''The Prize'' is a 1963 American

spy film The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many James Bond films) ...

and

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

starring Paul Newman, Elke Sommer, and Edward G. Robinson. It was directed by Mark Robson, produced by

Pandro S. Berman Pandro Samuel Berman (March 28, 1905July 13, 1996), also known as Pan Berman, was an American film producer. Early life Berman was born to a Jewish family in Pittsburgh in 1905. His father Henry was general manager of Universal Pictures durin ...

and adapted for the screen by

Ernest Lehman Ernest Paul Lehman (December 8, 1915 – July 2, 2005) was an American screenwriter. He was nominated six times for Academy Awards for his screenplays during his career, but did not win. At the 73rd Academy Awards in 2001, he received an Ho ...

from the novel '' The Prize'' by

Irving Wallace Irving Wallace (March 19, 1916 – June 29, 1990) was an American best-selling author and screenwriter. He was known for his heavily researched novels, many with a sexual theme. Early life Wallace was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Bessie Liss a ...

. It also features an early score by prolific composer

Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the ''Rambo'' franch ...

Plot

The Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Andrew Craig, who is disrespectful of it, and seems more interested in women and drinking. Arriving in Stockholm for the award ceremony, he is delighted that the beautiful Swedish Inger Lisa Andersson has been assigned as his personal chaperone. At the hotel where all the winners are guests, Andrew is introduced to the physics laureate, Dr. Max Stratman, an elderly German-born American, who is accompanied by his niece Emily. The Nobel laureates for medicine are Dr. John Garrett and Dr. Carlo Farelli. Garrett thinks Farelli must have stolen his work rather than reaching the same result through improvisation as he claimed, and thus does not deserve half the prize. The chemistry winners are a married couple, Drs. Denise and Claude Marceau. Claude Marceau's mistress, Monique Souvir, is traveling with them and Denise feels neglected as a woman; later she asks Andrew to help by pretending to have an affair. That night, Max accepts an invitation to meet an old friend, Hans Eckhart, in a park. Eckhart asks him to publicly repudiate the U.S. and the prize, and

defect A defect is a physical, functional, or aesthetic attribute of a product or service that exhibits that the product or service failed to meet one of the desired specifications. Defect, defects or defected may also refer to: Examples * Angular defec ...

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. When Max refuses, he is kidnapped by communist agents, while an impostor takes his place. Emily is told that the man is Walter, the father she thought was dead, and that he will be killed if she does not play along. The next day, Andrew is surprised when "Max" does not remember meeting him, and his manner also seems different. But there is no time to talk: Andrew has an interview scheduled. Depressed and angry at himself, he tells the press the truth: far from still being a great literary talent, he has not even been able to start writing the much-anticipated novel he has been "working on" for years. He has been drinking heavily and supporting himself by writing

pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit Engineering * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Molded pulp, a packaging material ...

detective stories, and is accepting the prize only because of the money. Asked for an example of developing a detective story, he suggests the possibility that Max may be an impostor. Andrew is telephoned by an Oscar Lindblom, who offers information about Max. He goes to Lindblom's apartment and finds the man dying. He sees and chases the assassin, whose name is Daranyi, but is thrown into a canal. A cursory police investigation, with Inger and Andrew there, finds no evidence of crime; they assume he imagined it while drunk. But Lindblom's widow says he was a makeup artist: exactly what an impostor would have needed. Emily and Andrew follow a lead to a hospital where Max is being held, but he is whisked away before they find him. Emily leaves Andrew there without a car. On foot, he is attacked again by Daranyi and flees to a nudist lecture where he must remove his clothes. He gets away by disturbing the meeting until the police are called. They again assume he is drunk and return him to his hotel wearing only a towel. He has no key, but Denise Marceau lets him into her room—where she makes sure Claude sees him, producing the desired effect on Claude. Inger has now seen enough to realize Andrew was right and has been acting admirably, and begins falling in love as she joins in his investigation. But the next day, Andrew is told she is being held hostage. Following clues Inger helped with, Andrew sneaks on board a docked German freighter soon to depart for

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. Lindblom's body is there, and Inger is locked in with Max. Andrew manages to break them out, but at the hotel, Max collapses from the strain. Drs. Garrett and Farelli diagnose

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and poss ...

ventricular fibrillation Ventricular fibrillation (V-fib or VF) is an abnormal heart rhythm in which the ventricles of the heart quiver. It is due to disorganized electrical activity. Ventricular fibrillation results in cardiac arrest with loss of consciousness and n ...

