Movies at Home: The Deadly Affair, Open Fire and Arabesque

 

The Deadly Affair is an adaptation of John Le Carre's first book Call for the Dead. Here George Smiley is called Charles Dodds as Paramount had gained copyright for Smiley's name when they released The Spy who came in from the cold. Dodds is played by James Mason, I thought an odd choice, especially as Alec Guines wonderfully restrained in Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy. Mason shouts far too much, especially when he talks to his wife Ann (her name the same as the book) played by Harriet Anderson. I felt there was far too much about their relationship and not enough about the story.

Dodds talks to Samuel, a member of his organisation, in a park, almost an interrogation. But later Samuel is found dead.  When Dodds visits the bereaved wife (Simone Signoret) he becomes suspicious. And so the plot thickens. I liked the London scenes of 1967, it looks pretty grimy down The Embankment and Battersea Power Station. I thought that Harry Andrews was best thing about the film as an MI5 operative called Mendel.

I was not sure why we see rehearsals for Macbeth, except that there was an early role for Lynne Redgrave as teenage dogsbody Virgin Bumpus. She was brilliant. Of course it's Dodds whose plan at the end comes to fruition and the spies are dealt with. This was not a great movie, but intereting all the same.

Open Fire is actually a 1994 made for TV film. I have included it here as it was one of the first directed by Paul Greengrass. Based on the true story about gay criminal and nasty transvestite David Martin played by Rupert Graves. We are the 1970's, it's seedy and violent and so are the police. We follow Martin and his robbery'sincluding where he is discovered and shoots a member of the constabulary. The film explores his sexuality and his relationship with Sue Stephens played by Kate Hardie.

I liked how Martin's escape from custody was so well filmed, and the subsequent police search and a chase on foot through Hampstead Underground Station. Leading the police was Jim Carter (from Downton Abbey) as Detective Chief Superintendant Young. He makes the arrest. This was after one of them shot Stephen Waldorf by mistake. The film looked as dirty as it's subject matter.

I may not have seen Arabesque since I saw it in the cinema in 1966. Based on the 19061 novel The Cipher, it stars Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren in a Stanley Donen movie. Typical of it's time (unfortunately) it did win a BAFTA for best cinematography. But the whole thing looked like a Bond rip off and other scenes straight from North by Northwest. We are never quite sure whose side anyone is on as poor hapless Peck struggles through, chasing a scrap of paper with some hyroglyphics. 

This was a follow up for director Stanley Donen following his far more successful Charade. (See my review 19th April 2020). However there is one interesting scene of a building site where the builder was Cubitts. A wonderful firm back then called Holland, Hannen and Cubitts. Taken over by Tarmac who went bust in 1976.