Alex Leamas (Richard Burton) is a British intelligence officer for The Circus (the same organization George Smiley works for) and is stationed in West Berlin. He is responsible for recruiting East Germans who are willing to assist the West or defect. When his last agent is killed while crossing the border, Leamas is recalled to Britain. The agent was killed on the orders of Mundt (Peter van Eyck), who has repeatedly thwarted Leamas’ efforts. Control (Cyril Cusack), The Circus’ leader, devises a plan to kill Mundt: Leamas will pose as a defector and make contact with Mundt’s underling, Fiedler (Oskar Werner), leaking information that will lead Fiedler to conclude that Mundt is a British agent and result in Mundt’s execution.
This movie would have been perfect if I had known less about Leamas’ role in Control’s plan, his “defection” would have been much more suspenseful, and would have led to a much more thrilling climax. Burton is spot-on as Leamas, creating a character who’s asking some serious questions about his work. The role Leamas plays as a “defecting” agent is clearly causing him to seriously weigh the work that he’s doing. Martin Ritt creates suspense within a rather elaborate plot by building Leamas’ relationship with Nan, showing his humanity before sending him into the Soviet Union. It’s Burton’s performance as a conflicted intelligence officer that carries the film and makes it a classic.
4.5/5
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