Destiny of a Spy

I saw the film on late-night TV some forty years ago. From what I can remember, the plot and acting was so-so - a typical east-west "semi-noir" spy melodrama. What caught my eye, though, was where it was filmed. The location work was photographed in Uxbridge, a smallish town on the western edge of London's conurbation. It suffered the fate that many such towns did in the 1960s and 70s: buildings built in the 15th to 18th centuries swept away in a concrete make-over of its centre - Preston among them! The film however captured some good images of the southern part of the town centre a year or two before this municipal vandalism took place. Could this film be a useful addition to the town's architectural history?

When I saw this in the early seventies on TV ( in black and white), I was very impressed. First the "hero" is a Russian spy and is played by Lorne Greene. From the beginning we are on his side even though we sort of know he is doomed. He is retired and does not want another assignment but is pressured into this undercover , double agent task. What he does not not know is how bizarre it will turn out and that along the way he will find a late in life romance with an Englishwoman double agent. The mystery is great, the supporting cast from Patrick Newell to James Donald to Anthony Quayle to Hrry Andrews is first rate. I found the film entertaining , refreshing and even quite poignant. The romance between Rachel Roberts and Lorne Greene brought a tear to my eye.