Serpent, Le (1973)

Director:

Henri Verneuil

Writers:

Gilles Perrault (writer)
Henri Verneuil (writer)

Release Date:

November 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Plot:

A Russian diplomat hatches a complicated plan to enable him to defect to the West.

Plot Keywords:

Cold War | Defection | Russia | Spy | CIA

Cast

Yul Brynner	...	Col. Alexei Vlassov
Henry Fonda	...	Allan Davies
Dirk Bogarde	...	Philip Boyle
Philippe Noiret	...	Lucien Berthon
Michel Bouquet	...	Tavel
Virna Lisi	...	Mrs. Annabel Lee
Guy Tréjan	...	Robert Deval
Elga Andersen	...	Kate Cross
Marie Dubois	...	Mrs. Walter
Nathalie Nerval	...	Tatiana Vlassov
André Falcon	...	French Diplomat
Robert Party	...	Debecourt
William Sabatier	...	Mercadier - Foreign Affairs official
Robert Alda	...	Polygraph interrogator
Paola Pitagora	...	Jeannine Santelli

Also Known As:

Night Flight from Moscow (USA) (reissue title)
Schlange, Die (West Germany)
Serpente, Il (Italy)
The Serpent (USA)

Runtime:

Japan:120 min | UK:124 min | USA:113 min

Country:

France | Italy | West Germany

Language:

English | German | French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

France

Company:

Euro International Film (EIA)

Enjoyable espionage thriller with a great international cast

Finally I was able to see the thriller The Serpent on DVD under a new but poor title NIGHT TRAIN FROM MOSCOW (why this has been changed I don't know).

Any film that has Yul Brynner, Henry Fonda & Dirk Bogarde has to be worth watching but this is rarely shown on TV so I was pleased to find the recent Pathfinder DVD release. The film is very much in the trend of your typical spy drama from the sixties (see The Spy who came in from the Cold and The Quiller Memorandum) despite being made in 1973.

Brynner is Vlassov a valuable KGB agent who defects on the condition he supplies the CIA with information regarding Double Agents operating in the West. Question: Is he telling the truth or is he himself another carefully placed spy? It's up to CIA head Henry Fonda with the help of British Intelligence Representative Dirk Bogarde to determine this.

Phillipe Noiret, Farley Granger, Robert Alda (father of Alan) and Virna Lisi provide the support in an intriguing thriller. Although some of the plot twists are predictable and there's a lengthy absence of the 3 main protagonists in the second act, the pace is just right as opposed to other Bond alternative spy dramas where slow pacing and no action result in boredom.

Surprising therefore that The Serpent isn't more widely known as it's a gem of a thriller with a good ending.