Cold-War paranoia drives the intrigue of director/co-writer Philip Dunne’s 1965 film, but his attempt to merge it with rom-com elements proves to be a bridge too far. Rock Hudson stars as esteemed psychiatrist Dr. Bartholomew Snow, called away from his New York City practice at the behest of a shadowy government security chief named General Pratt (Jack Warden). The nature of his quest is so secretive that he’s forced to wear a blindfold in weekly transit to visit his subject, a brilliant scientist named Arthur Vicenti (Alejandro Rey) stashed in a safe house somewhere in the South.
Buy Blindfold from Movie ZyngHad the film continued with this premise, it would have likely made for a capable espionage thriller. Unfortunately, things go awry when the scientist’s fiery sister Vicky (Claudia Cardinale) desperately inserts herself into the works, diverting Snow’s attention as he attempts to keep her out of danger while also developing affection for her. In only her third U.S. film, Italian superstar Cardinale is meant to give the film some unneeded sex appeal, but her character’s frantic, prickly disposition and her difficulties with English pronunciation frustrate the otherwise smooth plot progression.
Snow’s sessions with the doctor are intended to extract sensitive military secrets, but as the weeks drag on without success, Snow begins to suspect that he may be playing for the wrong team. Contacted and briefed by the mysterious Mr. Fitzpatrick (Guy Stockwell), he’s driven to locate the doctor on his own to confirm his suspicions, relying solely on his memory of background sounds to retrace his secret weekly route. Dunne expertly plays up the tension of Snow’s attempts to determine the true good guys, but can never quite overcome the unnecessary burden of Cardinale’s rom-com elements. To be fair, Cardinale’s stunning presence is still a principal selling point, it’s just that Dunne’s story ultimately doesn’t need her and would be better served as a pure espionage thriller.
Buy Blindfold from AmazonThe Blu-ray formats the film at its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio with DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono sound. While the transfer is clean, the colors are a bit faded and dull. I’m generally in favor of preserving original specifications, but couldn’t help feeling like this film would benefit from updated color grading to really make the hues pop. Sound is capable, serving the heavy dialogue but lacking definition for Snow’s environmental audio clues during his treks to the scientist. No bonus features are included.
