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The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (film)
Encyclopedia
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is a 1965 film
adaptation of the novel of the same name
by John le Carré
. It was adapted by Paul Dehn
and Guy Trosper
. The film stars Richard Burton
as Alec Leamas, along with Claire Bloom
, Oskar Werner
, Peter van Eyck
, Sam Wanamaker
, Rupert Davies
and Cyril Cusack
. It was directed by Martin Ritt
.
), has not been doing well. In fact, he is recalled to London shortly after the death of one of his operatives. Leamas is seemingly demoted to the banking section of the agency. In reality, a carefully staged transformation of Leamas has been arranged. Now depressed and disgruntled, he is quickly spotted by the East German Intelligence Service as a potential defector.
Leamas accepts overtures from German communists to reveal British secrets for payment, and he is interviewed in Holland about what he knows. When the process is later moved to East Berlin
, the interviews become less cordial. It appears Leamas has information that will implicate a powerful East German intelligence officer named Mundt as a paid informant of the British, but the information is spotty and it frustrates his interrogator, "Herr Fiedler" (Oskar Werner
). When Mundt arrives at the compound and discovers the investigation, he has both Leamas and Fiedler arrested. Mundt himself is eventually arrested.
An East German tribunal ensues to determine the guilt of Mundt, or possibly Fiedler, with Leamas appearing as a star witness. Mundt's attorney (George Voskovec) uncovers several discrepancies in Leamas' transformation into an informant. Leamas' credibility is further undermined when his English girlfriend, an unassuming and idealistic communist named Nan Perry (Claire Bloom
), is brought into the hearings to confirm Leamas' character. As Leamas' charade unravels and he is forced to admit he is still working as a British agent, Fiedler is escorted from the room as a complicit dupe and Mundt's reputation is untarnished.
Leamas initially believes he has failed in his mission and he will soon be executed. But when Mundt releases him from his cell with an escape plan in tow, he learns that his mission has actually succeeded; Fiedler was the agent to be undermined and Mundt was indeed a British agent. Although this comes as a surprise to Leamas (for he has steadfastly insisted to Fielder that the Circus could not possibly have run an agent in East Germany without his, Leamas's, knowing about it), he isn't completely shocked by the revelation. As he and Perry sit in a car waiting to be escorted from communist Germany, she berates him as being involved in murder; the execution of Fiedler who was guilty of nothing. Leamas, agitated by Perry's naiveté, tells her that her worldview is childish and people are murdered every day - on both sides - while she lives an insulated life: "What do you think spies are?" he asks. "They are a bunch of seedy squalid bastards like me, little drunkards, queers, henpecked husbands ..."
Leamas and Perry are soon ushered to the Berlin Wall and given accommodation to leave. But Perry has learned too much about Mundt's true identity and is not trustworthy to retain it. She becomes a victim of the Cold War and is shot down before canvassing the wall. Leamas then looks down from the top of the wall at Perry, while agents from both sides urge him to return to the west. He instead goes to Perry's lifeless body, and in doing so he joins her fate.
. Two other significant differences are a) that there are no references to Liz Gold's/Nan Perry's Jewishness, which fact figures in the novel as both she and Fiedler are subject to antisemitic taunts, and b) the explanation of the film's/novel's title by Control's suggesting to George Smiley that Leamas' decision to join Gold/Perry in death represented his final wish to reenter the warmth of human love and companionship and thus "Come in from the Cold" of isolation and alienation that characterizes the life of the spy.
for Best Actor in a Leading Role
(Richard Burton) and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White
(Hal Pereira
, Tambi Larsen
, Ted Marshall
, Josie MacAvin
). Oskar Werner won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Fiedler. The film was awarded four BAFTA
Awards, including Best British Film and Best British Actor (Burton). The screenwriters, Paul Dehn and Guy Trosper, received an Edgar Award
for best movie screenplay.
1965 in film
The year 1965 in film involved some significant events, with The Sound of Music topping the U.S. box office.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
adaptation of the novel of the same name
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold , by John le Carré, is a British Cold War spy novel that became famous for its portrayal of Western espionage methods as being morally inconsistent with Western democracy and values. The novel received critical acclaim at the time of its publication and became an...
by John le Carré
John le Carré
David John Moore Cornwell , who writes under the name John le Carré, is an author of espionage novels. During the 1950s and the 1960s, Cornwell worked for MI5 and MI6, and began writing novels under the pseudonym "John le Carré"...
. It was adapted by Paul Dehn
Paul Dehn
Paul Dehn was a British screenwriter.-Biography and work:Dehn was born in 1912 in Manchester, England. He was educated at Shrewsbury School, and attended Brasenose College, Oxford...
and Guy Trosper
Guy Trosper
Guy Trosper was an American screenwriter. He came to prominence in Hollywood because of his scripts for two baseball movies: The Stratton Story in 1949, a big hit for James Stewart, and The Pride of St...
. The film stars Richard Burton
Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
as Alec Leamas, along with Claire Bloom
Claire Bloom
Claire Bloom is an English film and stage actress.-Early life:Bloom was born in the North London suburb of Finchley, the daughter of Elizabeth and Edward Max Blume, who worked in sales...
