The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)
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- Approved
- 1h 52min
- Drama, Thriller
- 16 Dec 1965 (USA)
- Movie
Instead of coming in from the Cold War, British agent Alec Leamas chooses to face another mission.
Director:
Writers:
Stars:
Awards:
- Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 3 nominations.
- See more »
Photos and Videos
Cast verified as complete
Richard Burton | ... |
Alec Leamas
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Claire Bloom | ... |
Nancy 'Nan' Perry
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Oskar Werner | ... |
Fiedler
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Sam Wanamaker | ... |
Peters
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George Voskovec | ... |
Comrade Karden - Defense Attorney
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Rupert Davies | ... |
George Smiley
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Cyril Cusack | ... |
Control
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Peter van Eyck | ... |
Hans-Dieter Mundt
(as Peter Van Eyck)
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Michael Hordern | ... |
Ashe
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Robert Hardy | ... |
Dick Carlton
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Bernard Lee | ... |
Mr. Patmore - Grocer
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Beatrix Lehmann | ... |
Tribunal President
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Esmond Knight | ... |
Old Judge
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Tom Stern | ... |
CIA Agent
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Niall MacGinnis | ... |
Checkpoint Charlie Guard
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Scot Finch | ... |
German Guide
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Anne Blake | ... |
Miss Crail
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George Mikell | ... |
Checkpoint Charlie Guard
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Richard Marner | ... |
Vopo Captain
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Warren Mitchell | ... |
Mr. Zanfrello - Grocery Customer
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Steve Plytas | ... |
East German Judge
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Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
Graham Armitage | ... |
Pawson (uncredited)
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David Bauer | ... |
Young Judge (uncredited)
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Richard Caldicot | ... |
Mr. Pitt - Employment Officer (uncredited)
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Marianne Deeming | ... |
Frau Floerdke (uncredited)
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Walter Gotell | ... |
Holten (uncredited)
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Edward Harvey | ... |
Man in Shop (uncredited)
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Geoffrey Keen | ... |
British sentry (Sgt.) at Checkpoint Charlie. (uncredited)
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Katherine Keeton | ... |
Pussywillow Club Stripper (uncredited)
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Philip Madoc | ... |
Young German Officer (uncredited)
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Henk Molenberg | ... |
Dutch Customs Officer (uncredited)
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Nancy Nevinson | ... |
Mrs. Zanfrello - Grocery Customer (uncredited)
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John Quentin | ... |
Pawson (uncredited)
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Michael Ripper | ... |
Lofthouse - Library Assistant (uncredited)
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Michael Rittermann | ... |
Security Officer (uncredited)
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Richard Shaw | ... |
Guard (uncredited)
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Terry Yorke | ... |
Karl Riemeck (uncredited)
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Directed by
Martin Ritt |
Written by
John le Carré | ... | (novel) |
Paul Dehn | ... | (screenplay) and |
Guy Trosper | ... | (screenplay) |
Produced by
Martin Ritt | ... | producer |
Music by
Sol Kaplan |
Cinematography by
Oswald Morris | ... | director of photography |
Editing by
Anthony Harvey |
Editorial Department
Denis Whitehouse | ... | assistant editor |
Ray Lovejoy | ... | assistant editor (uncredited) |
Production Design by
Tambi Larsen | ||
Hal Pereira | ... | (uncredited) |
Art Direction by
Edward Marshall |
Set Decoration by
Josie MacAvin | ... | (uncredited) |
Costume Design by
Sophie Devine | ... | (as Motley) |
Makeup Department
Eric Allwright | ... | makeup artist |
George Frost | ... | makeup supervisor |
Joan Smallwood | ... | hairdresser |
Production Management
James H. Ware | ... | production supervisor (as James Ware) |
