| The Deadly Affair | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Sidney Lumet |
| Written by | Paul Dehn |
| Based on | Call for the Dead byJohn le Carré |
| Produced by | Sidney Lumet |
| Starring | James Mason Maximilian Schell Harriet Andersson Harry Andrews Simone Signoret Kenneth Haigh Roy Kinnear Max Adrian Lynn Redgrave |
| Cinematography | Freddie Young |
| Edited by | Thelma Connell |
| Music by | Quincy Jones |
Production company | Sidney Lumet Film Productions |
| Distributed by | British Lion-Columbia (UK) Columbia Pictures (US) |
Release dates |
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Running time | 115 minutes (UK) 107 minutes (US) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.4 million[1] |
The Deadly Affair is a 1967 Britishspy film based onJohn le Carré'sfirst novel,Call for the Dead (1961). The film starsJames Mason and was directed bySidney Lumet from a script byPaul Dehn.[2]
As it is aColumbia Pictures production andParamount owned the film rights to the nameGeorge Smiley, the central character is renamed Charles Dobbs; however, his police liaison Mendel and wife Ann's names are retained. Paramount had acquired the film rights to the Smiley character name when filmingThe Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965).[3]
The soundtrack was composed byQuincy Jones, and the bossa nova theme song, "Who Needs Forever", was performed byAstrud Gilberto.
In 1960s London, Charles Dobbs is a staidMI6 operative investigatingForeign Office official Samuel Fennan, a former Communist who apparently commits suicide. Dobbs becomes suspicious about the cause of Fennan's death while visiting Fennan's widow the morning after his death. When a wake-up call is received at Fennan's home, his widow Elsa says the call was for her. Dobbs discovers this to be a lie and as a result suspects that Elsa, a survivor of a Naziextermination camp, might have some clues regarding Fennan's death.
Other government officials want Dobbs to drop the case. However, Dobbs privately links up with retired police inspector Mendel to continue enquiries and they uncover a network of East European agents, one of whom assaults Dobbs, breaking his hand. Dobbs also discovers that his promiscuous wife Ann is leaving him to go to Switzerland to join a former World War II colleague, Dieter Frey.
Dobbs ultimately decides to set a trap to prove that Elsa is a spy and to uncover her control by arranging a rendezvous which takes place in the Aldwych theatre during a performance of "Edward II". Dobbs, his colleague Bill Appleby and Mendel observe Elsa and wait to see who will sit in the empty seat next to her. Dobbs is sickened to see that it is Dieter who sits down next to Elsa and is her control. When Dieter and Elsa realise they have been set up, Dieter quietly kills Elsa and slips out of the theatre. Mendel follows Dieter to his hideout and summons Dobbs. In the final confrontation, Dieter shoots Mendel but is himself killed bare-handed by the enraged Dobbs, who uses the cast on his hand as a bludgeon.
Dobbs flies to Zurich where he is met at the airport by Ann.
Location shooting forThe Deadly Affair took place in London, inSt. James's Park, at The Balloon Tavern andChelsea Embankment inChelsea, inBattersea andBarnes, inTwickenham, and at the Serpentine Restaurant in Hyde Park (demolished in 1990[4]). The exterior of Dobbs's house is in St. George's Square, Pimlico.[5] For the theatre scene a performance of theRoyal Shakespeare Company'sEdward II (as directed for the stage byPeter Hall) was recreated at its real location of theAldwych Theatre, London.[6][7]
Director of photographyFreddie Young's technique of pre-exposing the colour film negative to a small, controlled amount of light (known as "flashing" or "pre-fogging") in order to create a muted colour palette was first used in this film.[8] Lumet called the result "colourless colour"[9] and it proved influential, being used by other cinematographers such asVilmos Zsigmond onMcCabe & Mrs. Miller.[citation needed]
The plot is fairly faithful to the book; however, a romantic affair between Ann and Dieter was added and the character of Mendel is shot at the film's climax to provoke Dobbs's brutal beating of Dieter.
The Deadly Affair received fiveBAFTA Awards nominations: Best British Film forSidney Lumet, Best British Screenplay forPaul Dehn, Best British Cinematography (Colour) forFreddie Young, Best Foreign Actress forSimone Signoret, and Best British Actor forJames Mason. However, it did not win any of the awards.[10]
| The Deadly Affair | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | January 1967 | |||
| Recorded | December 1966 | |||
| Studio | Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ | |||
| Genre | Film score | |||
| Length | 28:05 | |||
| Label | Verve V-8679/V-8679 ST | |||
| Producer | Creed Taylor | |||
| Quincy Jones chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [11] |
Thefilm score was composed, arranged and conducted byQuincy Jones, and thesoundtrack album was released on theVerve label in 1967.[12]
Allmusic's Stephen Cook noted, "Deadly Affair's dreamy mix of bossa nova moods and unobtrusive symphonics still makes for some pleasant, if not always provocative, listening. Plus, one gets to hear Astrud Gilberto in fine fettle on the opening cut".[11]The Vinyl Factory said "This soundtrack to the Sidney Lumet thriller starts off with Astrud Gilberto drizzling her best desultory vocal over ‘Who Needs Forever’, which creates a moody atmosphere that is sustained throughout the entire album. With its languid orchestrations, breezy strings, and airy samba rhythms, this is a perfect Sunday morning record".[13]
All compositions by Quincy Jones