, Oskar Werner
Oskar Werner
-Early life:Born Oskar Josef Bschließmayer in Vienna, Werner spent much of his childhood in the care of his grandmother, who entertained him with stories about the Burgtheater, the Austrian state theatre, where he was accepted at the age of eighteen by Lothar Müthel. He was the youngest person ever...
, Peter van Eyck
Peter van Eyck
Peter van Eyck, born Götz von Eick , was a German-American actor.-Biography:...
, Sam Wanamaker
Sam Wanamaker
Samuel Wanamaker was an American film director and actor and is credited as the person most responsible for the modern recreation of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London...
, Rupert Davies
Rupert Davies
Rupert Davies was a British actor. He remains best known for playing the title role in the BBC's 1960s television adaptation of Maigret, based on the Maigret novels written by Georges Simenon....
and Cyril Cusack
Cyril Cusack
Cyril James Cusack was an Irish actor, who appeared in more than 90 films.-Early life:Cusack was born in Durban, Natal, South Africa, the son of Alice Violet , an actress, and James Walter Cusack, a sergeant in the Natal mounted police. His parents separated when he was young and his mother took...
. It was directed by Martin Ritt
Martin Ritt
Martin Ritt was an American director, actor, and playwright who worked in both film and theater. He was born in New York City.-Early career and influences:...
.
Plot
The West Berlin office of the Circus, under administrator Alec Leamas (Richard BurtonRichard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
), has not been doing well. In fact, he is recalled to London shortly after the death of one of his operatives. Leamas is seemingly demoted to the banking section of the agency. In reality, a carefully staged transformation of Leamas has been arranged. Now depressed and disgruntled, he is quickly spotted by the East German Intelligence Service as a potential defector.
Leamas accepts overtures from German communists to reveal British secrets for payment, and he is interviewed in Holland about what he knows. When the process is later moved to East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
, the interviews become less cordial. It appears Leamas has information that will implicate a powerful East German intelligence officer named Mundt as a paid informant of the British, but the information is spotty and it frustrates his interrogator, "Herr Fiedler" (Oskar Werner
Oskar Werner
-Early life:Born Oskar Josef Bschließmayer in Vienna, Werner spent much of his childhood in the care of his grandmother, who entertained him with stories about the Burgtheater, the Austrian state theatre, where he was accepted at the age of eighteen by Lothar Müthel. He was the youngest person ever...
). When Mundt arrives at the compound and discovers the investigation, he has both Leamas and Fiedler arrested. Mundt himself is eventually arrested.
An East German tribunal ensues to determine the guilt of Mundt, or possibly Fiedler, with Leamas appearing as a star witness. Mundt's attorney (George Voskovec) uncovers several discrepancies in Leamas' transformation into an informant. Leamas' credibility is further undermined when his English girlfriend, an unassuming and idealistic communist named Nan Perry (Claire Bloom
Claire Bloom
Claire Bloom is an English film and stage actress.-Early life:Bloom was born in the North London suburb of Finchley, the daughter of Elizabeth and Edward Max Blume, who worked in sales...
), is brought into the hearings to confirm Leamas' character. As Leamas' charade unravels and he is forced to admit he is still working as a British agent, Fiedler is escorted from the room as a complicit dupe and Mundt's reputation is untarnished.
Leamas initially believes he has failed in his mission and he will soon be executed. But when Mundt releases him from his cell with an escape plan in tow, he learns that his mission has actually succeeded; Fiedler was the agent to be undermined and Mundt was indeed a British agent. Although this comes as a surprise to Leamas (for he has steadfastly insisted to Fielder that the Circus could not possibly have run an agent in East Germany without his, Leamas's, knowing about it), he isn't completely shocked by the revelation. As he and Perry sit in a car waiting to be escorted from communist Germany, she berates him as being involved in murder; the execution of Fiedler who was guilty of nothing. Leamas, agitated by Perry's naiveté, tells her that her worldview is childish and people are murdered every day - on both sides - while she lives an insulated life: "What do you think spies are?" he asks. "They are a bunch of seedy squalid bastards like me, little drunkards, queers, henpecked husbands ..."
Leamas and Perry are soon ushered to the Berlin Wall and given accommodation to leave. But Perry has learned too much about Mundt's true identity and is not trustworthy to retain it. She becomes a victim of the Cold War and is shot down before canvassing the wall. Leamas then looks down from the top of the wall at Perry, while agents from both sides urge him to return to the west. He instead goes to Perry's lifeless body, and in doing so he joins her fate.
