Name of film – The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)
Lizard film – 021
Chosen by – Dreyer
Date – September 2018
Director – Martin Ritt
Starring – Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Oskar Werner
Duration – 112 mins
Genre – Drama, Thriller
Summary –
Alec Leamas, a British spy is sent to East Germany supposedly to defect, but in fact to sow disinformation. As more plot turns appear, Leamas becomes more convinced that his own people see him as just a cog. His struggle back from dehumanization becomes the final focus of the story.
JONES’ SCORE & REVIEW
ACTING – 9
DIRECTING – 8
SCORE/AUDIO – 7
CINEMATOGRAPHY – 8
ENTERTAINMENT – 8
TOTAL – 40/50 = 80% ****
The thriller genre is one which should excite anyone. Lizardman Dreyer’s love for John le Carré novels has now been imposed on Jones and Mashiter as this film and his next choice is “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”, another classic by this wonderful author. The big question is, would his books transfer well to the big screen? I was willing the film on as early as the Blu-Ray menu screen popped up. It’s the only ever cinema film adaptation of a le Carré story that has been entirely filmed in black and white. I was hoping it would be as classy as “The Day of the Jackal” and as enthralling as “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”. The fact that John le Carré had worked for British Intelligence MI5 and MI6 during the 1950’s and 60’s, and had worked in Berlin, drawing on his real life experiences, certainly set the perfect foundations for “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold”. Time to sit back and enjoy…
A slow piece of piano music can be heard dominating the background as we are watching the first scene unravel at Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin. The cocktail of the music, black and white images and Burton’s stoney face, was a great little opener. Instantly, it reminded me of the recent Cold War thriller “Bridge of Spies” starring Tom Hanks which I thoroughly enjoyed. The tense opening saw a man on a bike pelted with bullets and mowed down as the loud alarm bellowed at the infamous wall. Sadly, the next scene saw a disappointing moving background whilst Burton pretends to drive. It seems Hollywood took years to master the look of a static car actually looking like it’s really moving. It was 1965 though so I’ll give the film a little leeway for shit special effects.
Moving on to the cast. The main man chosen to play Alec Leamas was Richard Burton. Burt Lancaster was first choice and John le Carré would have preferred Trevor Howard or Peter Finch to star, but in my opinion, if that was the shortlist, Burton was definitely the right call. Le Carré would agree too in the end and was delighted with Richard Burton’s portrayal of the British spy.
Picking Burton as your main man for a movie came with it’s problems though. Burton wanted his wife, Elizabeth Taylor to play the leading lady, but director, Martin Ritt, preferred to cast Claire Bloom instead. To make things even more complicated, Burton and Bloom had been an item in the 1950’s and this caused friction for several reasons. Bloom preserved a dignifed distance in her caravan to keep the heat away from her though and all quiet on the western front. The name of the character of the female in the book was Liz Gold but it was changed in the film to Nan Perry. Rumours were that the name was changed from Liz as Elizabeth Taylor, meant possible name-jibes could be vented from the media. John le Carré had more of a problem that in the film, he could never understand why the innocent librarian (Claire Bloom), was not allowed to be Jewish.
Director, Martin Ritt and Richard Burton didn’t get on particularly well during the filming. However, the friction actually helped inform Burton’s performance, which many considered, one of his best. Their antagonism is believe to have stemmed from Ritt’s irritation with constant set visits from Elizabeth Taylor, then just into their 2nd year of marriage to Burton. Ritt was also protective of Claire Bloom and he felt the need to come to the young actress’ defence.
It seems Elizabeth Taylor was a bloody nightmare. The Checkpoint Charlie scenes were actually filmed in Dublin and because of the night time shoots, huge crowds would turn out to watch and inevitably delay the filming. The Taylor-Burton’s occupied the entire floor of Dublin’s Gresham Hotel, and they were visited by the likes of Yul Brynner. On more than one occasion, filming was delayed by the arguing and drunken behaviour of Burton and Taylor.
