Some American critics complained that there was no Hollywood star in the movie such as Ingrid Bergman or Cary Grant although the cast included the renowned international film stars (Claude Jade, Michel Piccoli, and Philippe Noiret), the last of whom had previous successes that had been primarily in France. Some attribute Hitchcock's casting choices to his negative experience of working with Paul Newman on "Torn Curtain", but Hitchcock is said to have approached Sean Connery, who had worked with him in "Marnie", for André and Catherine Deneuve for his wife. Some critics have inferred that Hitchcock was hoping to groom the relatively-unknown Frederick Stafford as a star of his own making, like Tippi Hedren; however, Stafford remained unknown in Hollywood though he had a lengthy career in European films.