Cast
- Richard BurtonRichard BurtonRichard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
as Alec Leamas - Claire BloomClaire BloomClaire Bloom is an English film and stage actress.-Early life:Bloom was born in the North London suburb of Finchley, the daughter of Elizabeth and Edward Max Blume, who worked in sales...
as Nan Perry - Oskar WernerOskar Werner-Early life:Born Oskar Josef Bschließmayer in Vienna, Werner spent much of his childhood in the care of his grandmother, who entertained him with stories about the Burgtheater, the Austrian state theatre, where he was accepted at the age of eighteen by Lothar Müthel. He was the youngest person ever...
as Fiedler - Sam WanamakerSam WanamakerSamuel Wanamaker was an American film director and actor and is credited as the person most responsible for the modern recreation of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London...
as Peters - George Voskovec as East German Defense Attorney
- Rupert DaviesRupert DaviesRupert Davies was a British actor. He remains best known for playing the title role in the BBC's 1960s television adaptation of Maigret, based on the Maigret novels written by Georges Simenon....
as George SmileyGeorge SmileyGeorge Smiley is a fictional character created by John le Carré. Smiley is an intelligence officer working for MI6 , the British overseas intelligence agency... - Cyril CusackCyril CusackCyril James Cusack was an Irish actor, who appeared in more than 90 films.-Early life:Cusack was born in Durban, Natal, South Africa, the son of Alice Violet , an actress, and James Walter Cusack, a sergeant in the Natal mounted police. His parents separated when he was young and his mother took...
as Control - Peter van EyckPeter van EyckPeter van Eyck, born Götz von Eick , was a German-American actor.-Biography:...
as Hans-Dieter Mundt - Michael HordernMichael HordernSir Michael Murray Hordern was an English actor, knighted in 1983 for his services to the theatre, which stretched back to before the Second World War.-Personal life:...
as Ashe - Robert HardyRobert HardyTimothy Sydney Robert Hardy, CBE, FSA is an English actor with a long career in the theatre, film and television. He is also an acknowledged expert on the longbow.-Early life:...
as Dick Carlton - Bernard LeeBernard LeeJohn Bernard Lee was an English actor, best known for his role as M in the first eleven James Bond films.-Life and career:...
as Patmore - Beatrix LehmannBeatrix LehmannBeatrix Alice Lehmann was a British actress, theatre director and author.She trained at the RADA and made her stage debut as Peggy in a 1924 production The Way of the World at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith. As well as her extensive theatrical career she appeared in films and on television...
as Tribunal President - Esmond KnightEsmond KnightEsmond Penington Knight was an English actor.He was an accomplished actor with a career spanning over half a century. For much of his career Esmond Knight was virtually blind...
as Old Judge - Tom Stern as CIA Agent
- Niall MacGinnisNiall MacGinnisNiall MacGinnis was an Irish actor who made 80 screen appearances.-Early life:MacGinnis was born in Dublin in 1913. He was educated at Stonyhurst College in England, and studied medicine at Dublin University. He qualified as a house surgeon...
as German Checkpoint Guard - Scott Finch as German Guide
- Anne Blake as Miss Crail
- George MikellGeorge MikellGeorge Mikell is an actor and writer most well known for his performances in The Guns of Navarone and The Great Escape...
as German Checkpoint Guard - Richard MarnerRichard MarnerRichard Marner, born Alexander Molchanoff was a Russian-born British actor. He was probably best known for his role as Colonel Kurt Von Strohm in the British sitcom Allo 'Allo!.-Early life:...
as Vopo Captain - Warren MitchellWarren MitchellWarren Mitchell is an English actor who rose to initial prominence in the role of bigoted cockney Alf Garnett in the BBC television sitcom Till Death Us Do Part , and its sequels Till Death... and In Sickness and in Health , all of which were written by Johnny Speight...
as Mr. Zanfrello - Steve PlytasSteve PlytasSteve Plytas was an actor who worked in British films and television....
as East German Judge
Production
The film closely follows the plot of the novel. One exception is that the name of the principal female character, "Liz Gold" in the novel, is changed to "Nan Perry," supposedly because the producers were worried about out-of-context quotes of Burton from the film being used in reference to his real-life wife, Elizabeth "Liz" TaylorElizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
. Two other significant differences are a) that there are no references to Liz Gold's/Nan Perry's Jewishness, which fact figures in the novel as both she and Fiedler are subject to antisemitic taunts, and b) the explanation of the film's/novel's title by Control's suggesting to George Smiley that Leamas' decision to join Gold/Perry in death represented his final wish to reenter the warmth of human love and companionship and thus "Come in from the Cold" of isolation and alienation that characterizes the life of the spy.
Reception
The film was nominated for Academy AwardsAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
(Richard Burton) and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White
Academy Award for Best Art Direction
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
(Hal Pereira
Hal Pereira
Hal Pereira was an American art director and production designer....
, Tambi Larsen
Tambi Larsen
Tambi Larsen was a Dane born in Bangalore, India. He emigrated to the United States at the age of 20, where he attended Yale Drama School. He married Barbara Dole in 1941 and became an American citizen in 1943. Tambi struggled to make a living as a set designer for Broadway shows...
, Ted Marshall
Ted Marshall
Ted Marshall was a British art director. He was nominated for two Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:* Tom Jones * The Spy Who Came in from the Cold -External links:...
, Josie MacAvin
Josie MacAvin
Josie MacAvin was an Irish set decorator. She won an Academy Award and was nominated two more times in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:...
). Oskar Werner won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Fiedler. The film was awarded four BAFTA
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
Awards, including Best British Film and Best British Actor (Burton). The screenwriters, Paul Dehn and Guy Trosper, received an Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
for best movie screenplay.