So now I’ve given you a little background with behind the scenes gossip, what’s my thoughts about Richard Burton? His quiet, distinctive voice reminds me of his fellow Welshman, Anthony Hopkins. He certainly dominates the screen with similar mannerism but he doesn’t have the warmth of Sir Anthony. His cold style of acting was ideal for this role though and he constantly had a unwelcoming glare as if you’d just fucked his wife, raped his dog, drank the last bit of liquor from his drinks cabinet, before soiling his new Persian rug on the way out. He never looked happy. His cold style of acting was like watching a dying corpse gripping on for life. Clearly being married to Taylor didn’t suit him – constantly broody and in thought – it was typical Burton. Compared to Burton, even the troubled comedian, Tony Hancock seemed as happy as Kris Akabusi. Burton had as much personality as Dave Moss after he’d just been woken from one of his 18 hour snoozes. Even the mole under Burton’s eye seemed to be haunting the audience. I noticed Burton hardly looks at any character in the eyes throughout the whole feature – very standoffish, like Jonathan Wood appearing on “Undateables”. I must point out, none of my comments above are aimed at slagging off Burton’s performance. His style was perfect for the character he was playing. I bet it was tense on set, just like when Marlon Brando refused to listen to director, Frank Oz when making “The Score”. I’ve seen Richard Burton in a handful of movies and admittingly, there’s a limit to how much I can watch him. He reminds me of Orson Welles. They both have a serious “don’t fuck with me” style, but at least they can act, unlike the deadpan Ryan Gosling, who if I had 3 bullets to kill 3 celebrities with – I’d use all 3 on that motherfucker!!! (ok maybe save one for Nicholas Cage!!!)
“How do you feel about him?
Feel?
Yes.
He’s a bastard.
Quite.”
The film felt like a typical 1960’s movie – very English. I loved the pace, the posh accents, the long drawn out conversations over a cuppa (or something stronger), the pissing down rain as Leamas leaves the pub, the beautiful script with every line carefully crafted and carried out. Of course, we were treated to a smoky stripclub too so that was the cherry on the cake. Would you believe even my name was mentioned? I nearly choked on my supper when someone calls out “Robert Jones” in the labour exchange / job centre. Cheeky bastards – I have a job. For a minute I thought I was watching “I, Daniel Blake” again. The staff in this film were about as helpful and friendly too.
“Is your handwriting legible?
Except at weekends”
Alec now has a job sorting out books with the lovely Nancy. She’s more forward than a pissed up Bev Wright on heat. She clearly wants some action and doesn’t waste any time inviting him round for food. He accepts but soon shows he’s a complete twat again. She cooks him a nice meal and whilst they share a half bottle of Scotch, he just blatantly laughs in her face and disses her when she reveals she’s a communist. She is thick skinned or clearly is horny as hell but even when Nan stuck her lips on him to say goodnight, he’s as frigid and rigid as ever – his actions a true reflection of his unwelcoming personality.
“Communism. Capitalism. It’s the innocents who get slaughtered.”
Alec is clearly a troubled guy who likes a drink. His treatment of the shopkeeper, can only be matched by Javier Bardem’s evil character in “No Country For Old Men”. We now see the main character as a nasty pisshead who likes to pick on kind hearted grocers as harmless as Ronnie Barker’s character Albert Arkwright from “Open All Hours”. I thought Bernard Lee did a grand job of playing the lowly shopkeeper. It was also a deliberately canny casting choice given Lee’s work as M in the more glamerous James Bond franchise.
Alec, just like the actor who played him – Burton, liked to drink. He carried around a bottle of whisky as much as Nigel Toye wore his bumbag. The two went in hand in hand together. A bottle of Scotch hardly left his side. He liked to hold it close to him – just like Steve Chambers always has his Slimming World membership card on him at all times. I don’t think we were suppose to warm to the main character, which suited me fine, but there was always one person who adored him – Nancy. Alec did time in prison and Nan was there on the day of his release from Wormwood Scrubs. Clearly she liked the bad boy image or was looking for any man who could stomach her Portuguese wine. At first, it appeared all he wanted was a slap up meal, whereas, all she wanted was slap and tickle, but at this stage, the only meat she was getting inside her was from her Hungarian goulash.
The soundtrack in the film continued to match the speed and personality of the main character. For me, for most of the movie, it worked well. It wasn’t trying to be all dramatic and create more tension which I liked. However, I thought something was lacking a little. I can’t quite put my finger on it but maybe at times, it did need a bit more bite from the audio side of things. For large patches, there was no background music at all – this works well in a film like “12 Angry Men” but maybe in a thriller I expected something a little more creative.