Wim Lindner | ... | production manager: Netherlands (uncredited) |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Colin M. Brewer | ... | assistant director (as Colin Brewer) |
Art Department
Stan Gale | ... | construction manager |
Josie MacAvin | ... | set dresser |
Peter Melrose | ... | scenic artist |
Sound Department
John Cox | ... | sound recordist |
Gordon Daniel | ... | dubbing editor |
John W. Mitchell | ... | sound recordist |
Camera and Electrical Department
Brian West | ... | camera operator |
Maurice Gillett | ... | supervising electrician (uncredited) |
John Palmer | ... | clapper loader (uncredited) |
Bob Penn | ... | still photographer (uncredited) |
Casting Department
Sally Nicholl | ... | casting supervisor |
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Barbara Gillett | ... | wardrobe |
Music Department
Sol Kaplan | ... | conductor |
David Lindup | ... | orchestrator (uncredited) |
Script and Continuity Department
Angela Martelli | ... | continuity |
Transportation Department
Arthur Dunne | ... | transportation captain (uncredited) |
Additional Crew
Richard McWhorter | ... | assistant to the producer |
Doreen Jones | ... | production secretary (uncredited) |
Gerry Lewis | ... | publicist (uncredited) |
Production Companies
Distributors
- Paramount British Pictures (1965) (United Kingdom) (theatrical)
- Paramount Pictures (1965) (United States) (theatrical) (A Paramount Picture)
- Paramount Film Service (1965) (Canada) (theatrical)
- Paramount Film Service (1965) (Australia) (theatrical)
- Paramount Films of Argentina (1966) (Argentina) (theatrical)
- Film AB Paramount (1966) (Sweden) (theatrical)
- Paramount-Films (1966) (Finland) (theatrical)
- Paramount-Film (1966) (West Germany) (theatrical)
- TF1 (1978) (France) (tv) (dubbed version)
- Paramount Home Entertainment (1988) (United States) (VHS)
- Paramount Home Entertainment (1998) (United States) (VHS)
- Paramount Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
- Paramount Home Entertainment (2004) (United States) (DVD)
- Paramount Home Entertainment (2006) (United Kingdom) (DVD)
- The Criterion Collection (2008) (United States) (DVD)
- The Criterion Collection (2008) (United States) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
- The Criterion Collection (2013) (United States) (DVD)
- Winkler Film (2013) (Germany) (DVD)
- Filmjuwelen (2021) (Germany) (Blu-ray)
- Filmjuwelen (2021) (Germany) (DVD)
- Paramount Films (1966) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
Special Effects
Other Companies
- Ardmore Studios (facilities)
Storyline
Plot Summary |
Alec Leamas (Richard Burton), a British spy, is sent to East Germany, supposedly to defect, but in fact to sow disinformation. As more plot turns appear, Leamas becomes more convinced that his own people see him as just a cog. His struggle back from dehumanization becomes the final focus of the story.
Written by John Vogel |
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Taglines | BRACE YOURSELF FOR GREATNESS See more » |
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Parents Guide | View content advisory » |
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Did You Know?
Trivia | After Richard Burton became a superstar, he insisted on casting his friends from his days at the Old Vic and West End (London's equivalent to New York City's Broadway). Friends of Burton's cast in this movie included Michael Hordern and Robert Hardy. Burton's former leading lady (on-stage and in two movies) Claire Bloom, however, was cast by Martin Ritt. This caused friction for several reasons: Burton had wanted his wife, Elizabeth Taylor, in the role, and he and Bloom had been an item in the 1950s. John le Carré remembers that "off-screen Bloom preserved a dignified distance in her caravan". See more » |
Goofs | At the beginning of the film they say that Leamas has been waiting for days for the arrival of Riemeck. This behavior doesn't make sense, as it gives away the arrival of a defector to the opposing side. See more » |
Movie Connections | Featured in Richard Burton: In from the Cold (1988). See more » |
Quotes |
Alec Leamas:
It was a foul, foul operation, but it paid off. Nan Perry: Who for? Alec Leamas: What the hell do you think spies are? Moral philosophers measuring everything they do against the word of God or Karl Marx? They're not! They're just a bunch of seedy, squalid bastards like me: little men, drunkards, queers, henpecked husbands, civil servants playing cowboys and Indians to brighten their rotten little lives. Do you think they sit like monks in a cell, balancing right against wrong? Yesterday I would have killed Mundt because I thought him evil and an enemy. But not today. Today he is evil and my friend. London needs him. They need him so that the great, moronic masses you admire so much can sleep soundly in their flea-bitten beds again. They need him for the safety of ordinary, crummy people like you and me... Nan Perry: You killed Fiedler! Alec Leamas: How big does a cause have to be before you kill your friends? What about your Party? There's a few million bodies on that path! See more » |