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IMDbPro

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

  • 19651965
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 52m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
17K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
10,216
2,157
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)
British agent Alec Leamas refuses to come in from the Cold War during the 1960s. But his next mission may be his final one.
Play trailer1:31
2 Videos
59 Photos
DramaThriller
Instead of coming in from the Cold War, British agent Alec Leamas chooses to face another mission.Instead of coming in from the Cold War, British agent Alec Leamas chooses to face another mission.Instead of coming in from the Cold War, British agent Alec Leamas chooses to face another mission.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
17K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
10,216
2,157
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Martin Ritt
    • Writers
      • John le Carré(novel)
      • Paul Dehn(screenplay)
      • Guy Trosper(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Richard Burton
      • Oskar Werner
      • Claire Bloom
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Martin Ritt
    • Writers
      • John le Carré(novel)
      • Paul Dehn(screenplay)
      • Guy Trosper(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Richard Burton
      • Oskar Werner
      • Claire Bloom
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 143User reviews
    • 85Critic reviews
    • Nominated for 2 Oscars
      • 10 wins & 5 nominations total

    Videos2

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:31
    Trailer
    The Spy Who Came In From The Cold
    Trailer 1:53
    The Spy Who Came In From The Cold

    Photos59

    "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" Richard Burton 1965 Paramount Pictures
    "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" Richard Burton 1965 Paramount Pictures
    "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" Richard Burton 1965 Paramount Pictures
    The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)
    Esmond Knight, Beatrix Lehmann, and Steve Plytas in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)
    Esmond Knight, Beatrix Lehmann, and Steve Plytas in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)
    Esmond Knight, Beatrix Lehmann, and Steve Plytas in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)
    George Voskovec in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)
    Peter van Eyck and George Voskovec in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)
    Peter van Eyck and George Voskovec in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)
    Peter van Eyck in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)
    Peter van Eyck in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Richard Burton
    Richard Burton
    • Alec Leamas
    Oskar Werner
    Oskar Werner
    • Fiedler
    Claire Bloom
    Claire Bloom
    • Nancy 'Nan' Perry
    Sam Wanamaker
    Sam Wanamaker
    • Peters
    George Voskovec
    George Voskovec
    • Comrade Karden - Defense Attorney
    Rupert Davies
    Rupert Davies
    • George Smiley
    Cyril Cusack
    Cyril Cusack
    • Control
    Peter van Eyck
    Peter van Eyck
    • Hans-Dieter Mundt
    • (as Peter Van Eyck)
    Michael Hordern
    Michael Hordern
    • Ashe
    Robert Hardy
    Robert Hardy
    • Dick Carlton
    Bernard Lee
    Bernard Lee
    • Mr. Patmore - Grocer
    Beatrix Lehmann
    Beatrix Lehmann
    • Tribunal President
    Esmond Knight
    Esmond Knight
    • Old Judge
    Tom Stern
    • CIA Agent
    Niall MacGinnis
    Niall MacGinnis
    • Checkpoint Charlie Guard
    Scot Finch
    • German Guide
    Anne Blake
    Anne Blake
    • Miss Crail
    George Mikell
    • Checkpoint Charlie Guard
    • Director
      • Martin Ritt
    • Writers
      • John le Carré(novel)
      • Paul Dehn(screenplay)
      • Guy Trosper(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      After Richard Burton became a superstar, he insisted on casting his friends from his days at the Old Vic and West End (London's equivalent to New York City's Broadway). Friends of Burton's cast in this movie included Michael Hordern and Robert Hardy. Burton's former leading lady (on-stage and in two movies) Claire Bloom, however, was cast by Martin Ritt. This caused friction for several reasons: Burton had wanted his wife, Elizabeth Taylor, in the role, and he and Bloom had been an item in the 1950s. John le Carré remembers that "off-screen Bloom preserved a dignified distance in her caravan".
    • Goofs
      In his defense speech of Mundt, the East German defense attorney (played by George Voskovec) states "Smiley was indeed Leamas's friend. He was also a planner in the section called Satellites Four, which operates behind the Iron Curtain." The term "Iron Curtain" would not have been used by officials of East Germany or other Soviet bloc countries to refer to the east-west divide. Originally created by Winston Churchill, the phrase "behind the Iron Curtain" became a disparaging characterization of the east bloc countries and their socialist systems. It was seen as serving to keep people in and information out, and people mostly throughout the West used the metaphor in that context.
    • Quotes

      Alec Leamas: It was a foul, foul operation, but it paid off.

      Nan Perry: Who for?

      Alec Leamas: What the hell do you think spies are? Moral philosophers measuring everything they do against the word of God or Karl Marx? They're not! They're just a bunch of seedy, squalid bastards like me: little men, drunkards, queers, henpecked husbands, civil servants playing cowboys and Indians to brighten their rotten little lives. Do you think they sit like monks in a cell, balancing right against wrong? Yesterday I would have killed Mundt because I thought him evil and an enemy. But not today. Today he is evil and my friend. London needs him. They need him so that the great, moronic masses you admire so much can sleep soundly in their flea-bitten beds again. They need him for the safety of ordinary, crummy people like you and me...

      Nan Perry: You killed Fiedler!

      Alec Leamas: How big does a cause have to be before you kill your friends? What about your Party? There's a few million bodies on that path!

    • Connections
      Featured in Great Performances: Richard Burton: In from the Cold (1988)

    User reviews143

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Best Burton Performance!
    The Spy Who Came In From the Cold stars Richard Burton as a world-weary, defeated, cynical and alcoholic ex-agent. It is the performance of his life. It is astonishing to think he was only 40 when he starred in it, as he looks so much older, perhaps from the five-pack-of-cigarettes and three bottles of hard liquor a day that was his habit then.

    The movie is from the John Le Carre novel and is a hard-nosed look at the world of international espionage and double agents, as different from the Bond movies as night from day.

    Stripped of glamour and endless sunshine, Martin Ritt, the director, uses black and white, rain and wind to enhance the story. One could say the cinematography is a character in itself.

    There is no distinction here between the good guys and the bad guys. Spies are of themselves irredeemably evil men in the game for their own nefarious purposes, divorced from all that is decent and humane.

    Burton's eyes constantly reflect this as he manages to infiltrate the East Communist Bloc and plays the game instigated by his "Control" in London.

    Claire Bloom portrays his innocent young girlfriend, naive and pliable. Oskar Werner and Peter Van Eyck play the East Germans fighting for control of Burton's memoirs and each other.

    It is hard to be believe that Burton lost his Oscar to Lee Marvin (in Cat Ballou!!) when he so richly deserved it for his once in a lifetime performance in "The Spy--" Cyril Cusack has a wonderful supporting role as "Control" and just about steals his two scenes from Burton. He never disappoints.

    I loved this film in the theatre when it was released and subsequent viewings never fail to enthrall me.

    8 out of 10.
    helpful•5
    0
    • wisewebwoman
    • Feb 7, 2009

    FAQ4

    • Is Richard Burton wearing eyeliner? Did guyliner exist in 1965?
    • Chicago Opening Happened When?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 16, 1965 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Official site
      • Criterion Collection
    • Languages
      • Dutch
      • English
    • Also known as
      • John le Carré's The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
    • Filming locations
      • Smithfield Market, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
    • Production company
      • Salem Films Limited
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Gross worldwide
      • $342
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 52 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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