Tuesday, May 20, 2025

The Iron Curtain (1948)

Another film about the notable Soviet defector Igor Gouzenko (see also 1954's Operation Manhunt), but this one details exactly how he defected in Canada.

Gouzenko (Dana Andrews) is posted to the Soviet embassy in Ottawa as a cypher clerk during the war. It is here that he learns that the Soviets are already planning for the post-war period and are sending their agents into the Canadian state and learn about the atomic bomb so they can dominate the world. 

Gouzenko's wife Anna (Gene Tierney) gives birth and Gouzenko begins to feel that he doesn't want his son to grow up in such a world of Soviet domination and seeks a way to escape the paranoid Soviet machine...

A decent film, though there is a propaganda edge to the semi-documentary style. Some good performances add to the tension especially in the final scenes.