The Impossible Spy 

Young Israeli husband Eli Cohen is recruited by the Mossad in the early 1960's and sent to Syria. Telling his wife he has a new job that requires extensive business travel, he takes up ... See full summary »

Director:

Jim Goddard

Writers:

Douglas Livingstone, Marty Ross

Stars:

John Shea, Eli Wallach, Sasson Gabai

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
John Shea	...	Elie Cohen
Eli Wallach	...	Yacov
Sasson Gabai	...	General Haled (as Sason Gabay)
Michal Bat-Adam	...	Nadia Cohen
Rami Danon	...	Avram
Chaim Jeraffi	...	Salloum (as Haim Girafi)
Jacques Cohen	...	Assan (as Jack Cohen)
Anat Barzilai	...	Galela (as Anat Barzilay)
Yossi Keinan	...	Nassim (as Yossi Kenan)
Judith Millo	...	Madame Massim
Victor Kamar	...	Major Massim
Fahami Shishtawi	...	Syrian Border Captain
Shlomo Sadan	...	Syrian Colonel
Jonathan Cherchi	...	Syrian Radio Operator
Yitzhak Aloni	...	Mossad Radio Operator (as Itzhak Aloni)

Storyline

Young Israeli husband Eli Cohen is recruited by the Mossad in the early 1960's and sent to Syria. Telling his wife he has a new job that requires extensive business travel, he takes up residence in Syria, where he befriends a high-ranking Syrian government official and provides invaluable information to Israel. On a visit home, his wife pleads with him to leave his job so he can be home more, and his handler tells him he has accomplished enough, but he decides to return to Syria one last time. One day he learns of an attack on a kibbutz scheduled for that night; he abandons normal precautions in order to warn Israel as quickly as possible, and is caught.

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Plot Keywords:

israel | syria | israeli | 1960s | spy film | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Janson Media

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 November 1987 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Israel

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), IMGC, Quartet International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Yacov: From now on, you will lead two lives; husband and secret agent. You will be trained in the methods of The Mossad; infiltration, observation, communication and how to survive.

User Reviews

Not quiet reaches the heights

The Impossible Spy is a BBC co-production and was deemed to be controversial at the time of its showing.

John Shea plays Eli Cohen who infiltrates the Syrian government and manages to acquire secrets and military intelligence which eventually allows Israel to win the six day war and take over the Golan Heights.

Eli Wallach plays the Mossad handler. Both leads are earnest and for a BBC TV film very different from its usual subject matter.

It can be seen to be slow and slightly heavy going. Its of course rather one sided hence the controversy as it was seen to have had Israeli biased.