Movie, 1959 A curious film, which is neither thriller, satire nor comedy but has a potshot at each of them along the way. The result feels a little downbeat, though reasonably enjoyable, with an odd, jarring ‘Third Man’ dramatic photo composition here and there and the odd moment of real discomfort along the way. More, you feel, could have been made if the film went more … Continue reading ‘Our Man in Havana,’ directed by Carol Reed
Novel, 1961 The first George Smiley novel, setting the scene with some wonderful character building, domestic-based espionage and a generally downbeat atmosphere which feels both plausible and eerie. The familiarity with setting and the low key action both draw the reader in, and the lack of glamour – made explicit in the opening description of Smiley’s failed marriage – contrast with other tropes and examples … Continue reading “Call for the Dead,” by John Le Carré
Movie, 2018 A welcome characterisation of a strong female central character, dumped, somewhat, in what feels like and old-fashioned anti-Russian espionage film, albeit from the Russian Red Sparrow’s point of view. While much of the film feels modern, the routing out of the mole, the nipping across borders and coming up against double agents is a little passé, while the sex and gore feel overdone … Continue reading “Red Sparrow,” directed by Francis Lawrence
Novel, 1962 Cold War spy novel, in which an unnamed operative charges around the world, getting sucked into plots, counter plots and chasing scientists, exotic cuisine, and heavy hints of boredom and sexual intrigue. the book falters between scenes and rapid changes in tempo and the situations of its main character, and is a little distracting. A jovial tone – again, a little distracting – … Continue reading ‘The Ipcress File,’ by Len Deighton
Movie, 1965 Bleak, eerie and nihilistic existences in the Cold War, partly set in London, Berlin and other locations in Germany. A poetic despondency hangs over this film depicting the lives of an aging operative and a young Communist idealist, who both seem to exist and to not exist, and are both played in a strange, murky world full and empty of rain, pettiness, flamboyant … Continue reading “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold”, directed by Martin Ritt
Novel, 1939 Spy thriller, whose touch of paranoia and the shadowy role of bankers give it a more contemporary edge – with only a few twists and adjustments, this could be a late 60s Pynchony romp or a story for our own times. Some lovely descriptive touches and an establishment of the world of espionage on some rather sordid activity and a cast of fairly … Continue reading "The Mask of Dimitrios", by Eric Ambler
Movie, 1944 Movie dramatisation of Eric Ambler’s Epitaph for a Spy, whose departures from the book rather let it down. A young James Mason is good value, but a little switched on and glamorous as the bungling ‘hero’ Vadassy and the amateurish antics in the novel, which give it its tension, are rather smoothed out. Still, there’s a dreamy interplay and set and some great … Continue reading "Hotel Reserve", directed by Lance Comfort, Mutz Greenbaum and Victor Hanbury
Novel, 1938 Effective, nicely paced and well-told story of a man’s dilemma and problems after he’s arrested under suspicion of spying against the French just before the Second World War. The careless and bungling nature of the protagonist and the fact he’s played by many of the other characters in the book give a refreshing feel to the book, although there’s also some ill ease … Continue reading "Epitath for a Spy", by Eric Ambler
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