"Cambridge Spies" (2003) TV mini-series

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

9 May 2003 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot Keywords:

Dancing | Car Crashes Through A Fence | Water Fountain | Billiards | War Planning

Awards:

3 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Tom Hollander	...	Guy Burgess (4 episodes, 2003)
Toby Stephens	...	Kim Philby (4 episodes, 2003)
Rupert Penry-Jones	...	Donald Maclean (4 episodes, 2003)
Samuel West	...	Anthony Blunt (4 episodes, 2003)
Stuart Laing	...	Jack Hewit (3 episodes, 2003)
Darrell D'Silva	...	Henry (2 episodes, 2003)
Anna-Louise Plowman	...	Melinda Maclean (2 episodes, 2003)
Ronald Pickup	...	Colonel Winter (2 episodes, 2003)
Marcel Iures	...	Otto (2 episodes, 2003)
Angus Wright	...	Guy Liddell (2 episodes, 2003)
Patrick Kennedy	...	Julian Bell (2 episodes, 2003)
Colin Higgins	...	Porter (2 episodes, 2003)
John Light	...	James Angleton (2 episodes, 2003)
Imelda Staunton	...	The Queen (2 episodes, 2003)

Series Directed by
Tim Fywell		(4 episodes, 2003)

Series Writing credits
Peter Moffat		(4 episodes, 2003)

Series Produced by
Alison Gee	....	co-producer (4 episodes, 2003)
Laura Mackie	....	executive producer (4 episodes, 2003)
Gareth Neame	....	executive producer (4 episodes, 2003)
Mark Shivas	....	producer (4 episodes, 2003)
Sally Woodward Gentle	....	executive producer (4 episodes, 2003)

Series Original Music by
John Lunn		(4 episodes, 2003)

Series Cinematography by
David Higgs		(4 episodes, 2003)

Series Film Editing by
Chris Gill		(4 episodes, 2003)

Series Casting by
Karen Lindsay-Stewart		(4 episodes, 2003)

Series Production Design by
Mike Gunn		(4 episodes, 2003)

Series Art Direction by
Hannah Moseley		(unknown episodes)
Emer O'Sullivan		(unknown episodes)

Series Set Decoration by
Tina Jones		(unknown episodes)

Series Costume Design by
Charlotte Walter		(4 episodes, 2003)

Series Makeup Department
Lisa Westcott	....	hair designer / makeup designer (4 episodes, 2003)
Jayne Buxton	....	hair stylist / makeup artist (unknown episodes)
Julie Dartnell	....	hair stylist / makeup artist (unknown episodes)
Polly Fehily	....	hair stylist / makeup artist (unknown episodes)
Bea Millas	....	makeup artist (unknown episodes)

Series Production Management
Toby Eliot	....	unit manager (unknown episodes)
Nicholas Leslie	....	production manager (unknown episodes)
Charlie Woodhouse	....	production manager: Spain (unknown episodes)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Chris Fry	....	first assistant director (unknown episodes)
Lee Grumett	....	third assistant director (unknown episodes)
Karn Webster	....	second assistant director (unknown episodes)

Series Art Department
Ignacio J. Santeugini	....	construction manager (4 episodes, 2003)
Louis Turner	....	set dresser (4 episodes, 2003)
Brian Aldridge	....	stand-by props (unknown episodes)
Christine Buttner	....	graphic designer (unknown episodes)
Stephen Campbell	....	stand-by art director (unknown episodes)
Garry Dawson	....	stand-by props (unknown episodes)
Kevin Day	....	stand-by props (unknown episodes)
Clare Holton	....	art department assistant (unknown episodes)
Paul Humbles	....	dressing props (unknown episodes)
Robert Jones	....	production buyer (unknown episodes)
Warren Lever	....	carpenter (unknown episodes)
Kevin McGuinness	....	dressing props (unknown episodes)
David Reilly	....	property master (unknown episodes)
Paul Turner	....	dressing props (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Richard Manton	....	production sound mixer (4 episodes, 2003)
Steve Fish	....	boom operator (unknown episodes)
Dan Green	....	adr recordist (unknown episodes)
Tom Jessup	....	sound assistant (unknown episodes)
Dan Johnson	....	assistant dubbing mixer (unknown episodes)
Hugh Johnson	....	sound re-recording mixer (unknown episodes)
Gareth Llewellyn	....	assistant sound re-recording mixer (unknown episodes)
Bernard O'Reilly	....	sound editor (unknown episodes)
Andre Schmidt	....	dialogue editor (unknown episodes)
Barnaby Smyth	....	foley editor (unknown episodes)

Series Visual Effects by
Colin Gorry	....	visual effects designer (unknown episodes)

Series Stunts
Jim Dowdall	....	stunt arranger (4 episodes, 2003)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Gabriel Hyman	....	camera trainee (2 episodes, 2003)
Nick Beeks-Sanders	....	camera operator (unknown episodes)
Andy Bell	....	electrician (unknown episodes)
Dan Fontaine	....	best boy (unknown episodes)
Stewart Hadley	....	gaffer (unknown episodes)
Suzi Jacobson	....	clapper loader (unknown episodes)
Nic Lawson	....	focus puller (unknown episodes)
Steve Weightman	....	key grip (unknown episodes)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Richard Cooke	....	assistant costume designer (unknown episodes)
Natalie Richmond Elvy	....	costume supervisor (unknown episodes)
Luan Placks	....	costume assistant (unknown episodes)
Caroline Rigby	....	costume assistant (unknown episodes)
Marie Ross	....	costume assistant (unknown episodes)

