Ring of Spies

Cinéphiles could be forgiven for never having heard of Robert Tronson as he is mainly known for his work on the small screen but with a limited budget and without the customarily dramatic score, he has done a pretty good job here and uses the understated, docudrama treatment to great effect. There is nothing in the least glamorous about the activities of the infamous five members of the Portland spy ring and you certainly won't catch any of the cast 'acting'.

It is said to be based on factual events but this is true only up to a point. Harry Houghton was far from being the amiable boozer played so superbly by Bernard Lee but was in fact a seedy, scurrilous individual who would peddle anything for money and who beat up his wife. Her character is completely absent from the film which is an oversight as she it was who wrote three letters to the Admiralty alerting them that her husband was divulging secret information for cash. Through a combination of misogyny and sheer incompetence her letters were dismissed by MI5 as the ravings of a jealous and disgruntled wife. Likewise, suspicions of Houghton and his partner Elisabeth Gee were not aroused by their so-called extravagant lifestyle but by a tip off from a Polish spy that there was a 'mole' in the Admiralty named Horton or thereabouts. This episode has been completely omitted which further robs the film of dramatic effect. It is entirely possible that writers Launder and Barnes were hamstrung by legal constraints and one can only afford them the benefit of the doubt. The film is not without ironic Anglo-Saxon humour with two female intelligence officers dressed as nuns and Houghton, Gee and their contact Lonsdale obliged to stand for the National Anthem.

The location work is excellent even down to the house in Ruislip where the Cohens, alias the Krogers, conducted their traitorous activities. There is a convincing performance by William Sylvester as Konon Molody, alias Gordon Lonsdale whose slick persona provides a perfect cover and who succeeds in convincing the naive Gee that she is spying for the Americans! She is played by Margaret Tyzack and she is so good in this that one wonders why better film parts did not come her way.

Ironically, although Houghton and Gee received the shortest sentences of the five, they ended up serving the longest terms as the other three were all released as part of an exchange deal with the Soviets. All three achieved the dubious distinction of appearing on Soviet postage stamps. By all accounts Molody was unhappy in Russia and died in mysterious circumstances so in his case the punishment fitted the crime.

Where the film is spot on is in depicting the lamentable lack of security at the Underwater Weapons Establishment and the deep affection between Houghton and Gee who were married on their release from prison.

As for the film, its release was delayed for 'legal reasons' and limited for fear of prosecution. One can only assume that the verbose and faintly ludicrous disclaimer at the end is a classic piece of ****covering designed to deter potential lawsuits.

This film has recently been released on DVD under its original title of RING OF SPIES. It is an excellent film, and a fascinating dramatization of the notorious 1950s Gordon Lonsdale spy case, better known as the 'Portland Spy Ring' in Britain. The film is made with a documentary attitude, and a great deal of verisimilitude is added to the film through the use of a wide variety of genuine locations (i.e., Ruislip Station because the Krogers really lived there). Many of the location scenes are genuinely fascinating on their own account. For instance, this film may contain the only surviving extended footage of the roof terrace at Derry and Tom's Department Store in London at that time. No expense was spared to give this film all the location shooting it needed, and the producer Sidney Gilliat was clearly not shouting at the director to get back into the studio and save some money. The director was Robert Tronson, a talented director who has always been under-estimated because most of his work was for television. He directed some of the most popular series on British television, such as THE DARLING BUDS OF MAY (1991-3), BERGERAC (1983-8), and ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL (1978-88). The casting of this film was impeccable. William Sylvester is a smooth and affable charmer as the Russian spy Konon T. Molody, who masqueraded as a Canadian and an American under the pseudonym of Gordon Lonsdale. But Sylvester is a master at dropping that mask of affability as soon as his guests leave, and reverting to a grim and determined expression with ruthless immediacy. The finest performance in the film is by Bernard Lee as the alcoholic Henry Houghton who steals files from the safe at the Portland Naval Establishment so that the Soviets can learn all the British secrets about advanced submarine warfare. Two other reviewers have already provided background on the real spy case, so I shall not repeat it myself. The film wisely suggests that the drunken Houghton would never have been tolerated at Portland if he had not been protected by someone higher, which is doubtless true, considering how riddled with spies for foreign powers the Foreign Office has always been. This film is very well worth watching, both for entertainment and for historical purposes, and the location shots really are worthwhile.

This film is well worth watching as it illustrates perfectly how the poorly paid British in secret organisations were and probably still are susceptible to turning spies for a few hundred pounds.

The two spies had combined wages of about £30 which was not much above poverty level.

Street and car scenes are very nicely done and show how basic UK cars were and how everything was still dirty and sooty from all the steam trains and inefficient engines.

Old Bernard Lee is poorly cast as a romantic lead.

No need to repeat the background to the actual case that inspired this excellent spy thriller. Compared to the ludicrous heroics and wild SFX of Bond, Bourne or Mission Impossible, Ring Of Spies seems like a different planet. But this was an era when the West faced a different sort of opponent (even if the the three threat was exaggerated to one degree or another). Security breaches had occurred before Portland, and would feature again afterwards, but never had the shadow of the enemy spy felt so close to suburbia and the Home Counties. Although long forgotten now, perhaps only Profumo overtook Portland in terms of (the then) public conscious.

The cast are uniformly good, a real effort is made to dig out (but not condone) Bernard Lee's cash strapped wheeler dealer clerk, and his infatuated spinster girlfriend. William Slyvester excels as the smooth talking professional operating under a Soviet 'legend'. The action takes place in rustic pubs, cafes, drab offices and snack bars - there's no glamour or gadgets in this slow burner, Cold War thriller.

Based on the true story of the Portland Spy Ring. Bernard Lee takes time off as M to play hard drinking loose cannon Harry Houghton. Sacked as an embassy attaché in Warsaw. He bids a drunken farewell to his girlfriend who works for the Russians.

Harry is posted at a secret a Royal Navy equipment testing facility at Portland. He is soon approached by secret Soviet intelligence to hand over documents to them with the veiled threat of blackmail. After all he used to drunkenly tell secrets to his girlfriend back in Warsaw.

Harry realises that to take the documents from the safe. He needs to seduce work colleague Elizabeth Gee as she has the keys. She nervously and reluctantly agrees.

Once they get used to the money paid by his handler Gordon Lonsdale (William Sylvester.) They enjoy the good life, not realising that they have attracted the attention of the authorities suspicious of traitors in their midst.

Lee plays Harry as a bluff chancer. A cynical drunk and not too bright. Margaret Tyzack makes more of an impression as Gee, seduced by the good life and greed.

The movie has a documentary setting but plays it too safe and straight.