A British-American Cold War spy thriller directed by John Huston and starring Paul Newman, fresh from their successful cooperation
on The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean. This has been described as the first anti-spy film, and was not as successful and
appreciated as Huston’s other films at the time of its release. However,
the fact that the plot seems complicated and sometimes confusing is only
one of its many charms!
Newman plays Reardon, a British secret agent who assumes a fictitious criminal identity and allows himself to
be caught, imprisoned and freed in order to infiltrate a spy
organisation. Following the successful breakout, Reardon finds himself
drugged and sent to (Huston’s beloved) Ireland. Starring a young
Dominique Sanda and some of the great British actors of the time,
including James Mason – as the bad guy, of course.
Film details
- Country of production
- USA
- Year
- 1973
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2019
- Length
- 98'
- Medium/Format
- 35mm
