Three Days of the Condor (1975)

A bookish CIA researcher finds all his co-workers dead, and must outwit those responsible until he figures out who he can really trust.

Director:

Sydney Pollack

Writers:

James Grady (novel), Lorenzo Semple Jr. (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Redford	...	Turner
Faye Dunaway	...	Kathy Hale
Cliff Robertson	...	Higgins
Max von Sydow	...	Joubert (as Max Von Sydow)
John Houseman	...	Mr. Wabash
Addison Powell	...	Atwood
Walter McGinn	...	Sam Barber
Tina Chen	...	Janice
Michael Kane	...	Wicks
Don McHenry	...	Dr. Lappe
Michael Miller	...	Fowler
Jess Osuna	...	The Major
Dino Narizzano	...	Harold
Helen Stenborg	...	Mrs. Russell (as Helen Stenbure)
Patrick Gorman	...	Martin

Storyline

A mild mannered CIA researcher, paid to read books, returns from lunch to find all of his co-workers assassinated. "Condor" must find out who did this and get in from the cold before the hitmen get him.

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Plot Keywords:

cia agent | political conspiracy | hitman | researcher | new york city | 

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Taglines:

Be careful who you trust.

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

In her autobiography Faye Dunaway mentions that while she and Redford had a good working relationship, the two actors did not speak much as Redford used much of his "free" time prepping All the President's Men (1976).

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Goofs

Early in the film some packages are delivered to the office in which Redford works. The security guard counts 5 of them, and says "Roger, fiver." The NATO phonetic alphabet uses "niner" for 9 in order to differentiate the sound from "fife" for 5. No retired military man, as the guard is supposed to be, should say "fiver."

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Quotes

Joe Turner: Maybe there's another CIA, inside the CIA.

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Connections

Referenced in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Episode #7.161 (2009)

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Soundtracks

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
(uncredited)
Written by Edmund Hamilton Sears and music by Richard Storrs Willis

User Reviews

A classic spy thriller that still does the trick after so many years

Sidney Pollack is a great admirer of Alfred Hitchcock, which he also proved with "The Interpreter". Apparently he loves suspenseful thrillers and I sure hope for him that his movies will age as well as those that Hitchcock made. And I guess they do. Even though it was made thirty years ago, "Three Days of the Condor" still hasn't lost any of its power. Sure, you could call it a typical product of the seventies, but even today this movie feels up-to-date and believable.

Turner works for the American Literary Historical Society, or at least so it seems. In reality he is a CIA researcher, with the code name Condor, who gets paid to read books, in which he has to find possible scenarios that could be used in intelligence work. When he returns to his office after he went out to get lunch, he finds all his colleagues dead and he doesn't know who shot them. He immediately calls a superior who sends his section chief to get him out of there. But when the man arrives, he immediately opens fire on Turner. In an act of pure desperation - he no longer knows who he can trust - Turner kidnaps a woman he has never seen before and forces her to hide him. He will stay in her house until he can find out what exactly is going on. But even there he isn't save. He is discovered and attacked in the woman's house, but is able to kill the man. Now he knows one thing for sure: the man too had a connection to the CIA, which means that someone in the CIA must be behind all this...

I guess the best thing about this movie is the fact that it doesn't give away all its information at once. At first Turner appears to be an ordinary guy who arrives late for work. Nothing special there. But because he gradually builds up tension by slightly releasing more information, the writer knows how to keep you focused and interested. I guess the best way to describe this movie is calling it a classic spy thriller without James Bond-like locations or bad guys and and no super hero who can beat all the bad guys with a blink of an eye. No, this is a normal man who was at the wrong place at the wrong time and who now has to face an unusual and life threatening situation. I guess that's where this movie gets its strength: you can easily identify with him, even though he is a spy.

And yes, the whole concept of the movie is very seventies: the paranoia towards the government, the insecurity of not knowing who your enemies or your friends are... all give it that typical feeling. but even today this movie hasn't lost any of its power or relevance. All in all this is a very good and stylish thriller that offers plenty of tension and some very nice acting. Especially Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway were very nice to watch, but the other actors did a fine job too. Thanks to the combination of the acting, a good story and some nice camera-work, Pollack has created a movie Hitchcock might have been proud of if he had done it. That's why I give this movie a 7.5/10.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

25 September 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

3 Days of the Condor

Filming Locations:

55 East 77th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$27,476,252

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$27,476,252

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wildwood Enterprises, Dino De Laurentiis Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1