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Les chandelles noires

Original title: A Murder of Quality
  • TV Movie
  • 1991
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
1K
YOUR RATING
Denholm Elliott in Les chandelles noires (1991)
Mystery

Taken from the book by John le Carré, George Smiley rallies to the aid of his former intelligence colleague, Ailsa Brimley, to investigate a mysterious letter from a junior master's wife at ... Read allTaken from the book by John le Carré, George Smiley rallies to the aid of his former intelligence colleague, Ailsa Brimley, to investigate a mysterious letter from a junior master's wife at Carne School, a boy's school. When Smiley goes to Carne to investigate, he finds the junio... Read allTaken from the book by John le Carré, George Smiley rallies to the aid of his former intelligence colleague, Ailsa Brimley, to investigate a mysterious letter from a junior master's wife at Carne School, a boy's school. When Smiley goes to Carne to investigate, he finds the junior master's wife brutualy murdered, with her husband as one of the suspects. Smiley begins ... Read all

  • Director
    • Gavin Millar
  • Writer
    • John le Carré
  • Stars
    • Denholm Elliott
    • Joss Ackland
    • Glenda Jackson
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.3/10
    1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Gavin Millar
    • Writer
      • John le Carré
    • Stars
      • Denholm Elliott
      • Joss Ackland
      • Glenda Jackson
    • 17User reviews
    • 6Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination total

    Photos49

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    Top cast29

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    Denholm Elliott
    Denholm Elliott
    • George Smiley
    Joss Ackland
    Joss Ackland
    • Terence Fielding
    Glenda Jackson
    Glenda Jackson
    • Ailsa Brimley
    Billie Whitelaw
    Billie Whitelaw
    • Mad Janie
    David Threlfall
    David Threlfall
    • Stanley Rode
    Ronald Pickup
    Ronald Pickup
    • Felix D'Arcy
    Matthew Scurfield
    Matthew Scurfield
    • Inspector Rigby
    Christian Bale
    Christian Bale
    • Tim Perkins
    Diane Fletcher
    Diane Fletcher
    • Shane Hecht
    Fiona Walker
    Fiona Walker
    • Dorothy D'Arcy
    Nick Reding
    Nick Reding
    • Sergeant Mellor
    Michael Cochrane
    Michael Cochrane
    • Charles Hecht
    Charles Pemberton
    • Sergeant Ted Mundy
    William Armstrong
    William Armstrong
    • The Reverend Fergus
    Moray Watson
    Moray Watson
    • Major Harriman
    Helen Lindsay
    Helen Lindsay
    • Mrs. Harlowe
    Samantha Womack
    Samantha Womack
    • Alice Lawry
    • (as Samantha Janus)
    John Grillo
    John Grillo
    • The Pathologist
    • Director
      • Gavin Millar
    • Writer
      • John le Carré
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews17

    6.31K
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    Featured reviews

    10arthursranch

    Alec who?

    My favorite DVD bar none. Denholm Elliott's Smiley was a brilliant interpretation in the shadow of Alec Guinness, not a surprise if one remembers his role in Woody Allen's "September." Glenda Jackson and Diane Fletcher might have been given more screen time. Christian Bale was smartly cast.

    I've watched the DVD perhaps 30 times, more than either Tinker Tailor 1979 or Smiley's People 1982 (but they are several hours longer, I'd have to reload the DVD player for these, and each have gotten 10 or more viewings). To digress, Bernard Hepton's part in Smiley"'s People is scary good. To digress again, Cyril Cusack's "Control" in Spy Who Came in from the Cold" is chilling (though the style of the film is badly dated).

    Is this program a mystery at all? I think "A Murder of Quality" is mostly a commentary by Le Carre on the sins and pretensions and hypocrisy of the decayed British Empire of the 1950's. To me, the mystery is much in the background - it provides a great format. In contrast, Tinker-Tailor and Smiley's People use the complex mystery to illuminate the hypocrisies of the East and West, but are strong core mysteries.

    When I first viewed "A Murder of Quality" I was slightly put off by the structure, particularly the quick scene changes. I now think it was clever and possibly the reason I view the story over and over. I'm not sure who might get my credit/praise. Perhaps it's J Le Carre himself since he has screen writing credit.

    On my DVD, Diane Fletcher's photo appears for Glenda Jackson in her (Glenda's) biography. There is no Diane Fletcher biography.
    8blanche-2

    good adaptation of LeCarre novel

    This time, it's Denholm Elliot as George Smiley, and the story is "A Murder of Quality" from 1991, also starring Glenda Jackson, Joss Ackland, Billie Whitelaw, and a 17-year-old Christian Bale.

