238:. His new boss, Sir Henry Cuthbertson, a former military man who epitomises the haughty upper-class British imperialist, barely attempts to conceal his disdain for the under-educated agent who, although more and highly experienced, quite obviously does not stem from the "right class". At the start of the film, it is established that Charlie has been deemed expendable and accordingly is set up to be captured or killed during a mission to
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an elaborate trap to capture the heads of both MI5 and the CIA in order to exchange them for an important
Russian agent currently imprisoned in England, and that his men are now in complete control of the safehouse. Cuthbertson and Ruttgers realize too late that Kalenin's plan couldn't have succeeded without inside help...from Charlie, who has escaped with the money intended for Kalenin.
242:— despite having been responsible for the mission's success. However, Charlie religiously follows his former chief's first rule: "Always secure an escape route", and another man is killed in his place. Cuthbertson's lap-dog agents Snare and Harrison — both totally lacking in experience and as arrogant as their boss — are shocked and embarrassed to see Muffin returning alive and well.
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in Vienna. Charlie and Braley meet
Kalenin at an obscure border-crossing post and escort him to the safehouse. Charlie leaves to hide the car, while Cuthbertson and Ruttgers jubilantly welcome Kalenin. However, their joy is short-lived when Kalenin reveals that his "defection" was merely the bait in
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trying to escape capture by KGB agents and the other is actually captured in Moscow) as the result of CIA interference and because the
Americans are using diplomatic pressure on the British to make Kalenin's defection a joint Anglo-American operation, Cuthbertson has no choice but to call in Charlie
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Back in the UK, Muffin's humiliation does not end, as
Cuthbertson attempts to demote him over Charlie's supposed failure in interrogating a captured Russian agent. Because of Cutherbertson's not following established British Intelligence guidelines and Charlie's proving that his interrogation was
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to liaise with
Kalenin on the final details. Meanwhile, Cuthbertson, who is still wary of Charlie (who keeps insisting that Kalenin's defection is false and a trap), arranges with his secretary-receptionist that she spy on Charlie during their liaisons together.
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is a diverting spy adventure, complete with a genuine surprise ending. The characters sometimes dissolve into caricatures, creating the childish impression that the
British and American agents are idiots while the Russians are generally masterful."
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to handle the affair. Charlie meets with
Kalenin in Moscow without the CIA finding out, and Ruttgers' aide Braley, a good-hearted but docile sideshow official, is assigned to accompany Muffin first to casinos in various cities in order to
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Garson
Ruttgers proves equally ambitious but not much smarter and ultimately equally as officious and presumptuous as his British counterpart. After Harrison and Snare's spectacular downfalls (one is killed in
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actually a success, Charlie escapes demotion and goes on leave, which he spends with his wife Edith, while at the same time maintaining an affair with
Cuthbertson's secretary-receptionist.
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469:O'Connor, John J. (12 October 1983).
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122:104 minutes
84:Ousama Rawi
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37:Video cover
760:1979 films
754:Categories
609:Man Friday
431:References
57:Ted Childs
689:The Chain
625:Aces High
549:Jack Gold
482:25 August
454:25 August
413:Reception
404:as Bolton
285:safehouse
273:"launder"
251:defection
226:anti-hero
216:espionage
89:Edited by
47:Jack Gold
681:Sakharov
585:Conflict
362:as Snare
338:as Janet
320:as Edith
293:Brighton
219:thriller
213:Cold War
135:Language
108: ()
63:Starring
268:Leipzig
223:British
138:English
127:Country
740:(1998)
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299:Cast
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207:Plot
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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