not engaging. it doesn't really get you

The Major problem was the interference of Universal Executives. Hitchcock was dissatisfied with the script. He wanted to do change many things in the script. But he couldn't do it, because of the limited availability of Julie Andrews.

Hitchcock originally wanted Eva Marie Saint for the leading female role. But the studio forced him to cast Julie Andrews. And also the ending Hitchcock wanted was never used, because Universal Executives didn't agree with his ending.

I think Hitchcock's Torn Curtain would have been far more successful if he was able to make this film at Paramount or MGM. But not at Universal.

The scene that really irks me is the scene where Armstrong (Newman) and the German scientist exchange their findings by writing on a blackboard and never talking. I have been a mathematician for almost 40 years and have collaborated with other scientists and engineers. When we write on the board, we talk about what we are doing, how we got these ideas and so on. This scene is so phony to me and to anyone else who has worked in science. It just is never done the way it is in the movie.

I disagree, I find it highly engaging. This movie is, IMHO, a perfectly crafted suspense movie, full of great details that most modern-day movies fail to use. For example, you can never imagine that the annoying ballerina will reappear later on and play an important part in the story. Hitchcock also, once again gives a lesson on how to create suspense with just a few elements and a wise use of the camera and all the resources available. The sequences at the farmhouse, at the museum, on the bus, etc. are examples of this. Hitchcock had more of an understanding of suspense in his little finger than all the current filmmakers of this genre in the whole of their careers.