Director Martin Ritt was a socially conscious filmmaker who focussed as much on characterisation as plot. John le Carré’s novels are noted for their close and realistic depiction of the world of espionage. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, with little in the way of the sex, glamour and action of the early James Bond films that had just been released, was more a psychological narrative – the perfect material for nuanced, underplayed performances.
Appropriately shot in a stark black and white, disgraced British spy Alec Leamas (Richard Burton) defects to the east, determined to expose the Head of the Abteilung (East German secret service) as a double agent. Little goes as anticipated. Leamas has committed the cardinal sin of espionage – recently falling in love. With the unexpected appearance of the naive, caring librarian Nan Perry (Claire Bloom) in Berlin, plans go awry and Leamas is forced to question his loyalties.
An icily-controlled Burton (he received his fourth Oscar nomination for the role), uncharacteristically subdued, is compelling as Leamas. But the film itself, for all its humanity, is a little too grim, a little too bleak. It’s no place for heroics, nor levity.
Nominated for 2 Oscars in 1966 (best actor & art direction)
Rating: 59%
Director: Martin Ritt (Hud, Norma Rae)
Writer: Paul Dehn (Murder on the Orient Express, The Night of the Generals), Guy Trosper (Birdman of Alcatraz, One-Eyed Jacks) – based on the novel by John le Carré
Main cast: Richard Burton (Becket, Equus), Claire Bloom (Look Back in Anger, The King’s Speech), Oskar Werner (Ship of Fools, Jules and Jim)
An Opinion or Two 