The Deadly Affair (1966)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writers:

John le Carré (novel)
Paul Dehn (screenplay)

Release Date:

October 1966 (UK)

Genre:

Thriller | Drama

Plot:

A British agent sets out to uncover the hidden facts behind a British government employee's suicide. |

Plot Keywords:

Spy | Based On Novel | Independent Film

Awards:

Nominated for 5 BAFTA Film Awards.

Cast

James Mason	...	Charles Dobbs
Simone Signoret	...	Elsa Fennan
Maximilian Schell	...	Dieter Frey
Harriet Andersson	...	Ann Dobbs
Harry Andrews	...	Insp. Mendel
Kenneth Haigh	...	Bill Appleby
Roy Kinnear	...	Adam Scarr
Max Adrian	...	Adviser (Marlene Dietrich)
Lynn Redgrave	...	Virgin (in "Edward II")
Robert Flemyng	...	Samuel Fennan
Leslie Sands	...	Inspector
Corin Redgrave	...	David

Runtime:

115 min | USA:107 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Norway:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Balloon Tavern, Chelsea, London, England, UK

Company:

Sidney Lumet Film Productions

Trivia:

The first film of Timothy West.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Out of It (1969)

Faded Charm and Wasted Female Stars in this Time-Tunnel Trip to Cold War thrillers

This film is a time-tunnel trip to the Cold-War-Espionage movie boom that began in 1965 with the big hit "The Spy Who Came in from The Cold" and lasted through the early 70s. A thriller with schematic political innuendos, not hard to guess plot twists, and then racy sex issues (nymphomania, just mentioned very obliquely of course). All of it based on the novel by then-omnipresent John Le Carré -- the thinking man's answer to Ian Fleming -- featuring a cliché bossa-nova theme moodily sung by Brazilian Astrud Gilberto, a jazzy score by Quincy Jones and a classy international cast.

This is from the time when thriller plots were supposed to be "honest", meaning that it gives us clues to actually guess the denouement (very unlike today, when plot twists are so far-fetched you just give up). A film from a time when we, common spectators, could still grasp the shady games of international espionage and counter-espionage.

The trouble with "The Deadly Affair" is that it's VERY ponderous and talky, but the real shame here is the waste of the female cast. While the boys have fun with their roles, the two leading ladies, both luminous actresses, were treated badly. Simone Signoret's face is always fascinating, but her role is underwritten, unexplored and she sleepwalks through it. And what to say about poor Harriet Andersson? She -- whose work for Ingmar Bergman included her tour-de-force as schizophrenic Karin in "Through a Glass Darkly" -- is completely miscast, badly dubbed, badly photographed, badly directed. It's probably her worst performance ever!

This film won't harm you on a cold rainy sleepless night - bu it has dated badly.