O Espião de Dois Mundos

I loved Laurence Harvey in THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE. This is also a good performance. The spy stuff and his relationship with the character played by Tom Courtenay are interesting. Also interesting is the young Peter Cook in a "straight" role ( well sort of). Harvey brought such an air of sadness and despair to this kind of role ( much like his doomed brainwashed pawn in MC). I recall a scene where he is asked about his mother's death ( I believe) and he cannot remember how he felt. The life and emotion were drained out of him to create the perfect double agent. This kind of film was popular in the 60's as an antidote to James Bond and his clones. Others include THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD and THE DEADLY AFFAIR. The great Anthony Mann started this film and was replaced by Harvey when Mann died.

It was somewhat of a feature of the late 1960s to make bleak and world weary spy movies. This film is in this mould. I saw the film upon it's release and quite enjoyed it, albeit it is slow and a little dull. Still, I think that it is an interesting piece of film making and enjoyed the performances of Laurence Harvey and Tom Courtenay who play British agents who do not like each other. (Harvey is in fact a double agent). There are some good locations shots of 1960's London (mainly bleak) and Berlin (not so bleak). Harvey trudges around both capitals after been given an assignment to kill a Russian Spy - who is in fact himself. Mia Farrow is a trendy young thing (tho' a bit on the thin side)and adds love interest. However, as she keeps turning up wherever Harvey goes, is she as innocent as she appears? A young Peter Cook also stars as a rather irritating junior British agent. John Bird and Lionel Stander add a little humour into an otherwise humourless film. Definitely worth a look.

In London, Alexander Eberlin (Laurence Harvey) is a double agent for both the British and the Soviet intelligence. The British orders him to hunt down Russian spy Krasnevin. He is partnered with British agent Gatiss (Tom Courtenay). He's having a fling with civilian photographer Caroline (Mia Farrow).

This needs to be a paranoid espionage thriller. It's not thrilling. Laurence Harvey is playing the character too coldly. He needs to be scared or something or else the audience won't care. Nobody is rooting for him. I barely know what Caroline sees in him. The story is too stiff and so is the lead.

I am not sure why this film gets a bad rap -- I thoroughly enjoyed it. Wonderful locations of an impossibly glamorous late-60s London, Lawrence Harvey suitably mysterious, a seeping sense of doom which won't give you nightmares but will make you appreciate the story arc even more.

Yes there are plot holes but nothing major. The character of Mia Farrow remains a cipher, but maybe it's intentional.

Watch out for two then future telly stars in minor roles: Richard O'Sullivan (of Man about the house) and Mike Pratt (of Randall and Hopkirk).

Recommended.

Secret Agent Alexander Eberlin is sent into Berlin to search for the Russian agent Krasnevin. The Brits and Soviets enter into an intriguing game of cat and mouse.

I'll be honest, I recorded it based on the name and year. I was expecting some sort of comedy with the likes of Kenneth Williams or Ian Carmichael; I hadn't planned for yet another 60s spy movie.

In my opinion, it's pretty good: a decent, if unoriginal, plot, a strong cast, and some excellent location work. It did actually keep my attention, even if it was predictable; I'm sure we all knew how it was going to end.

The two issues are the script and pacing, at times it trundles along, and some of Eberlin's encounters with Caroline are bizarre to say the least.

Visually, it's good; it looks somewhat newer. I liked the opening and closing sequences; a puppet on a string left us in no doubt as to the type of film ahead.

Laurence Harvey did a fine job; I bought his character, but for me, the star of the show was Tom Courtenay; I just found Gatiss to be a little more interesting. Caroline's character made no sense; she didn't really go anywhere. Was she simply a bad penny? Mia Farrow I'd suggest, was ok.

6/10.