Series Editorial Department
Kevin Horsewood	....	colorist (unknown episodes)
Ulrike Münch	....	assistant film editor (unknown episodes)
John Pearce	....	on-line editor (unknown episodes)

Series Music Department
Paul Golding	....	music scoring engineer (4 episodes, 2003)

Series Transportation Department
John Armistead	....	unit driver (4 episodes, 2003)
Derek McPhail	....	unit driver (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
Noelle Morris	....	script editor (4 episodes, 2003)
Jane Gibson	....	choreographer (2 episodes, 2003)
Biola Bankole	....	assistant accountant (unknown episodes)
Andy Eliot	....	location manager: Spain (unknown episodes)
Peter Foster	....	daily floor runner (unknown episodes)
Lindsay Grant	....	script supervisor (unknown episodes)
Howard Kingston	....	production executive (unknown episodes)
Jill McCullough	....	dialect coach (unknown episodes)
Richard Moat	....	location manager (unknown episodes)
Sharon Moran	....	production coordinator (unknown episodes)
Andy Pavord	....	location manager (unknown episodes)
Patricia Scanlon	....	production secretary (unknown episodes)
Joy Scott	....	floor runner (unknown episodes)
Nathan Woods	....	production accountant (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
• Perpetual Motion

Distributors

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (2003) (UK) (TV) (original airing)
• BBC Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Just Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Mad Dog Casting  extras casting
• Wood Hall Catering  catering

Also Known As:

Runtime:

235 min (4 parts)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Goofs:

Factual errors: Spanish Civil War began in 1936. Prince of Wales became Edward VIII in January of that year. The prince could not have been at aristocrat's house after the war had begun.

Quotes:

Anthony Blunt:Not in front of the socks, Julian.

Movie Connections:

Version of Philby, Burgess and Maclean (1977) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Jerusalem

Spy Story for Sunday Night

This is a lightly fictionalised account of how four tewwibly well brought up English boys betrayed their country to the Soviet Union. Philby's father had been a distinguished diplomat and Arabist and McLean's a cabinet minister. All had public school educations and had been undergraduates at the same Cambridge college. They set off into promising careers in the foreign office and security services and were Soviet agents from the start. Their great coup was to give the Soviets enough details about the atomic bomb to speed up their program to build one by a couple of years, but it was at the expense of blowing McLean and Burgess's cover (they escaped to Moscow in 1951), and Philby being fired from MI6. He joined them in Moscow in 1963. Blunt, by now the Keeper of the Queen's Pictures was then interrogated; he confessed, and was let go.

It's one of the really great spy stories of the 20th century. This version concentrates on the personal dynamics. The amount of contact the spies had with each other after Cambridge seems to be much exaggerated (pretty bad security), but gives us the picture of the gang of four against the Establishment. The women are interesting too. Philby was a ladies' man to whom Donald McLean's American wife Melinda (Anne-Louise Plowman) was attracted. They later lived together in Moscow. Blunt and Burgess were both gay, but friends rather than lovers.

The Establishment, in the person of Lord Halifax (James Fox), Ambassador to Washington, found it difficult to believe that 'people like us' could do such things and started looking for the atomic spy in the embassy kitchens. One or two western counter-intelligence operatives including the CIA's formidable James Jesus Angleton nearly nabbed them, but with Philby tipping them off (and duchessing Angleton), Burgess and McLean made it safely to Moscow.

With four hours to play with all the characters are richly drawn. Tom Hollander's Guy Burgess is a drunken dirty little sod who somehow manages to be witty and charming as well. It was great cover for a spy. As Donald McLean, Rupert Penry-Jones is the Golden Boy who feels himself unworthy, and sees communism as the way to redemption. Toby Stephens as Kim Philby gives us the cleverness, the deviousness and the angst as well, especially in the Spanish episode.(I'm afraid us Philbys are a devious lot, but we bleed, we bleed). Samuel West's Blunt has the occasional hint of emotion, but basically is a cold fish. Art, it seems is his life. He does get on tewwibly well with the Queen.

Seventy years on, it's not so much why they did it, but why they kept it up that mystifies. Given their location close to the heart of British Intelligence and hence knowing as much as anybody outside about what really went on the Soviet Union, it's extraordinary that Philby and McLean in particular continued on right up to 1951 (Blunt was more or less inactive after 1945). It is suggested here that Ms McLean did try to get her husband to give up spying but there's no real explanation as to why he persisted. Perhaps he still believed. Anyway, truth or fiction is hardly the point here - Sunday night is not for history lessons. This is a familiar tale well told, visually splendid and not too taxing. The real story, I suspect, is far too complex for even the most adroit (or left) TV producer. An earlier TV account,"Philby Burgess and McLean" (1977) is also worth watching, if you can find it.