Ein tödlicher Fehler

Imagine, in the middle of the Cold War, a small town near Moscow in the former Soviet Union. It is a replica of a typical American town somewhere in the west of the country. Only English is spoken with an authentic American accent and life is routine, just like in its real counterpart.

There, Doug McClure, who will call himself Eddie Young, trained for five years under the supervision of the ruthless Richard Basehart (Bob Barnes) to infiltrate the United States and enter the board of directors of a company that works on secret weapons for the government. As part of his cover, he will lead a normal life, as he did in the toy Soviet village, with a wife who obviously must never penetrate his secret and discover his true objective. But when everything seems to be going well, as he is to be promoted to an important position on the board of directors, Darren McGavin (Joe Chalk) is tasked with verifying for the government that this new director is completely trustworthy and announces that he will leave no stone unturned from the day Eddie Young was born to the present.

Eddie's wife is played by the beautiful and efficient actress Rosemary Forsyth and in a special role Meg Foster (what eyes she has!) acts as Eddie's wife during his training in the Soviet replica.

Great performances, intrigue and mounting tensions make this TV movie one of the best spy thrillers I have seen. Forgive the oxymoron but it is a realistic fantasy about the possible work of a spy and it succeeds in escaping the fashion of James Bond style agent or operative movies.

In 1964. KGB agent McClure lives in a faux American town in Russia to train him to infiltrate seamlessly all masterminded by KGB bigwig Richard Basehart. Meg Foster palsy his wife in the faux town who fell in love with him while "playing house." We next see him 6 years later as Paul Towers, a small-town newspaper publisher idyllically married to luscious Rosemary Forsyth in the all-American dream.

After his COO, Vandamme, commits suicide with the Feds closing in on his dealings with a Russian agent, Dana Elcar, Forsyth's brother and a large military contractor, asks McClure to take over as COO while hard-nosed investigator Chalk (Darren McGavin) investigates everyone and trusts no one. Forsyth knows her husband loves her and is faithful but she also senses that there is a part of him that he has closed off from her. She laments, "There's that sign again; No trespassing!" She also characterizes Chalk as a meat grinder she once stuck her finger in.

All this sets up a chain of events that changes everything forever. Is McClure still working for the Russians or as he bought into his American life? Has Chalk figured out who he really is? or was? This cold-war thriller has neat twists and turns, terrific acting, indelible characters, good action, and some great repartee with no slow moments.

The production values are shoddy, consistent with most TV movies of this vintage -but the rest is exciting and poignant. THe ending will stay with you for a long time!

My fave line is when the wife says to Doug McClure that Darren McGavin reminds her of a meat grinder she once caught her finger in.

After that my brother and I would always yell "MEAT GRINDER" whenever Darren McGavin came on the screen.

I remember the film as lots of fun and fast paced. I wish I could see it again just for how old fashioned everything would look.....

If you wonder why the script on this TV movie is outstanding compared to many of the TV movies of the time, it might have something to do with being part written by Whit Masterson, who also wrote Orson Welles A Touch of Evil back in 1958.

This is a Cold War kind of movie. Doug McClure plays an All-American small-town Editor who really loves his wife and his town. He loves them so much he would like to forget that he came over to America as a Russian spy. But a series of events forces him to make tough decisions about where his loyalties are. It really kept me thinking and it is full of surprises. It's not shown a lot, so if you get a chance to see it, even with commercials, I think you should.

Doug McClure was a handsome actor who did a lot of TV and movies in the 1960s and 70s. Here, however, he's in a very unusual role--the sort you wouldn't expect for him. He's a very deeply planted Soviet spy--one of their very best and a guy who looks and acts very much like a native-born American. However, he and the KGB appear to have a bit of a falling out and they want him dead. Or, is this really just an elaborate ruse in order for the agent to pretend to defect?! What's REALLY going on here and is all of this just part of some very, very complicated ruse? Because of this, it's very important you watch the film closely so that you can figure it out yourself.

This is a reasonably well made for television movie. In addition to McClure, Darren McGavin and Richard Basehart star in this one--not a bad cast at all. Worth seeing but one that seemed to me could have been just a bit better...though I gotta be honest, it's hard to put this into words.