. Farelli earns Garrett's admiration by improvising a crude

defibrillator Defibrillation is a treatment for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, specifically ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib) and non-perfusing ventricular tachycardia (V-Tach). A defibrillator delivers a dose of electric current (often called a ''coun ...

. Max is revived and dressed just in time to receive his prize. When the impostor leaves the auditorium, Daranyi kills him; dying, he admits he is not Walter either, but an actor. Andrew chases Daranyi to the roof; Daranyi again attempts to kill Andrew but is shot by police and falls to his death. Andrew returns just in time to accept his own prize—and Inger's love.

Cast

* Paul Newman as Andrew Craig * Elke Sommer as Inger Lisa Andersson * Edward G. Robinson as Dr. Max Stratman / Prof. Walter Stratman * Diane Baker as Emily Stratman *

Micheline Presle Micheline Presle (; born Micheline Nicole Julia Émilienne Chassagne; 22 August 1922) is a French actress. She was sometimes billed as Micheline Prelle. Starting in 1939, she starred in over 50 French and English language films that were made in H ...

as Dr. Denise Marceau * Gérard Oury as Dr. Claude Marceau *

Sergio Fantoni Sergio Fantoni (7 August 1930 – 17 April 2020) was an Italian actor, voice actor and director. Biography Fantoni was born in Rome to the actor Cesare Fantoni. He began his career appearing in films, radio dramas, television and theatrical pro ...

as Dr. Carlo Farelli *

Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician, serving as House Minority Leader in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as House Majority Leader under spea ...

as Dr. John Garrett *

Leo G. Carroll Leo Gratten Carroll (25 October 1886 – 16 October 1972) was an English actor. In a career of more than forty years, he appeared in six Hitchcock films including ''Spellbound'', '' Strangers on a Train'' and ''North by Northwest'' and in thre ...

as Count Bertil Jacobsson * Sacha Pitoëff as Daranyi, Dark Henchman * Jacqueline Beer as Monique Souvir, Dr. Claude's secretary *

John Wengraf John Wengraf (23 April 1897 – 4 May 1974) was an Austrian actor. Early years Wengraf was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. Career Wengraf became a matinee idol in the 1930s, and was director of the Vienna State Theatre. He emigrated to Brit ...

as Hans Eckhart * Don Dubbins as Ivar Cramer, Light Henchman *

Virginia Christine Virginia Christine (born Virginia Christine Ricketts; March 5, 1920 – July 24, 1996) was an American stage, radio, film, television, and voice actress. Though Christine had a long career as a character actress in film and television, she i ...

as Mrs. Bergh, Chaperon * Rudolph Anders as Mr. Rolfe Bergh, Chaperon *

Martine Bartlett Martine Bartlett (April 24, 1925 – April 5, 2006) was an American actress. A life member of The Actors Studio, Bartlett is best-remembered, albeit not by name, for her chilling performance as Hattie Dorsett, the seriously disturbed, abusive mot ...

as Saralee Garrett *

Karl Swenson Karl Swenson (July 23, 1908 – October 8, 1978) was an American theatre, radio, film, and television actor. Early in his career, he was credited as Peter Wayne.

as Hilding (Welcome Basket) *

John Qualen John Qualen (born Johan Mandt Kvalen, December 8, 1899 – September 12, 1987) was an American character actor of Norwegian heritage who specialized in Scandinavian roles. Early years Qualen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son ...

as Oscar (Welcome Basket) *

Ned Wever Ned Wever (born Edward Hooper Weaver; April 27, 1902 – May 6, 1984) was an actor on stage and on old-time radio. Garyn G. Roberts wrote in his book, ''Dick Tracy and American Culture: Morality and Mythology, Text and Context'', "Wever's most f ...

