IMDb > Telefon (1977)

Overview

User Rating:
6.4/10   2,002 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 16% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Don Siegel
Writers:
Peter Hyams (screenplay) &
Stirling Silliphant (screenplay) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Telefon on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
16 December 1977 (USA) more
Genre:
Crime | Action | Thriller more
Tagline:
They'll do anything to stop Telefon. The operation that can trigger 51 human time bombs. more
Plot:
The KGB's looking for one of their people, a man named Dalchimsky cause he has stolen something important... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
Which was the best year for movies: 1977, 1994, or 1999?
 (From EW.com - PopWatch. 5 August 2009, 5:00 AM, PDT)
Which was the best year for movies: 1977, 1994, or 1999?
 (From EW.com - PopWatch. 5 August 2009, 5:00 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Miles to go before I sleep more (29 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Charles Bronson ... Major Grigori Borzov
Lee Remick ... Barbara

Donald Pleasence ... Nicolai Dalchimsky
Tyne Daly ... Dorothy Putterman
Alan Badel ... Colonel Malchenko
Patrick Magee ... General Strelsky
Sheree North ... Marie Wills
Frank Marth ... Harley Sandburg
Helen Page Camp ... Emma Stark
Roy Jenson ... Doug Stark

Jacqueline Scott ... Mrs. Hassler
Ed Bakey ... Carl Hassler
John Mitchum ... Harry Bascom
Iggie Wolfington ... Father Stuart Diller
Hank Brandt ... William Enders
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
102 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Australia:PG | Iceland:16 | West Germany:16 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1978) | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG
Filming Locations:
Atrium Lobby, Hyatt Regency Hotel - 5 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, California, USA more
Company:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
'Don Siegel (I)' asked Charles Bronson to shave his trademark mustache. Bronson replied, "No mustache, no Bronson." more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: KGB officers and insignias are quite messy (stars and stripes are of not correct size etc.) more
Quotes:
Nicolai Dalchimsky: The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep. Remember. Miles to go before I sleep. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Grindhouse (2007) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
8 out of 8 people found the following comment useful.
Miles to go before I sleep, 9 July 2006
8/10
Author: krorie from Van Buren, Arkansas

This excellent spy thriller directed by action master Don Siegel unfortunately has a drab, aloof title that causes many to skip it for a more exciting-sounding tag. Even Charles Bronson fans, and they are legion, often ignore this little gem for others of the genre. Not only a dilly of a suspense story filled with some of Hollywood's best actors at the time, "Telefon" also contains humor and many tongue-in-cheek lines. The Robert Frost poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," utilized to trigger the drug-induced hypnotized Soviet agents to finish their mission becomes a pun for KGB agent Maj. Grigori Borzov (Bronson)when ready to give alluring Barbara (Lee Remick) a tumble in the hay. Borzov looks KGB agent Barbara lustfully in the eyes and emphatically affirms, "Miles to go before we sleep."

Though many consider the story fanciful, it is not as far fetched as some of the actual schemes concocted by overly zealous CIA and KGB officials during the Cold War, especially at the time of the eyeball to eyeball confrontation between the Soviets and the Americans during the days of U-2, the Bay of Pigs, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. The fifty KGB agents trained at the time of the U-2 Incident to replace recently deceased Americans with similar profiles, to take out key installation sites when receiving the oral code, lines from the Robert Frost poem, are put on what seems to be permanent hold until one KGB trainer goes berserk and reopens the can of worms over a decade later, when many of the installations have been closed, converted, or moved. Enter agents Borzov and his supposed helper, Barbara, to stop the madman, Nicolai Dalchimsky, played with his usual nefariousness by Donald Pleasence. Borzov uncovers a method to his madness and the fun begins. But what is to become of Borzov once Dalchimsky is removed? There's plenty of spills and thrills along the way with the seasoned actors given intelligent and often humorous lines by writer Peter Hyams whose script is based on the novel by Walter Wager.

Though no one in the cast falters, even in the bit parts, Tyne Daly steals the show as Dorothy Putterman (oh, how the name fits), a computer nerd in those glorious DOS days of old before the world heard of Bill Gates. Not only does Daly get some of the best lines in the movie, she delivers them with élan. She also reminds the viewer to be careful what is said to a computer, because they are very sensitive little fellers.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (29 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Telefon (1977)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Please Help: Ending Spoiler tepista
Did You Spot the 'Planet of the Apes' Connection? Amel1a
DVD release? FuzziMcGee
Charles Bronson's actual name is Buchinsky bgailey-1
Someone liked the Manchurian Candidate Zorro-3
Robert Frost and Grindhouse macknife30
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
GoldenEye The Living Daylights Die Another Day Firefox Topaz
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Crime section IMDb USA section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.