Instead of coming in from the Cold War, British agent Alec Leamas chooses to face another mission.Instead of coming in from the Cold War, British agent Alec Leamas chooses to face another mission.Instead of coming in from the Cold War, British agent Alec Leamas chooses to face another mission.
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 10 wins & 5 nominations total
- Hans-Dieter Mundt
- (as Peter Van Eyck)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAfter Richard Burton became a superstar, he insisted on casting his friends from his days at the Old Vic and West End (London's equivalent to New York City's Broadway). Friends of Burton's cast in this movie included Michael Hordern and Robert Hardy. Burton's former leading lady (on-stage and in two movies) Claire Bloom, however, was cast by Martin Ritt. This caused friction for several reasons: Burton had wanted his wife, Elizabeth Taylor, in the role, and he and Bloom had been an item in the 1950s. John le Carré remembers that "off-screen Bloom preserved a dignified distance in her caravan".
- GoofsAt the beginning of the film they say that Leamas has been waiting for days for the arrival of Riemeck. This behavior doesn't make sense, as it gives away the arrival of a defector to the opposing side.
- Quotes
Alec Leamas: It was a foul, foul operation, but it paid off.
Nan Perry: Who for?
Alec Leamas: What the hell do you think spies are? Moral philosophers measuring everything they do against the word of God or Karl Marx? They're not! They're just a bunch of seedy, squalid bastards like me: little men, drunkards, queers, henpecked husbands, civil servants playing cowboys and Indians to brighten their rotten little lives. Do you think they sit like monks in a cell, balancing right against wrong? Yesterday I would have killed Mundt because I thought him evil and an enemy. But not today. Today he is evil and my friend. London needs him. They need him so that the great, moronic masses you admire so much can sleep soundly in their flea-bitten beds again. They need him for the safety of ordinary, crummy people like you and me...
Nan Perry: You killed Fiedler!
Alec Leamas: How big does a cause have to be before you kill your friends? What about your Party? There's a few million bodies on that path!
- ConnectionsFeatured in Great Performances: Richard Burton: In from the Cold (1988)
The movie is from the John Le Carre novel and is a hard-nosed look at the world of international espionage and double agents, as different from the Bond movies as night from day.
Stripped of glamour and endless sunshine, Martin Ritt, the director, uses black and white, rain and wind to enhance the story. One could say the cinematography is a character in itself.
There is no distinction here between the good guys and the bad guys. Spies are of themselves irredeemably evil men in the game for their own nefarious purposes, divorced from all that is decent and humane.
Burton's eyes constantly reflect this as he manages to infiltrate the East Communist Bloc and plays the game instigated by his "Control" in London.
Claire Bloom portrays his innocent young girlfriend, naive and pliable. Oskar Werner and Peter Van Eyck play the East Germans fighting for control of Burton's memoirs and each other.
It is hard to be believe that Burton lost his Oscar to Lee Marvin (in Cat Ballou!!) when he so richly deserved it for his once in a lifetime performance in "The Spy--" Cyril Cusack has a wonderful supporting role as "Control" and just about steals his two scenes from Burton. He never disappoints.
I loved this film in the theatre when it was released and subsequent viewings never fail to enthrall me.
8 out of 10.
- wisewebwoman
- Feb 6, 2009
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- John le Carré's The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
- Filming locations
- Smithfield Market, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland(Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin - opening scene: Leamas waits for the agent to come through the border from East Germany)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $342
- Runtime1 hour 52 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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