Totally depressing not only because of the story but the bleak black and white Zone 5 photography of rainy London and Spartan East Germany intensified the suicidal atmosphere of this movie.
I missed this film on its first release but I am glad I caught it now on its DVD version only because I finally recalled what Claire Bloom looked like and fell in love again with her sweet and vulnerable personality. More than Alec Leamas (Burton) Bloom's character (Nan Perry) is the tragic one in this movie.
SPOILER: Although it doesn't say so in the film, British socialist and peace activist Nan Perry is baited by MI-6 with Alec Leamas, supposedly a disaffected ex-agent. Obviously, she reported this to her contacts. Pretty soon Leamas is recruited by London based East German agents to mine his stock of information on British espionage. Nan is what we used to call a "communist dupe", a naive peace marching idealist out to save the world. She plays the part to the hilt. The tragedy is that she is lured to East Germany through the pretext of a peace conference but actually for the purpose of acting as witness in a spy trial. The irony is that the real spies get away (Leamas and Mundt) while she is killed to make Leamas' bogus escape more convincing.
I missed this film on its first release but I am glad I caught it now on its DVD version only because I finally recalled what Claire Bloom looked like and fell in love again with her sweet and vulnerable personality. More than Alec Leamas (Burton) Bloom's character (Nan Perry) is the tragic one in this movie.
SPOILER: Although it doesn't say so in the film, British socialist and peace activist Nan Perry is baited by MI-6 with Alec Leamas, supposedly a disaffected ex-agent. Obviously, she reported this to her contacts. Pretty soon Leamas is recruited by London based East German agents to mine his stock of information on British espionage. Nan is what we used to call a "communist dupe", a naive peace marching idealist out to save the world. She plays the part to the hilt. The tragedy is that she is lured to East Germany through the pretext of a peace conference but actually for the purpose of acting as witness in a spy trial. The irony is that the real spies get away (Leamas and Mundt) while she is killed to make Leamas' bogus escape more convincing.