Spy Who Came in from the Cold (The)

 

Genre: espionage thriller (in black and white)

With: Richard Burton (Alec Leamas), Claire Bloom (Nancy Perry), Oskar Werner (Fiedler), Sam Wanamaker (Peters), George Voskovec (Comrade Karden), Rupert Davies (George Smiley), Cyril Cusack (Control), Peter van Eyck (Hans-Dieter Mundt), Michael Hordern (Ashe)

Director: Martin Ritt

Screenplay: Paul Dehn and Guy Trosper (based on John le Carré's novel)

Release: 1965

Studio: Salem Films Limited

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.6/10 

 

‟There’s only one rule: expediency.” 

 

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Story-line: when his efforts to protect an East German defector are thwarted in Berlin, British agent Alec Leamas is called back to London and offered a desk job. Dissatisfied with this new assignment, he becomes frustrated, reckless and even violent.

Pluses: an intense performance by Richard Burton, excellent support from Claire Bloom, Oskar Werner and cast, a formidable screenplay using logic, sly humour and blunt dialogues to show the dark, unflashy side of espionage, great cinematography (the exteriors especially), able direction that weaves a tight web of intrigue, a superbly mysterious musical score, convenient production values and a forceful ending.

Minuses: when Leamas and Ashe meet for lunch at a restaurant, pay attention to the paintings on the wall… frankly, I wouldn’t want them in my living room!

Comments: according to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, to ‟come in from the cold” means ‟to become part of a group or of normal society again after one has been outside it”. In our case, Alec Leamas may have taken a step back in his career but his new endeavours won’t be any less strenuous, as Martin Ritt shows us in this magnificent and absorbing film. Don’t expect explosions, glamour or fancy gadgets from THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD… only murk, hidden intentions and a brutal game in which the stakes are sky-high for everyone, even the common citizen.          

 

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