Ring of Spies

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.

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.

Robert Tronson, better known as a TV film director, helmed the production of RING OF SPIES, aka RING OF TREASON, which is a kind of British noir cautionary tale based on the Gordon Lonsdale spy case in the UK in the 1950s.

Of undeniable quality for a B flick, it is professionally done, solid Arthur Lavis cinematography, competent editing by Thelma Connell, and good acting by unusual lead Bernard Lee in the even more unlikely role of womanizer, tippler, and money-driven spy; Margaret Tyzack as the upstanding, fully compliant state functionary who gets corrupted by Lee, and falls in the web of espionage crime (needless to say, both Lee and Tyzack end up looking stupid and untrustworthy, soiling their good name forever; William Sylvester does well with his short part as the nefarious Gordon Lonsdale; and Thorley Walters portrays very effectively Commander Winters as the overseer of the sting operation that netted the ring of spies.

In that context, I particularly liked the deployment of police personnel and vehicles following the suspects, the way one accountant-like copper kept taking note of how much Houghton (Lee) spent on drinking alone, and sharp arithmetic calculations uncovering the fact that he and Tyzack simply did not earn enough to maintain such a lavish lifestyle.

Definitely worth watching both as dramatization of a real incident and something to learn from: careful what you wish for, it could change you and your life... and seldom, if ever, for the better. 7/10.

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.

Solid British stuff looking in great detail at the motives and characters that make up a spy ring. The detail is wholly believable and the film has a strong cast of British character actors, particularly here - Bernard Lee.