Review of The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965) by Art S — 20 Jan 2014
Exceedingly grey picture, both visually and in tone. Richard Burton is Leamas who has been running Britain's East German operations, until his primary double agent/defector is killed and he is called in by Control.
Therein lies the seed of a new plot, to oust the enemy agent who killed the defector, with Burton asked to pretend he has been called on the carpet, demoted, and as a result embittered enough to defect himself.
He gives a tired hangdog performance. Claire Bloom gets dragged into things as his love interest, who is flirting with communism in a youthful idealistic way. The plot seems straightforward but it is not and we learn, unsurprisingly, the wicked lengths to which spy agencies will go to achieve their ends.
A slow burner.
This review of The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965) was written by Art S on 20 Jan 2014.
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold has generally received very positive reviews.
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