“Continue to drink. Drink but never be too drunk to think.”
My favourite acting performance (as was John le Carré’s) came from Cyril Cusack’s portrayal of Control. It reminded me of M in James Bond as he debriefs the man on a mission. He didn’t have a huge part in the film but he was very convincing and a top performance. Cyril Cusack also appeared and shined in “A Day of the Jackal” – I knew I’d seen him somewhere previously!
It wasn’t long until we were back in Nan’s apartment. Could she finally crack Alec’s shield? She was teasing more than the sexy wildling Ygritte who prick teased Jon Snow. Even though, Alec reveals he has to go early in the morning, the sexually frustrated Nan, just wanted cock. I never thought I’d type them words! My grandma will be spinning in her grave. No, not you Nana, I refer to Alec’s girl. Her patience finally paid off as she was rewarded with some nooky. I think she was tasty and I, for one, would have happily obliged and given in a lot sooner to Miss Perry’s advances. Sadly for Nancy, the next time she would be getting hot, sweaty and screaming things out, would be when she was questionned in the courtroom. I’m glad Claire Bloom played the lead role. She was actually 34 at the time of filming, even though she was suppose to be playing a teenager. Definitely a better choice than Elizabeth Taylor who could have never got away with this role. Taylor would have been more suited to play Stifler’s mom – the old slapper – more pricks than a second hand dartboard!
A quick note about the cinematography. Even though it was black and white, we were still treated to scenes in Berlin (although we now know Checkpoint Charlie was filmed in Ireland), impressive landmarks and buildings in London, and windy whistling beaches in Holland. It did the job it was asked to do without blowing the budget. The backdrop painted the scene well in each sequence. I particularly liked the William Morris wallpaper in the courtroom.
“Just who the hell do you think you are? How dare you come stamping in here like Napolean, ordering me about! You are a traitor. Does it occur to you? A wanted, spent, dishonest man. The lowest currency of the Cold War. We buy you, we sell you, we lose you, we even can shoot you.”
Two more powerful leading figures enter the movie at the key moment. At a German country house, Leamas is introduced to Fiedler (Oskar Werner), who becomes his main interrogator. Leamas’ information seems to suggest that a powerful East German intelligence officer named Mundt (Peter van Eyck) is a paid informant of the British, but the evidence is circumstantial, and Leamas repeatedly insists that Mundt could not have been a British agent without his knowledge. However, Fielder is able to confirm and expand upon on Leamus’ information and comes to the conclusion that Mundt, his supervisor, has indeed been a secret asset of British intelligence for many years. I thought both actors did a super job at playing their characters, although I couldn’t get the image of Louis Van Gaal out off my head everytime I saw Mundt’s ugly mug on screen.
Mundt unexpectedly arrives at the compound and has both Leamas and Fiedler arrested. Once Fiedler explains his findings to his superiors, the tables are turned and Mundt is arrested. A secret tribunal is convened to try Mundt, with Leamas compelled to testify. Fiedler presents a strong case for Mundt being a paid double agent. It seemed to be a case of dead man walking with a one-way argument with a poorer defence since Blackadder was accused of eating Speckled Jim. Thankfully for Comrade Mundt, his lawyer was more convincing than George and Baldrick. Mundt’s attorney uncovers several discrepancies in Leamas’ transformation into an informant, suggesting that Leamus is a faux defector. Leamas’ credibility collapses when Nan, who has been brought to East Germany for what she thought was a cultural exchange visit, is forced to testify at the tribunal and unwittingly reveals that she has been receiving payments from British intelligence. Leamas’ reluctantly admits that he is still a British agent, Fiedler is arrested as a complicit dupe, and Mundt is vindicated.
There were more twists and turns than a twisty turny thing. Leamas initially believes he has failed in his mission and fears severe retribution from Mundt. But in the middle of the night, Mundt releases Leamus from his cell and provides an escape plan for himself and Nan, who was also being held. Mundt explains that Leamus’ real mission has succeeded: Mundt actually is a British agent, and Fiedler had been the target of the operation all along, as he had grown too suspicious of his supervisor. This comes as a shock to Leamas, and the complex web he has been drawn into and the risk he has been placed in by his own superiors become painfully clear. He explains the entire plot to still idealistic Nan as they drive their borrowed car toward the border (oooh great more woeful moving screens and static car action), and she berates him for being involved in what amounts to the murder of a man, Fiedler, who was only doing his job. Leamas, agitated by her naiveté, erupts in an angry, self-loathing confession. What the hell does Nancy see in this troubled soul is beyond me?
