The Looking Glass War (1969)

From the John le Carre novel about a British spy who sends a Polish defector to East Germany to verify missile sites.

Director:

Frank Pierson

Writers:

John le Carré (novel), Frank Pierson (written for the screen by)

Stars:

Christopher Jones, Pia Degermark, Ralph Richardson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Jones	...	Leiser
Pia Degermark	...	The Girl
Ralph Richardson	...	LeClerc
Paul Rogers	...	Haldane
Anthony Hopkins	...	John Avery
Susan George	...	Susan
Ray McAnally	...	Undersecretary of State
Robert Urquhart	...	Johnson
Anna Massey	...	Avery's Wife
Vivian Pickles	...	Mrs. King
Maxine Audley	...	Mrs. LeClerc
Cyril Shaps	...	East German Detective
Michael Robbins	...	Truck Driver
Timothy West	...	Taylor
Frederick Jaeger	...	The Pilot

Storyline

At the height of the Cold War, British Intellegence discovers evidence that suggests Soviet missiles are being positioned close to the German border. With no active agents available to investigate, Fred Leiser must be called back to the colors and sent East. Once behind the Iron Curtain, Leiser meets a sympathetic German girl who tries to help him to evade the East German secret police and to complete his assignment.

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Plot Keywords:

missile | east germany | defector | cold war | spy | 

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Taglines:

"Why do we listen to them? Why do we fight their wars for them?"

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Genres:

Action | Thriller | Drama

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Certificate:

M

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English German

Release Date:

September 1969 (UK)

Also Known As:

A Guerra no Espelho

Filming Locations:

Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Frankovich Productions, Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A radio play of John le Carré's novel 'The Looking Glass War' was produced and broadcast by Radio4 in 2009 with Simon Russell Beale as George Smiley, Piotr Baumann as Leiser, Patrick Kennedy as Avery and Ian McDiarmid as LeClerc. This radio play featured the George Smiley character who had been dropped for this film.

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Connections

Referenced in The Ring (2002)

User Reviews

Well Cast but Somewhat Tiresome Period Piece

Back in 1971 or so, this film showed on t.v. on the old Friday Night at the Movies series, and as a nine- or ten-year-old closeted gay boy I distinctly remember dropping my youthful jaw for the shirtless Christopher Jones in those scenes in the handball court. But seeing the film as a 48-year-old is an entirely different experience. Young Mr. Jones had a nice chest, but he was never a great actor, and the sub-text of Anthony Hopkins's character's resentments is inspired by that tiresome youth-worship that every film of that period was poisoned with: adults are misguided and evil and young people are innocent and good. I didn't buy it then and I certainly don't buy it now. Nevertheless, I think anything Hopkins is featured in is probably worth seeing once, and Ralph Richardson is always enjoyable to watch as well. The less celebrated Paul Rogers is pretty splendid, too. Well cast, but a somewhat worn period piece, is what I think.