The Little Drummer Girl (1984)

Director:

George Roy Hill

Writers:

Loring Mandel (screenplay)
John le Carré (novel)

Release Date:

19 October 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

She will become their most deadly weapon. As long as they can make her fall in love.

Plot:

An American Actress with a penchant for lying is forceably recruited by Mosad, the Israeli intelligence agency to trap a Palestinian bomber, by pretending to be the girlfriend of his dead brother.

Plot Keywords:

Spy | Male Nudity | Torture | Based On Novel

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Diane Keaton	...	Charlie
Yorgo Voyagis	...	Joseph
Klaus Kinski	...	Martin Kurtz
Sami Frey	...	Khalil
Michael Cristofer	...	Tayeh
Eli Danker	...	Litvak
Ben Levine	...	Dimitri
Jonathan Sagall	...	Teddy
Shlomit Hagoel	...	Rose
Juliano Mer	...	Julio
Sabi Dorr	...	Ben
Doron Nesher	...	David
Smadar Brener	...	Toby
Shoshi Marciano	...	Rachel
Philipp Moog	...	Aaron

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 (f)

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Filmstudios, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Pan Arts

Trivia:

Cameo: [John le Carré]the policeman in the scene when Charlie goes to her London apartment.

Quotes:

Charlie: So I lied, that only makes us even. I don't see what it has to do with my politics.
Joseph: Possibly they're as much a lie as your past.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Cybill: The Little Drummer Girls (#3.12)" (1996)

Ideal treatment of terrorists

Instead of "rethinking its policies" or "trying to understand the terrorists", the Israeli government, as accurately portrayed in this movie, has developed a novel approach to dealing with fanatical groups that attack civilians: blow them to smithereens!!!!! A truly no-nonsense film, with some beautiful Mediterranean locations, the Little Drummer Girl does come off as somewhat cheap in the technical sense (a larger budget could've ensured some truly dazzling action scenes, and lessened the dependence on dragged-out dialogue). Still, the authentic depiction of Mossad antiterrorism techniques (surveillance, baiting, seizure, interrogation, assasination) more than compensated for the occasionally low-budget climate. The acting was excellent, and though some may feel Diane Keaton looked too old for her role (a difficult claim to dispute when viewing the Oscar winner's sex scenes), her inadequacies were well concealed by brilliant performances from Yorgo Voyagis, Eli Danker, and Klaus Kinski. One of my favorite lines in the film was when Danker's character, Litvak, asks why they can't just seal off the German town where a bomber is hiding, and Marty Kurtz (Kinski) replies "This isn't the West Bank, Shimon."