Not being a bookworm myself I can’t compare the novel to the film. I persume the book is a lot better. It couldn’t have been easy for Paul Dehn to write the screen adaptation of the book, and I’m actually surprised the feature wasn’t longer than 2 hours, especially as the audiences in the mid-60’s were used to fairly long movies. Maybe a bit more action was needed – a strong story but a lot of padding out. I had a beef with the punching scenes too. The LvG lookalike, Mundt, appeared to slap the lampshade more than Leamus and the next thing, Burton is knocked out cold. It was about as convincing as the punch he’d given the shopkeeper earlier on in the film.
Leamas and Nan arrive at the Berlin Wall and are given instructions to climb over to the West on a particular ladder while a searchlight is purposely turned away. While Leamas is atop the wall pulling Nan behind him, the searchlight suddenly shines directly on them, alarms sound, and Nan is shot dead by Mundt’s operative, preventing her from revealing what she knows about the operation to anyone. Leamas freezes in shock and horror and is urged by agents on both sides to return to the West. Instead, he climbs down towards Nan on the eastern side of the wall and is shot dead as well.
The ending was my biggest gripe. I thought the acting, as they attempt to the climb the wall, was very wooden and it ruined the film. There wasn’t enough emotion for me and I don’t think they did a convincing job as the two main characters are killed. In fact, it was bordering an am-dram or a Mash/Jones production at Heysham High. It was like seeing Mrs Mangel being knocked off a ladder and suddenly the end of the Neighbours episode as she faints and her eyes are closed. Even though I can happily accept the storyline of how the film ended, it was just the convinction of it I didn’t like. The abrupt ending was such an anti-climax, and didn’t fit the style of the movie, in what was a slow paced film, suddenly at the blink of an eye, was all over. I think they needed to go back to the drawing board to make the ending more tense and gripping, rather than rushing off for the “it’s a wrap” aftershow party where no doubt Elizabeth Taylor was waiting with a large G&T for her hubby. Shame.
Overall, I enjoyed “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold”. A decent 80% score from Lizardman Jones. It gave me an appetite for more thrillers and we don’t have to wait too long as “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” is next on the hitlist for us to review next month.
MASHITER’S SCORE & REVIEW
ACTING – 8
DIRECTING – 8
SCORE/AUDIO – 6
CINEMATOGRAPHY – 9
ENTERTAINMENT – 6
TOTAL – 37/50 = 74% ***
“The Spy Who Came in from the Cold” is a movie based on John le Carre’s novel of the same name and stars Richard Burton in what many describe as his best ever role; playing a spy who came in from the cold. It is a spy, thriller, drama film which in a very realistic way shows us the struggle between international secret agents and communist secret police during the Cold War. It reminded me lots of the Gary Oldman film ‘Tinker, Tailor…’ but starring Burton instead, a man with no hope whatsoever of reaching the upper echelons of the acting world currently inhabited by the great man himself.
Alec Leamas is a dispirited British Secret Service agent recalled to London after the death of a fellow operative. After going on a binge drinking session not witnessed since Christmas 1995 when Mash & Jones told Bob they were getting leathered at lunch time, he is publicly humiliated and ‘defects’ to East Germany – but really he goes to sow seeds of disinformation. And that’s as far as I understood this film. Blimey it was hard to follow.
The acting was pretty good and ably directed throughout and the sparse musical score helped the film along nicely without ever dominating proceedings.
I guess I can appreciate this film but I just do not find espionage films particularly gripping in all honesty.
So it’s an appreciative 74 from me in recognition of a well made film that I found thoroughly baffling, partly because it didn’t float my boat!
ACTING 85%
DIRECTING 80%
SCORE/AUDIO 65%
CINEMATOGRAPHY 85%
ENTERTAINMENT 70%
TOTAL SCORE 77%
(RJ – 80% MM – 74%)
*** LIZARDMAN RATING OF 3 STARS ***
Lizardman Film Club 