    Smiley is asked by a former colleague (Jackson) to look into a strange letter sent to her by a junior master's wife at a boy's school, Carne. When Smiley calls the school, he learns that the woman has been murdered. Her husband is a suspect.

    Smiley travels to the school and works with the police. He discovers that plenty of people had a motive to kill this woman besides the husband - she was a blackmailer, not for money, but for the power of it. Another murder follows, and Smiley begins to put the pieces together.

    Very good film, with LeCarre writing the screenplay himself. Denholm Elliot does an excellent job as Smiley, quietly observant, perhaps lacking the bite of Alec Guinness, but good nonetheless. It was a delight to see Glenda Jackson - she's been out of acting for so long, it was a joy to see her and remember how fabulous she was. Christian Bale doesn't have a ton of dialogue, but he was instantly recognizable and did well. Joss Ackland has a showy part as a professor and gives a flamboyant performance.

    This is a depressing, moody film, quite dark, and highly recommended.
    7vicboyd001

    Very Good but......

    Strongly agree with your own comments, this early Le Carre novel is one of my favourites but this version lacks one thing to make it complete. Denholm Elliott is very good as Smiley but Alec Guinness, for any who saw him in the role in "Tinker Tailor, Soldier, Spy" and "Smileys People" will understand that he IS George Smiley. The rest of the cast are superb and in answer to that question 'Why can't Americans make Movies like this?" the Answer is that you do! Look for them in odd places, "Chiefs", "Centennial" and so on. The Movie follows the book and only really misses on that strange and quintessentially English feeling of claustrophobia that exists in Public School Towns. The Constant battle between school and town. Both deeming the other to be the outsiders. Pickup is wonderful as D'Arcy. I would love to have seen Ian Cuthbertson as Fielding but well you cant have everything can you? I strongly urge all to view this at least twice, the first time to enjoy and the second time to pick up on all the Le Carre touches. I also urge you to find an old English movie of his "A Call For The Dead" All in all a great production and as stated faithful to the original.
    7Rodrigo_Amaro

    Reasonable film with former spy Smiley as detective

    A surprise to John Le Carré's readers and to viewers who already know about his works adapted into films, "A Murder of Quality" is a less challengeable enterprise for the great agent George Smiley, this time investigating a mysterious murder close to a respected school in England's countryside. Smiley and his ability to find clues here are more approachable to someone like Hercule Poirot than to someone who had difficult missions when of his time in the Circus solving global problems during the Cold War.

    This TV adaptation goes according the original work, a small film based on a small book with effective and similar result. Both are good but they suffer from the greatness of seeing Smiley doing more important jobs going around the world working for the British intelligence. Plot is well elaborated but sometimes we lose interest in it, its lack of having a good pace to keep the story going. Plus, it looks like something already shown before time and time again, but it might work better for those who never watched careful and brilliant investigative flicks before. This isn't sinking into obscurity because people are rediscovering it due to very young Christian Bale's minor yet important role in it, people get curious to see some of his early projects.

    Casting's good work is what makes of "A Murder of Quality" a very decent film. Playing the great George Smiley is Denholm Elliott, who brings a jolly quality to the role of the eternally enigmatic, contrived and serious character whose delivery of lines goes without affection, enthusiasm or surprise. Not the best portrayal of Smiley (Gary Oldman nailed it in every possible aspect in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy") but it's a good one anyway, very amusing and playful. And there's place for a remarkable performance of Glenda Jackson, playing George's best friend and helper with the case, and the efficient presences of David Threlfall and Joss Ackland.

    A good dramatic suspense but never effervescent as Carré's stories tend to be. 7/10
    9ChrisHawk78

    Brilliant

    This movie is a fine work of art. Changes to the original story are very scarce and the acting is quite flawless. So is the period feel as well as camera and directing. Denholm Elliot was magnificent as Smiley. "So sad - so few of us left" (Shane Hecht in the novel, for those who have not read it.)

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Alec Guinness was asked to play George Smiley for a third time but he passed. Anthony Hopkins, who had previously starred in John le Carré's Le miroir aux espions (1970), was offered the role and read a script, but withdrew from the project when script changes were made that he didn't like. Denholm Elliott was approached with just three days until production was to start. Elliott turned it down initially as he was living in Spain and returning to the UK would mean he would be landed with a bigger tax bill. He then agreed to play the role when he was offered twice the fee.
    • Quotes

      Terence Fielding: We are all common middle class boys with upper class pretensions and third class degrees.

    • Connections
      Referenced in An Evening with George Smiley (2017)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 10, 1991 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • John Le Carre's a Murder of Quality
    • Filming locations
      • Sherborne, Dorset, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • Portobello Pictures
      • Thames Television
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 30m(90 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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