The Serpent (1973)
"Le serpent" (original title)

A Russian diplomat hatches a complicated plan to enable him to defect to the West.

Director:

Henri Verneuil

Writers:

Gilles Perrault, Henri Verneuil

Stars:

Yul Brynner, Henry Fonda, Dirk Bogarde

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yul Brynner	...	Col. Alexei Vlassov
Henry Fonda	...	Allan Davies
Dirk Bogarde	...	Philip Boyle
Philippe Noiret	...	Lucien Berthon
Michel Bouquet	...	Tavel
Virna Lisi	...	Mrs. Annabel Lee
Guy Tréjan	...	Robert Deval
Elga Andersen	...	Kate Cross
Marie Dubois	...	Mrs. Walter
Nathalie Nerval	...	Tatiana Vlassov
André Falcon	...	French Diplomat
Robert Party	...	Debecourt
William Sabatier	...	Mercadier - Foreign Affairs official
Robert Alda	...	Polygraph interrogator
Paola Pitagora	...	Jeannine Santelli

Storyline

Vlassov (Yul Brynner) is a Soviet spy. In France, Vlassov defects. He is whisked to the U.S.A., where Allan Davies (Henry Fonda) takes over the case. After polygraph tests and cross-examinations, Vlassov names several Western European agents who are also spying for the Soviets. Davies wants to take the listed agents into custody; meanwhile, those on the list start dying under mysterious circumstances.

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Plot Keywords:

spy | france | espionage | defection | germany | 

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Genres:

Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

France Italy West Germany

Language:

English German French

Release Date:

November 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Night Flight from Moscow

Filming Locations:

France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films de la Boétie, Euro International Film (EIA), Rialto Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie's lead cast is totally cosmopolitan: Yul Brynner was Russian, Henry Fonda was American, Dirk Bogarde was English, whilst Philippe Noiret is French and Virna Lisi is Italian.

User Reviews

European co-production with international cast well written, produced and directed by Henry Verneuil

Prototypical Cold War thriller deals about an aging soviet spy named Vlassov(Yul Bryner) who attempts to defect the East world . The CIA chief named Allan Davies (Henry Fonda) interrogates him, using polygrapher (interrogator played by Robert Alda), computer programming, and other means . Then Davies must decide if he's saying the truth .

This complex espionage picture is packed with thrills, suspense, tension and extraordinary performances. It's a slow moving spy-movie with emphasis on de-glamorizing espionage. Sensational acting by two big star names, Yul Brynner as spy who defects with a fistful of important documents and Henry Fonda as chief who must discover the truth. Strong secondary cast with Dirk Bogarde, Farley Granger, Philippe Noiret, gorgeous Virna Lisi and several others. Interesting and thrilling screenplay by the same producer and director Henry Verneuil. Atmospheric musical composed by Ennio Morricone and conducted by Bruno Nicolai. Superbyly realistic and adequate cinematography by Claude Renoir .The picture is splendidly directed by Henry Verneuil, a Turkish director working in France from the 40s. Although not a director of great reputation among the critics, his movies have almost all been aimed squarely at the commercial market. Verneuil is an expert on heist-genre such as he proved in ¨The Sicilians clan(68)¨ with Jean Gabin and Alain Delon, ¨The burglars(1971)¨with Omar Shariff and Jean Paul Belmondo , furthermore on Warlike genre : ¨Weekend at Dunkirk¨and ¨The 25th hour¨, espionage as ¨ Night flight from Moscow¨ and even directed one Western : Guns of San Sebastian(68)¨. He seemed to have dropped out of the film-making after 1976, but in 1981 unexpectedly reappeared with yet another of his caper film : ¨Thousand millions of dollars¨. Rating : Acceptable and passable, a must see for French cinema lovers and Fonda and Bryner fans