Cambridge Spies 

The true story of a group of Cambridge University Students who are recruited to spy for the Soviet Union in the early 1930s.

Stars:

Tom Hollander, Toby Stephens, Rupert Penry-Jones

3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Tom Hollander	...	Guy Burgess 4 episodes, 2003
Toby Stephens	...	Kim Philby 4 episodes, 2003
Rupert Penry-Jones	...	Donald Maclean 4 episodes, 2003
Samuel West	...	Anthony Blunt 4 episodes, 2003
Stuart Laing	...	Jack Hewit 3 episodes, 2003
Darrell D'Silva	...	Henry 2 episodes, 2003
Anna-Louise Plowman	...	Melinda 2 episodes, 2003
Ronald Pickup	...	Colonel Winter 2 episodes, 2003
Marcel Iures	...	Otto 2 episodes, 2003
Angus Wright	...	Guy Liddell 2 episodes, 2003
Patrick Kennedy	...	Julian Bell 2 episodes, 2003
Colin Higgins	...	Porter 2 episodes, 2003
John Light	...	James Angleton 2 episodes, 2003
Imelda Staunton	...	The Queen 2 episodes, 2003

Storyline

The true story of a group of Cambridge University Students who are recruited to spy for the Soviet Union in the early 1930s.

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Plot Keywords:

university | spy | traitor | betrayal | whiskey | 

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Taglines:

The most notorious double agents in British history.

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Details

Official Sites:

BBC [UK]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 May 2003 (UK)

Also Known As:

Cambridge Spies

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Perpetual Motion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

235 min (4 parts)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to website Wikipedia, "the Cambridge Spy Ring was a ring of spies recruited in part by Soviet scout Arnold Deutsch in the United Kingdom, who passed information to the Soviet Union during World War II and was active at least into the early 1950s. Four members of the ring were originally identified: Kim Philby (cryptonym: Stanley), Donald Duart Maclean (cryptonym: Homer), Guy Burgess (cryptonym: Hicks) and Anthony Blunt (cryptonyms: Tony, Johnson). Once jointly known as the Cambridge Four and later as the Cambridge Five, the number increased as more evidence came to light."

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Goofs

An exterior shot in Cambridge prominently features black-and-gold pedestrian signposts that did not appear in English cities until several decades later.

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Quotes

Guy Burgess: White picket fences! God bless America! White picket fences and apple pie! Shirley Temple! The Ku Klux Klan! Hiroshima! Nagasaki! The CIA! White socks, Bobby socks! Rednecks! God bless America! String up those niggers! Fry them communists! God bless America, land of the free!

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Connections

Version of Philby, Burgess and Maclean (1977)

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Soundtracks

Jerusalem
by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry

User Reviews

High on drama, low in substance

Since no one has said so yet, it seems necessary to add this.

The series is an excellent drama, in every way - no doubt about that. Well worth watching.

BUT.

And that is the point: The subject of this drama is politics, international affairs, government, intelligence - and these are largely absent from the drama.

So if you are prepared to enjoy a view of the events from the perspective of the personal lives of the main characters, then all is fine. But if you were looking for more than tenuous references to the events and forces at play in the world, and an account of how the characters of the story were involved in those events and forces, you will miss something...

This is not to say that it's a bad drama - it's still excellent. And lavishly designed and produced.

But those political events and forces were of historic importance. At a time where the world was still strongly driven by ideological currents, and there was a ruthless struggle for world domination.

In my view, that is even higher drama, and I missed those connections.