The Looking Glass War (1969)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Frank Pierson

Writers:

Frank Pierson (writer)
John le Carré (novel)

Release Date:

September 1969 (UK)

Genre:

Action | Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

"Why do we listen to them? Why do we fight their wars for them?"

Plot:

From the John le Carre novel about a British spy who sends a Polish defector to East Germany to verify missile sites.

Plot Keywords:

Missile | Cold War | East Germany | Spy | Defector

Cast

Christopher Jones	...	Leiser
Pia Degermark	...	The Girl
Ralph Richardson	...	LeClerc
Paul Rogers	...	Haldane
Anthony Hopkins	...	John Avery
Susan George	...	Susan
Ray McAnally	...	Undersecretary of State
Robert Urquhart	...	Johnson
Anna Massey	...	Avery's Wife
Vivian Pickles	...	Mrs. King
Maxine Audley	...	Mrs. LeClerc
Cyril Shaps	...	East German Detective
Michael Robbins	...	Truck Driver
Timothy West	...	Taylor
Frederick Jaeger	...	The Pilot

Runtime:

USA:108 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG | UK:AA (original rating) | UK:15 (video rating) | UK:12 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Frankovich Productions

Trivia:

Penelope Horner, Sharon Gurney and Juliet Harmer were favored to play Susan (Susan George)

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Ring (2002)

Great film to Enjoy

This is a film that I had seemed to overlook and was very glad to have found a copy. The story is written by John Le Carre, who has written many espionage books and in this picture, Leiser,(Christopher Jones) plays the role of a Polish defector promised political asylum in England. However, he has to go back behind the Iron Curtain to investigate the possibilities that East Germany is building a rocket in violation of a disarmament pack. Leiser visits a girl friend, Susan, (Susan George),"Straw Dogs", who is having his child and then all of a sudden finds out things about what she has been doing and splits up the relationship. Leiser soon meets up with another gal, Pia Degermark who he falls in love, and is happy that she also has a very young son to make for a very happy marriage. They both decide to flee from all the espionage Leiser is caught up in and still has to deal with expert ruthless old men who use the both of them as decoys. Great film with great actors, all very young and starting out in their films careers.