as Clark Wilson, U.S. Ambassador *Larry Adare as Davis Garrett *Robin Adare as Amy Garrett *

John Banner John Banner (born Johann Banner, January 28, 1910 – January 28, 1973) was an Austrian-born American actor, best known for his role as Sergeant Schultz in the situation comedy ''Hogan's Heroes'' (1965–1971). Schultz, constantly encou ...

as German Correspondent * Sven Hugo Borg as Oscar Lindblom, Dead Make-up Artist *Peter Bourne as Swedish Man *Martin Brandt as Steen Ekberg (Airport) *Paul Busch as Deck Hand *Carol Byron as Stewardess *Carl Carlsson as Swedish Visitor *

Albert Carrier Alberto Carrieri (October 16, 1919 – May 23, 2002) was an Italian-American film and television actor. He was perhaps best known for playing "Pedro Quinn" in the 1983 film '' Scarface'', with also being known for playing the role of "Captain Ja ...

as French Reporter *Jill Carson as Nudist *Jack Chefe as Reception Guest *Peter Coe as Officer *Sayre Dearing as Guest at Awards Ceremony *Noel Drayton as Constable Ströhm *

Jerry Dunphy Gerald Raymond Dunphy (June 9, 1921 – May 20, 2002) was an American television news anchor in the Los Angeles/Southern California media market. He was best known for his intro "From the desert to the sea, to all of Southern California, a go ...

as American TV News Correspondent *Harold Dyrenforth as Swedish Officer (Nudist Meeting) *

Sam Edwards Sam George Edwards (May 26, 1915 – July 28, 2004) was an American actor. His most famous role on television was as banker Bill Anderson on ''Little House on the Prairie''.D.S.S. Form 1 Military Draft Registration Card completed on October 16, ...

as Reporter *Donald Ein as Waiter *Felda Ein as Swedish Woman *

Britt Ekland Britt Ekland (; born Britt-Marie Eklund; 6 October 1942) is a Swedish actress, model and singer. She appeared in numerous films in her heyday throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including roles in '' The Double Man'' (1967), '' The Night They Raided ...

as Nudist *Birgitta Engström as Young Woman *Edith Evanson as Mrs. Ahlquist (Speak English!) *Bjørn Foss as Swedish Man *

Alice Frost Alice Frost (August 1, 1910 – January 6, 1998) was an American actress. An inaugural member of Orson Welles's Mercury Theatre on radio and the stage, she later performed the role of Pamela North on the radio series ''Mr. and Mrs. North'' for ...

as Mrs. Lindblom *Robert Garrett as Deck Hand * Gregory Gaye as Russian Reporter *Sam Harris as Guest at Award Ceremony *Erik Holland as Photographer *John Holland as Speaker * Fred Holliday as Swedish Officer (Nudist Meeting) *

Stuart Holmes Stuart Holmes (born Joseph Liebchen; March 10, 1884 – December 29, 1971) was an American actor and sculptor whose career spanned seven decades. He appeared in almost 450 films between 1909 and 1964, sometimes credited as Stewart Holmes. Biog ...

as Hotel Dining Room Guest *Mauritz Hugo as Swedish Speaker *Ike Ivarsen as Swedish Speaker *

Colin Kenny James Colin Ramsey Kenny (born December 10, 1943) is a former Canadian Senator. A member of the Liberal Party, he was appointed to the Senate in 1984 by Pierre Trudeau to represent the Rideau region of Ontario. On January 31, 2018 it was anno ...

as Guest at Awards Ceremony *Danny Klega as Deck Hand *

Anna Lee Anna Lee, MBE (born Joan Boniface Winnifrith; 2 January 1913 – 14 May 2004) was a British actress, labelled by studios "The British Bombshell". Early life Anna Lee was born Joan Boniface Winnifrith in Ightham, (pronounced 'Item'), Kent, th ...

as American Reporter *

Queenie Leonard Queenie Leonard (born Pearl Walker; 18 February 1905 – 17 January 2002) was a British actress. She was the last surviving cast member of ''And Then There Were None'' (1945) until her death in 2002. Biography She was born as Pearl Walk ...

as Miss Fawley *Annalena Lund as Blonde at Nightclub *Margareta Lund as Swedish Woman *

