The Deadly Affair (1966)

Calificación de los usuarios:

6.9/10   

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Escritores:

John le Carré (novel)
Paul Dehn (screenplay)

Fecha de Lanzamiento:

octubre 1966 (UK)

Género:

Suspenso | 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

Premios:

Nominated for 5 BAFTA Film Awards.

Comentarios de los usuarios:

Classy classic cold war drama

Reparto

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

También conocida como:

Llamada para el muerto (Spain) [es]

Duración:

115 min | USA:107 min

País:

UK

Idioma:

Inglés

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Relación de Aspecto:

1.85 : 1

Sonido:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Clasificación:

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

Locaciones de Filmación:

Balloon Tavern, Chelsea, London, England, UK

Compañía:

Sidney Lumet Film Productions

Trivialidades:

'John Le Carré''s hero George Smiley was renamed Charles Dobbs because Paramount had the rights to the Smiley name after producing The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) the year before - also scripted by Paul Dehn - and later co-produced (with the BBC) the two mini-series with Alec Guinness as Smiley: _"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" (1979) (mini)_ and _"Smiley's People" (1982) (mini)_. Also re-named was Dieter Freey as Smiley's antagonist, Hans-Dieter Mundt (Peter van Eyck in The Spy Who Came In From The Cold).

Conexiones de Película:

Referenced in Out of It (1969)

Classy classic cold war drama

Rather than delve into the complex plot machinations already delineated by other reviewers, I would rather touch on other, more understated, qualities present in this excellent fare. Firstly, the ever so poignant soundtrack by Quincy Jones, with its bossa-nova flavored, mesmerizing, soulful backdrop lends an atmosphere of sophistication and class that, to me, is a most essential adjunct to a wonderfully subtle, yet crisp, plot and character development. Secondly, the gut-wrenching performance by Simone Signoret in the scene at her house with James Mason was totally masterful. She totally lambasted the phony pretexts of war and its concomitant warriors, albeit the Great Wars or the more subtle yet equally deadly Cold War, as a bunch of busy-body bureaucrats shouting sanctimonious slogans and sound bites to buttress their flavor-of-the-month, tenuous political positions!

In addition, each of the other actors, especially the lead, James Mason, carries out the demands of his/her respective role with understated finesse. This must be in no small part attributed to the overall thrust of the film: subtle color overtones not only of the film tones, but also the subtlety and understatement of the entire story line and plot development itself. Filmed in an era of James "Bondish" quasi-slapstick and technical gimmickry, "The Deadly Affair" comes across as an intelligent counterpoint to some of the slick, in-your-face cinematic fare of that period, whose motto might indeed be characterized as a "triumph of form over substance".

I hope for the day when, if ever, this film gets released onto DVD format. It is a true gem of the Cold War genre and a true "triumph of substance over form"!