The Kremlin Letter (1970)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

Noel Behn (novel)
Gladys Hill (writer)

Release Date:

1 February 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

Don't trust anyone in THE KREMLIN LETTER

Plot:

A network of older spies from the West recruits a young intelligence officer with a photographic memory to accompany them on a mission inside Russia...

Plot Keywords:

Photographic Memory | Espionage | China | Spy | Lesbian

Cast

Bibi Andersson	...	Erika Kosnov
Richard Boone	...	Ward
Nigel Green	...	The Whore
Dean Jagger	...	Highwayman
Lila Kedrova	...	Madam Sophie
Micheál MacLiammóir	...	Sweet Alice
Patrick O'Neal	...	Charles Rone
Barbara Parkins	...	B.A.
Ronald Radd	...	Captain Potkin
George Sanders	...	Warlock
Raf Vallone	...	Puppet Maker
Max von Sydow	...	Colonel Kosnov
Orson Welles	...	Bresnavitch
Sandor Elès	...	Lt. Grodin (as Sandor Eles)
Niall MacGinnis	...	Erector Set

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

Russian | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | West Germany:18 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | USA:M

Filming Locations:

Helsinki, Finland

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Brandon Brady worked five days.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Finnish actress Saara Ranin is credited as Saara Rannin.

Quotes:

Charles Rone: I'm goin' to Mexico.
Ward: Yes sir, you're goin' to Mexico to pick up Lord Ashley's Whore. You're gonna rustle up the Warlock in San Francisco and then make tracks to Chicago for the Erector Set. Tell them the Tillinger Foundation is planning an expedition.

Soundtrack:

Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing

The seedy side of spying

"The Kremlin Letter" is a Cold War spy film from director John Huston. It focuses on the story of a young American agent and a team of spies that infiltrate the Soviet Union in an attempt to recover a letter compromising to the United States.

Patrick O'Neal is effective as Charles Rone, who is accepted as a spy due to his photographic memory. Also notable are Richard Boone as the genial mentor to Rone, Bibi Andersson as the desperate wife of a Soviet spy chief Kosnov and Barbara Parkins as an enchanting fellow agent. Orson Welles is solid in a minor role as a Soviet official. Veteran actor Max von Sydow has a good turn as Colonel Kosnov, a determined man with a brutal record, who organizes a "third section" of Soviet agents.

This is the seediest spy story I have seen to date. Harsh tactics are used by both the Americans and Soviets and agents are expected to compromise themselves to the fullest extent in the service of their country. The story remains interesting throughout with intrigue, duplicity and twists. The pace is slow, so this film is not recommend for those looking for a James Bond style spy thriller, but rather those looking for a John le Carré type spy story in the vein of "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold".