Rent The Deadly Affair (1966)
3.5 of 5 from 119 ratings
1h 43min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Based on a John le Carre novel and directed by Sidney Lumet, 'The Deadly Affair' is a cold war thriller centred in the world of espionage. When foreign Office official Samuel Fennan and his wife (Simone Signoret) are anonymously accused of Communist affiliations, their world is turned upside down. Fennan is subsequently found dead from an apparent suicide, although Secret Service agent Charles Dobbs (James Mason) suspects otherwise. When Dobbs' suspicions hit a dead end with his superior officer, the veteran agent decides to resign his government post and join forces with retired CID inspector Mendel (Harry Andrews). As the two men continue their pursuit of the truth, their investigation unearths a spy ring and much more than they ever expected along the way. - Actors:
- James Mason, Maximilian Schell, Simone Signoret, Harriet Andersson, Harry Andrews, Kenneth Haigh, Roy Kinnear, Max Adrian, Lynn Redgrave, Robert Flemyng, Leslie Sands, Corin Redgrave, Sheraton Blount, Michael Brennan, Murray Brown, Michael Bryant, Maria Charles, John Dimech, William Dysart, Paul Hardwick
- Directors:
- Sidney Lumet
- Producers:
- Sidney Lumet
- Writers:
- John le Carré, Paul Dehn
- Others:
- Freddie Young
- Studio:
- Sony
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama, Thrillers
- Collections:
- 21 Reasons to Love, 21 Reasons to Love... Ingmar Bergman, Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: James Mason, Remembering Timothy West, The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to Sidney Lumet
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 28/08/2017
- Run Time:
- 107 minutes
- Languages:
- English Dolby Digital 1.0
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.85:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- (0) All
- Bonus:
- Audio commentary with film historians Michael Brooke and Johnny Mains
- The National Film Theatre Lecture with James Mason (1967, 48 mins): archival audio recording of an interview conducted by Leslie Hardcastle
- The Guardian Lecture with Sidney Lumet (1983, 89 mins): archival audio recording of an interview conducted by Derek Malcolm at the National Film Theatre, London
- Lumet's London (2017, 4 mins): an exploration of the London locations used in the film
- A Different Kind of Spy: Paul Dehn's Deadly Affair (2017, 17 mins): writer David Kipen discusses the life and work of screenwriter Paul Dehn
- Take One and Move On (2017, 5 mins): camera operator Brian West on 'The Deadly Affair' Original Theatrical Trailer
- Image Gallery: on-set and promotional photography
- World premiere on Blu-ray
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Reviews (3) of The Deadly Affair
Interesting Espionage Thriller - The Deadly Affair review by GI
Adapted from the first novel by John Le Carré, Call For The Dead, this is a slow burning espionage story with a top cast but one which dillies and dallies around too much making it a bit of a grind at times. This is a shame because it has a superb cast led by James Mason. He plays Charles (in the novel this is George Smiley, the name had to be changed because another studio owned the rights to it), a British Intelligence officer who carries out a routine security check on a foreign office official who the next day commits suicide. Feeling himself being blamed for the death Charles begins an investigation with the help of a police detective, Mendel (Harry Andrews) and uncovers a sinister spy ring working in Britain. He also has to cope with his young philandering wife who looks set on leaving him for his old friend, Dieter (Maximilian Schell) Like Le Carré's novels this attempts to be a realistic look at modern espionage and the plot has some interesting twists and turns. It's not an action film but more like a mystery story where the truth is gradually deduced and revealed. Unfortunately director Sidney Lumet lingers a little too long over some scenes that make the film slow down even more although you can see that he's attempting to mirror the Shakespearean tragedies that are taking place in scenes within a theatre. If you're a fan of Le Carré then this is an interesting adaptation and Mason is a George Smiley very much like the character of the novels and later TV and film appearances. Worth checking out if you've never seen this.
2 out of 3 members found this review helpful.
Haunting - The Deadly Affair review by sb
FILM & REVIEW On a pouring wet Autumn Sunday afternoon what better than an old fashioned Le Carre Cold War spy thriller. Mason plays Dobbs who is investigating a senior civil servant who was a Communist back in the ‘30’s when Dobbs department receives an letter claiming he still is. Dobbs investigates but clears him only to discover he shot himself that following evening. Dobbs is not convinced but falls foul of his boss so quits to investigate further opening a full can of worms stretching back to the war where nothing is as it seems. I say Mason plays Dobbs but it’s obviously George Smiley down to his nympomaniac openly unfaithful wife Anne - the name change is simply down to another studio having the rights to the characters name. A fine supporting cast including Andrews as an eccentric retired copper, Kinnear as a shifty car dealer and Schell as Dobbs’ friend from the war who is Anne’s latest lover. Mason is just superb dealing with the petty betrayal’s of his life with Signoret as the widow who may well know for more than she is letting on. Although it was made in 1966 it’s as far away from Swinging London as it’s possibly to get - Lumet and his cameraman Freddy Young shoot everything in a drained de-saturated palette so it’s like it’s set in a previous decade and the script is excellent using the Le Carre book as the basis of how all the certainties of the War have faded into ambiguity. The reveal takes place during a performance of Edward II a play itself about betrayal and look out for a youthful David Warner in the lead role - a real overlooked gem - 4/5
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Very exciting - The Deadly Affair review by JC
Great thriller which in many ways captures the atmosphere of the time. Full of superb actors and lots of plot twists.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.