Lester Matthews Arthur Lester Matthews (6 June 1900 – 5 June 1975) was an English actor. In his career, the handsome Englishman made more than 180 appearances in film and on television. He was erroneously credited in later years as Les Matthews. Matthews pla ...

as BBC News Correspondent *Grazia Narciso as Madame Farelli, Dr. Carlo's Mama *Ron Nyman as Burly Swede *

Gregg Palmer Palmer Edwin Lee (January 25, 1927 – October 31, 2015), known by his stage name Gregg Palmer, was an American film and television actor. Born in San Francisco, California, Palmer served in the United States Army Air Corps as a cryptographer i ...

as Swedish Commentator *Michael Panaieff as French Correspondent * Lars Passgård as Swedish Man *Svend Petersen as Swedish Bellboy *Pam Peterson as Nudist *Sigrid Petterson as Speaker at Nudist Meeting *

Sid Raymond Sid Raymond (born Raymond Silverstein, January 21, 1909 – December 1, 2006) was an American comedian and character actor. Early years Born Raymond Silverstein in Manhattan, Raymond dropped out of New York University and became the recreation ...

as Actor (Acting Walter) *Otto Reichow as Seaman * Gene Roth as Bjornefeldt, Translator *Carl Rydin as Burly Swede *Jeffrey Sayre as Reporter at Awards Announcement / Guest at Award Ceremony *Fred Scheiwiller as Deck Hand *Maria Schroeder as Nudist * Teru Shimada as Japanese Correspondent *Bert Stevens as Guest at Award Ceremony *Lyle Sudrow as Swedish Reporter *Margarto Sullivan as Nudist *Hal Taggart as Reporter *Maiken Thornberg as Nudist *Sigfrid Tor as Swedish Waiter *Arthur Tovey as Waiter at Reception *

Ivan Triesault Ivan Triesault (born Johann Constantin Treisalt; in Reval (now Tallinn) – January 3, 1980 in Los Angeles) was an Estonian-American actor. His parents were from the island of Hiiumaa. Life His first stage appearance was at the German Theat ...

as Mr. Lindquist, Hotel Desk Porter *Raanhild Vidar as Swedish Bellboy *Karen von Unge as Hospital Receptionist * Ben Wright as British Reporter

Production

Paul Newman gave an interview to the ''New York Times'' during production on ''The Prize'', and he insisted that actors should not accept a movie just based on a novel's status as a bestseller. He spoke from experience, having been panned in a film he took because the novel was a hit. The adapted screenplay was far more important to Newman. He said that he had not read Irving Wallace's novel and probably would not until filming was finished. "When you start doing a movie after you have read the book, you find you often have to detach yourself from the novel. You have to work to blot out your original ideas about the character. My attitude toward the character I am acting must not be cluttered by what I read in the book." Mark Robson had intended to film on location in the Grand Hôtel and the

Stockholm Concert Hall The Stockholm Concert Hall ( sv, Stockholms konserthus) is the main hall for orchestral music in Stockholm, Sweden. With a design by Ivar Tengbom chosen in competition, inaugurated in 1926, the Hall is home to the Royal Stockholm Philharmoni ...

, but as the popularity of Irving Wallace's novel grew, Swedes became wary of the production. Robson had to settle on sending a crew just to shoot exteriors of the locations. His other main concern was finding the right balance in the film, "The most dangerous thing in dealing with melodrama mixed with comedy is that the laughs may come at the wrong time...I have done comedy and I have done melodrama. But this is the first time I have had to worry about both in the same picture."

Reception

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

dismissed the film as a farrago that is "all just a bit too garbled, illogical and wild." He admired the director's ambition, "Well, at least it's a fastmoving picture. Mark Robson, who directed, hasn't looked at a lot of old Alfred Hitchcock pictures, including '

The Lady Vanishes ''The Lady Vanishes'' is a 1938 British mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, based on the 1936 novel ''The Wheel Spins'' by Ethel L ...

,' for naught."Crowther, Bosley.
Screen: Fast and Loose in Stockholm
, ''New York Times''. January 24, 1964.

References

External links