Poseidon-3 Review of The Looking Glass War

The Looking Glass War (1970)

An interesting spy film very much of its time, with stars very much of their time.

[27 December 2006]

A film very nearly forgotten today, though likely to get a small amount of new attention thanks to a recent DVD release, this movie examines the inner workings and frequent futilities of the spy game. Made at a time when the Cold War was active, it concerns the possibility of Soviet missiles being prepared in East Germany. British spies Richardson and Hopkins enlist (through virtual blackmail) the aid of a reckless and half-cocked young Pole (Jones) to sneak into East Germany and find out if reports of the missile are accurate. Jones becomes a reluctant agent, spurred on by the promise of sanctuary with the Brits if he can complete the mission. He is briefly prepped for the trip at Pickles' house where he engages in a bizarre fight with Hopkins that has a very unexpected capper involving another agent. Once on his way, things get off to a rough start when he injures himself right off the bat and then is forced to kill an East German guard mere moments after entering the country! A series of further misadventures continues, marked by his acquaintances with a shady truck driver (Robbins), a vicious dog and a lovely local girl (Degermark) who is travelling with a young boy. Meanwhile, Hopkins struggles with the ethics of his profession as his frustrated wife Massey starts to unravel emotionally. Richardson gives an assured, authoritative performance, demonstrating the stiff upper lip required for his role. Hopkins, in a very early role (though he got a late start in films to begin with) is interesting to watch. It's a somewhat uneven performance, but is reasonably arresting. He has himself stated that it wasn't until the mid-80's that he tapped in to what he considers his greatest acting tools, but he's certainly not bad here. George appears to decent effect as Jones' pregnant girlfriend and the reason he wants to avoid deportation. Degermark, most famous for her role in the international hit "Elvira Madigan", is a compelling figure. She's startlingly pretty and appealing. Sadly, her life would unspool dramatically soon after this and would never rebound completely. Similarly, Jones (who began an affair with Degermark during this film) would soon find himself out of the business and living a life of occasional drug-fueled obscurity for quite some time, making one more appearance a decade and a half after his last major film. A flash in the pan if ever there was one, he made a big splash with "Wild in the Streets" and "Three in the Attic", but then had his voice dubbed in this film and the subsequent "Ryan's Daughter", thus dooming him to a reputation of inferior performances. With his film career in stasis and facing some personal demons, he was done in the industry, perhaps of his own choosing. Here, he is wildly inconsistent. One minute he's fiercely animated in his signature James Dean way. The next he's practically comatose, barely registering behind tinted glasses. It's not necessarily a good performance, but he was intriguing enough a persona that, in any case, he's interesting to witness. The dubbing of his voice is well-handled and those not familiar with the actor would be hard-pressed to realize it. The director, clearly in tune with Jones' sex appeal, doesn't let him put a shirt on until 20 minutes into the film and often removes it some more after that! The film itself is rather austere and detached, but not without its moments of vivid incident. It's also stylishly shot with inventive camera work and use of reflective surfaces. There are also a couple of very quirky moments such as a scene involving chalk in the rain. Sure to be slow-going for a modern audience, it nonetheless remains of interest to fans of Hopkins, Jones and Degermark, the latter two having fallen off the radar soon after this, though they did make a little-known Italian together.