"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" (1979) TV series

Director:

John Irvin

Writers:

John le Carré (novel) and
Arthur Hopcraft (dramatisation)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

29 September 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

George Smiley has been retired for about a year when he finds a friend from the circus, his old outfit...

Plot Keywords:

Spy | British Intelligence | KGB | Mole | Espionage

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 4 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Alec Guinness	...	George Smiley (7 episodes, 1979)
Michael Jayston	...	Peter Guillam (7 episodes, 1979)
Anthony Bate	...	Sir Oliver Lacon / ... (7 episodes, 1979)
George Sewell	...	Mendel (6 episodes, 1979)
Bernard Hepton	...	Toby Esterhase (5 episodes, 1979)
Ian Richardson	...	Bill Haydon (5 episodes, 1979)
Hywel Bennett	...	Ricki Tarr (5 episodes, 1979)
Terence Rigby	...	Roy Bland (4 episodes, 1979)
Ian Bannen	...	Jim Prideaux (4 episodes, 1979)
Michael Aldridge	...	Percy Alleline (4 episodes, 1979)
Alec Sabin	...	Fawn (4 episodes, 1979)
Alexander Knox	...	Control (3 episodes, 1979)
Duncan Jones	...	Roach (3 episodes, 1979)
Daniel Beecher	...	Spikely (3 episodes, 1979)

Series Directed by
John Irvin		(unknown episodes)

Series Writing credits
Arthur Hopcraft		(unknown episodes)
John le Carré		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Jonathan Powell	....	producer (7 episodes, 1979)

Series Original Music by
Geoffrey Burgon		(7 episodes, 1979)

Series Cinematography by
Tony Pierce-Roberts		(unknown episodes)

Series Film Editing by
Chris Wimble		(4 episodes, 1979)
Clare Douglas		(3 episodes, 1979)

Series Production Design by
Austen Spriggs		(7 episodes, 1979)

Series Costume Design by
Joyce Mortlock		(7 episodes, 1979)

Series Makeup Department
Elizabeth Rowell	....	makeup artist (7 episodes, 1979)

Series Art Department
Douglas Burd	....	graphic designer (7 episodes, 1979)

Series Sound Department
Michael Crozier	....	dubbing editor (7 episodes, 1979)
Stan Morcom	....	dubbing mixer (7 episodes, 1979)
Malcolm Webberley	....	sound recordist (7 episodes, 1979)

Series Editorial Department
Simon Holland	....	trainee assistant film editor (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
Peter Grimwade	....	production assistant (7 episodes, 1979)
Tony Virgo	....	production assistant (7 episodes, 1979)
Marcia Wheeler	....	production unit manager (7 episodes, 1979)
Betty Willingale	....	script editor (7 episodes, 1979)
Christabel Albery	....	assistant floor manager (unknown episodes)
Frances Alcock	....	assistant to director / script supervisor (unknown episodes)
Jeremy Silberston	....	assistant floor manager (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• BBC Worldwide (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• Great Performances
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1980) (USA) (TV) (original airing)

Runtime:

290 min | UK:350 min (7 parts)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Bywater Street, Chelsea, London, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

Smiley's address is No. 9 Bywater Street, Chelsea. Scenes at his home were filmed at the real No. 10 Bywater Street.

Goofs:

Continuity: In episode 5, Fawn's hair is shaggy and hangs over his ears. A day later (in episode 6) it is short and trim. He's been guarding the kidnapped Toby Esterhase for the intervening period, so he could hardly have run out and got it cut.

Quotes:

Control: And now there's a Witchcraft committee! The Minister's in the chair, Alleline's vice-chairman. Merlin's become an industry, it's THE industry and I'm not employed!
George Smiley: You won't even read Alleline's reports.
Control: I haven't time! Buying their way in with counterfeit money, tell them that. Tell them anything, I need time! There are three of them, and Alleline. Sweat them, George, bully them, any damn thing, give them whatever they eat, I need time!

Movie Connections:

Followed by "Smiley's People" (1982)

Definitely in the BBC pantheon...

Definitely in the BBC pantheon (alongside I Claudius and Pride and Prejudice), partly for its formidable cast, but mainly for John Irvin's taut directorial grip - a model of visual economy and uncompromising narrative drive.

A double-agent or 'mole' is suspected at the top levels of the British secret service and retired spymaster Alec Guiness must narrow down the suspects amongst his former colleagues. Arthur Hopcraft's adaptation, while capturing the bureaucratic intrigue and perfidy of John Le Carre's novel, will demand viewers' utmost attention if they want to stay with the unfolding plot.

Irvin shoots Tinker, Tailor as if for widescreen - edge of the screen compositions, careful background detail - and demonstrates how a determined director can overcome the limitations of television(usually seen as a writer or producer's medium). Look at how he composes and cuts the scene where Guillam (Michael Jayston) is interrogated round the boardroom table towards the end of the first half. How Irvin provides deft little 'bookend' shots with the characters slowly walking away from camera.

Not that his sparse, pared-down style doesn't translate to action scenes with equal verve. The prologue - Ian Bannen's abortive mission into Czechoslovakia and its climatic chase through the forest - is as tense as anything you're likely to see on the big screen. Wintry settings and a fraught music score (mainly strings) add to this bleak, cynical vision.

Irvin landed the Hollywood actioner Dogs of War on the strength of Tinker, Tailor, but despite clever touches it didn't launch a notable cinema career. Look out, however, for his earlier television adaptation of Dickens' Hard Times. (For another example of very superior television direction, check out James Goldstone's handling of two first-season Star Trek episodes - 'Where No Man Has Gone Before' and 'What Are Little Made Of').

Author Le Carre may have topped Tinker,Tailor with a dazzling sequel (The Honourable Schoolboy, published 1977), but this is still far and away the best espionage suspenser ever televised. Indeed, it's hard to see how anything else, post Cold War, could quite match this relentless, ruthless dissection of personal and political betrayals.