A Dandy in Aspic
| A Dandy in Aspic | |
|---|---|
| File:Dandyinaspiccover2.jpg | |
| Directed by | Anthony Mann Laurence Harvey (uncredited) |
| Written by | Derek Marlowe |
| Produced by | Anthony Mann |
| Starring | Laurence Harvey Tom Courtenay Mia Farrow Peter Cook Harry Andrews |
| Cinematography | Christopher Challis Austin Dempster |
| Edited by | Thelma Connell |
| Music by | Quincy Jones |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates | April 1968 (UK) April 2, 1968 |
Running time | 107 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
A Dandy in Aspic is a 1968 Technicolor and Panavision British spy film, directed by Anthony Mann, based on the novel of the same name by Derek Marlowe and starring Laurence Harvey, Tom Courtenay and Mia Farrow. It was Mann's final film.
Essentially a Cold War thriller, it is the story of a Russian counter-espionage agent, known as Eberlin (Laurence Harvey) to his employers in British Intelligence, where he is working undercover for Moscow as a double agent.
Plot
Eberlin's (Laurence Harvey) superiors in Britain instruct him to find and assassinate a KGB agent named Krasnevin, believed to have killed a number of British agents. This presents a problem for Eberlin, as he is Krasnevin. Summoned to a meeting at a country house, he is presented with a photograph of the suspected Krasnevin. It turns out to be his handler and go-between with Moscow.
He is partnered with a ruthless, cynical and sociopathic British agent Gatiss (Tom Courtenay), who openly distrusts and dislikes him. Mia Farrow plays a London-based photographer with whom Eberlin has an affair. Much of the film takes place in West Berlin, where Eberlin tackles the dilemma posed by his mission by attempting to escape across the Berlin Wall to the East. His attempts are frustrated by his partnership with Gatiss, and by the Soviet authorities, who are keen to retain one of their top agents in British intelligence.
Cast
- Laurence Harvey as Eberlin
- Tom Courtenay as Gatiss
- Mia Farrow as Caroline
- Harry Andrews as Fraser
- Peter Cook as Prentiss
- Lionel Stander as Sobakevich
- Per Oscarsson as Pavel
- Barbara Murray as Miss Vogler
- John Bird as Henderson
- Norman Bird as Copperfield
- Geoffrey Bayldon as Lake
- Calvin Lockhart as Brogue
- James Cossins as Heston-Stevas
- Michael Trubshawe as Flowers
- Geoffrey Lumsden as Ridley
- Elspeth March as Lady Hetherington
- Richard O'Sullivan as Nevil
- Mike Pratt as Greff
- George Murcell as Sergeant Harris
- Vernon Dobtcheff as Stein
Production
Largely filmed on location in London and Berlin, this was Anthony Mann's final film; he died of a heart attack before it was finished. Its direction was completed by Harvey.
The film also features Peter Cook, at a time when his TV career was at a peak, in a minor role as the foppish but libidinous British agent, Prentiss.
DVD
A Dandy in Aspic was released to DVD on 1 August 2011 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment as a DVD-on-demand title available through Amazon.
External links
- 1968 films
- 1960s spy films
- English-language films
- British films
- British spy films
- Cold War spy films
- Columbia Pictures films
- Film scores by Quincy Jones
- Films about the Berlin Wall
- Films based on British novels
- Films based on thriller novels
- Films directed by Anthony Mann
- Films set in Berlin
- Films set in London
- Films set in England
- Films set in Germany
- 1960s drama films
- 1960s thriller films
- Films shot in Surrey
- Films shot in Berlin