Subterfuge (1968)

A C.I.A. man goes to London to assist British Intelligence uncover a mole and destroy a foreign spy ring.

Director:

Peter Graham Scott

Writer:

David Whitaker

Stars:

Gene Barry, Joan Collins, Richard Todd

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gene Barry	...	Michael A. Donovan
Joan Collins	...	Anne Langley
Richard Todd	...	Col. Victor Redmayne
Tom Adams	...	Peter Langley
Suzanna Leigh	...	Donetta
Michael Rennie	...	Goldsmith
Marius Goring	...	Shevik
Scott Forbes	...	Pannell
Colin Gordon	...	Kitteridge
Guy Deghy	...	Dr. Lundgren
Dermot Kelly	...	Van Driver
Stuart Cooper	...	Dubrossman
John Welsh	...	Heiner
Clifford Earl	...	Policeman
Ron Pember	...	Photographer

Storyline

A young wife is becoming very distraught over the fact that her husband, a secret service "spy" for England, has changed his mind about transferring away so that he can spend more time with her and their young son. He has grown cold and distant towards her; she thinks it's because of the secretiveness of his work. Meanwhile, an American spy comes to England and is induced to help the British "team" with an undercover spy ring. When this spy ring is over turned the "bugs" that crawl out from under its rock shocks everyone.

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Plot Keywords:

espionage | cold war | 1960s | british intelligence | foreign spy | 

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Taglines:

An amazing nightmare of deception!

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Genres:

Thriller

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Richard Todd and Gene Barry were born three days apart in June 1919 and died six days apart in December 2009.

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Goofs

[At 1:20:06] Anne Langley puts the cup on the table which wasn't in her hand, but already on the table in the previous shot.

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Soundtracks

Love Looks Good On You
Written by Cyril Ornadel and Peter Callander
Sung by Marmalade

User Reviews

Joan Collins is easily the best thing Subterfuge has going for it.

Very briefly, Subterfuge's plot goes something like this: U.S. spy MIchael Donovan (Gene Barry) is enlisted by his British counterparts to ferret out a mole hiding in their midst. Donovan decides to use the marital difficulties facing one of his suspects to his advantage. Donovan cosies up to Anne Langley (Joan Collins) to gain information on his target. As you might have guessed, things get complicated when Donovan ends up falling for Anne

Subterfuge should have worked on me. It's got a lot of what I normally enjoy: spy shenanigans, interesting locations, kidnappings, double-agents, double crosses, chase scenes, fight scenes, and Joan Collins. The problem is that the movie doesn't have much of a plot - at least one that's interesting. Subterfuge is deathly dull. I'll admit that the last act does get a bit interesting, but by that point, I was really struggling to stay awake. The baddies are boring, the plot is confusing, and Gene Barry isn't very exciting. That's not much of a recipe for success. Joan Collins is easily the best thing Subterfuge has going for it. She shines in every instance she appears on-screen. Unfortunately, though, she's stuck with Barry. Their relationship and chemistry is as lacking as the plot. Overall, there's not much here to recommend. A generous 4/10 from me.

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

December 1968 (UK)

Also Known As:

Subterfugio

Filming Locations:

Trafalgar Square, St James's, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Commonwealth United Entertainment, Intertel

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1