The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Alec Leamas	Richard Burton
Nan Perry	Claire Bloom	½
Fiedler	Oskar Werner
Peters	Sam Wanamaker
Eaast German Defence Attorney	George Voskovec	-
George Smiley	Rupert Davies	-
Control	Cyril Cusack
Hans-Dieter Mundt	Peter van Eyck	½
Ashe	Michael Hordern
Dick Carlton	Robert Hardy	-
Patmore	Bernard Lee	-

Review

The world of physical espionage and counter-espionage, agents and double-agents, cold war and iron curtains in which information was sparse and terribly hard to collect and convey seems even more alien and fundamentally senseless today than it must have done for the average moviegoer in 1965. The difference, of course, is that in several European countries at the time, people actually lived in a reality where saying the wrong thing to the wrong person at the wrong time could be disastrous. And this was arguably what made John le Carré's unglamorous, demoralizing account of what life of spies was actually like fascinating for contemporary readers and subsequently viewers. In stark contrast to the James Bond movies, Martin Ritt's adaptation of The Spy Who Came In from the Cold conveys a looming, persistent uncertainty where nobody really knows who to trust and what's going on behind the scenes, not even our protagonist Alec Leamas (Richard Burton). The picture is broodingly atmospheric, thanks to fine b/w cinematography by Oswald Morris and a suggestive score by Sol Kaplan. But although the story is clever within its own terms, the film is too meticulous and plotted out for it to transcend its very specific realm. On the plus side, it doesn't come off as dated technically after over half a century, and the sociological points it makes are not only still valid today, but some of them have also retained a poetic sensibility. The fine Oskar Werner is the film's stand-out performer as an idealistic communist. Richard Burton looks (and probably was) every bit as jaded and alcoholic as Alec Leamas is supposed to be, which gives the character the right foundation. Incidentally, this newfound jadedness of his is the best aspect of his performance. When he is supposed to be aggravated and forceful, he is too stagy for the part. But his grittiness as Leamas certainly helped deglamourize the spy ideal, which was an accomplishment in itself. Le Carré was said to have been very happy with him. A sentiment which was not shared by Ritt, with whom Burton constantly clashed on set. There is also fine supporting work from Cyril Cusack, Sam Wanamaker, and Burton's old buddy Michael Hordern.