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Representations of Istanbul in Two Hollywood Spy Films About World War I and World War Ii

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Representations of Istanbul in Two Hollywood Spy Films About World War I and World War Ii University of Southampton Research Repository ePrints Soton Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", University of Southampton, name of the University School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination http://eprints.soton.ac.uk UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF HUMANITIES FILM REPRESENTATIONS OF ISTANBUL IN TWO HOLLYWOOD SPY FILMS ABOUT WORLD WAR I AND WORLD WAR II by H. ALİCAN PAMİR Thesis for the degree of Master of Philosophy October 2015 i ii UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT FACULTY OF HUMANITIES FILM Thesis for the degree of Master of Philosophy REPRESENTATIONS OF ISTANBUL IN TWO HOLLYWOOD SPY FILMS ABOUT WORLD WAR I AND WORLD WAR II Hüseyin Alican Pamir This thesis focuses on the representation of Istanbul in foreign spy films. Drawing on the work of Stephen Barber (2002), Charlotte Brundson (2007), David B. Clarke (1997) and Barbara Mennel (2008), the thesis proposes five city film properties, which are used when analysing Istanbul spy films. These properties are: first, ‘city landmarks, cityscapes and city spectacles’; second, ‘cinematic constructions of social life via social and power relations’; third, the ‘relationship between the protagonist and the city’; fourth, the ‘cinematic city trope and mise-en-scène’; and finally, the ‘story of a city’ or ‘the idea of a city’. It is argued in this thesis that Hollywood has represented Istanbul differently according to the West’s changing international relationship with Turkey; this is reflected in two case studies of espionage films. In Stamboul Quest (1934), Istanbul in WWI is mainly presented through the Orientalist representation of the city, since at the time the West was distancing itself from Turkey in its international relationships; the Orientalist framework depicts Istanbul as a dark and dangerous place, but also as a city with exotic allure. At the time of the production of 5 Fingers (1952), the second case study, the West and especially the United States wanted Turkey as an ally; this is reflected in the film, which depicts Istanbul as having modernised and Westernised lifestyles within its cosmopolitan and historic settings. iii iv Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................... iii List of Figures .............................................................................................................. vii Declaration of Authorship .............................................................................................. ix Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ xi Chapter One: Introduction .......................................................................................... 1 Important Works on City Films .................................................................................. 4 Studies on Istanbul in Films ...................................................................................... 14 A Discussion of Literature on the Representation of Istanbul in Cinema............. 16 Spy Genre Films ........................................................................................................ 22 Istanbul as a City of Espionage in Films ............................................................... 24 Methodology ............................................................................................................. 25 Structure .................................................................................................................... 27 Chapter Two: An Orientalist Postcard Fantasy from 1934: A Dark WWI Istanbul Representation in ‘Stamboul Quest’ .......................................................................... 29 The Context ............................................................................................................... 30 The Plot ..................................................................................................................... 31 Production ................................................................................................................. 32 Reception ................................................................................................................... 34 Filmic Analysis ......................................................................................................... 36 Representations of the City Spaces ....................................................................... 36 The Offices of Espionage Headquarters ............................................................... 43 Hotel Rooms ......................................................................................................... 49 Nightclubs ............................................................................................................. 51 Trains .................................................................................................................... 56 The Western Female Spy’s Movements in Berlin and Istanbul ........................... 58 Ottoman Women, Belly Dancing and Females Constructing Oriental City Space ............................................................................................................................... 61 Conclusion................................................................................................................. 63 Dimensions of Istanbul as Represented Through Stamboul Quest ....................... 65 v Chapter Three: Portrayal During The Cold War: A Westernised WWII Istanbul Representation in ‘5 Fingers’ (1952) ......................................................................... 67 Context ...................................................................................................................... 68 The Plot ..................................................................................................................... 69 Production ................................................................................................................. 70 Reception ................................................................................................................... 76 Filmic Analysis ......................................................................................................... 78 Representation of Istanbul .................................................................................... 80 The Galata District and Hakim’s Restaurant ........................................................ 81 The Funeral and the Mosque Scene ...................................................................... 84 The Grand Bazaar Scene ....................................................................................... 88 The District of Old Houses, the Golden Horn and the Galata Bridge Scene ........ 91 Representations of Istanbul Settings in Comparison to Ankara Settings .............. 95 Ankara Train Station and the Istanbul Express ..................................................... 96 Conclusion............................................................................................................... 101 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 107 The Changing Genre Characteristics of Spy Films ................................................. 109 Cinematic Representations of the City and Their Influence on City Branding ...... 111 Further Istanbul Films and Suggested Studies on These Films .............................. 112 Significance of the Study ........................................................................................ 115 Bibliography .............................................................................................................. 117 Filmography .............................................................................................................. 127 vi List of Figures Chapter Two Fig. 1: Oriental Istanbul Silhouette through Arabesque Window Frame...................... 37 Fig. 2: Cosmopolitan Galata Bridge on the Golden Horn. Istanbul Cityscape and Landmarks ................................................................................................................... 38 Fig. 3: Bosphorus Panorama as Istanbul Cityscape ...................................................... 38 Fig. 4: Istanbul Fortifications as a Militarised Landmark ............................................. 39 Fig. 5: Berlin Intelligence Headquarters ....................................................................... 44 Fig. 6: Laboratory in von Sturm’s Office...................................................................... 45 Fig. 7: Annemarie in Disguise in Introductory Shot ..................................................... 46 Fig. 8: Annemarie’s Entrance to Ali Bey’s Office .......................................................
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