Ep# 56 - British Spy Films in the 60s
The Ipcress File (1965)
Or perhaps we should say British Anti-Bond Spy Films in the ‘60s. Everybody knows midcentury cinema was spy crazy, but it also goes without saying that these spy films were largely modeled after the action-packed espionage found in James Bond and very little on the kind of work actual spies do. What links the films in our latest Bootleg Bond episode is the common goal on the part of a number of British production companies to demonstrate that there’s plenty of drama to be found in a more realistic portrayal of spy work.
In this episode, Bart and Jenna take a dutch-angled romp through a series of nihilistic films that make zero effort to glamorize the life of a spy. They investigate how each of these chosen films work to subvert a different aspect of the Bond phenomena – from the sex and honor, down to the cinematic structure – and have an absolute blast doing it.
The following films are discussed:
• Ring of Spies (1964)
Directed by Robert Tronson
Starring Bernard Lee, William Sylvester, Margaret Tyzack
• The Ipcress File (1965)
Directed by Sidney J. Furie
Starring Michael Caine, Nigel Green, Guy Doleman
• The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)
Directed by Martin Ritt
Starring Richard Burton, Oskar Werner, Claire Bloom
• The Quiller Memorandum (1966)
Directed by Michael Anderson
Starring George Segal, Alec Guinness, Senta Berger
• The Deadly Affair (1967)
Directed by Sidney Lumet
Starring James Mason, Maximilian Schell, Simone Signoret
• A Dandy in Aspic (1968)
Directed by Anthony Mann & Laurence Harvey
Starring Laurence Harvey, Tom Courtenay, Mia Farrow
