed to an atomic energy committee...

Plot Keywords:

Newsreel Footage | Interview | Swimming Pool | Atomic Fallout | Atomic Energy

Cast

Susan Hayward	...	Dorothy 'Dottie' Peale
Kirk Douglas	...	Maj. Gen. Melville A. Goodwin
Paul Stewart	...	Phil Bentley
Jim Backus	...	Col. Homer W. Gooch
John Cromwell	...	General Daniel A. Grimshaw
Roland Winters	...	Sen. Burdick
Arthur Gould-Porter	...	Holmes, Dottie's Butler
Michael Fox	...	Reporter Lotzie
Frank Gerstle	...	Sgt. Kruger
Charles Lane	...	Bill Hadley

Also Known As:

Melville Goodwin, USA (USA) (working title)
Their Secret Affair (UK)

Runtime:

USA:100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Norway:12

Company:

Carrollton Inc.

Trivia:

Under the title "Melville Goodwin, USA", the film was to star Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall - both of whom had already filmed costume and makeup tests - but Bogart's terminal illness forced his withdrawal from the project. He was replaced by 'Kirk Douglas' . Bacall withdrew shortly afterward, opting instead to remain at home with her dying husband, and was replaced by 'Susan Hayward' .

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Shadows (1959)

Starts out strong, finishes up weak.

This movie starts out like the kind of romantic comedy that Hollywood often does well. Susan Hayward is a powerful publisher who wants to discredit an army general (Kirk Douglas) in her magazine. For the first part of the movie, while their relationship is more adversarial, the film moves along fine and is both amusing and enjoyable. However, as the relationship changes and the story gets more complicated, the movie starts to run out of steam. This is a strange phenomenon, as one can almost pinpoint the exact moment when the air starts to go out of the balloon.

On the plus side, the film has two top-notch stars and a fine supporting cast including Paul Stewart and Jim Backus. But since, in my opinion, the film gets weaker instead of stronger as it goes along I can only give it a marginal recommendation.