Three Days of the Condor (1975)

Director:

Sydney Pollack

Writers:

James Grady (novel)
Lorenzo Semple Jr. (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

14 November 1975 (Finland)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

His CIA code name is Condor. In the next seventy-two hours almost everyone he trusts will try to kill him.

Plot:

A bookish CIA researcher finds all his co-workers dead, and must outwit those responsible until he figures out who he can really trust.

Plot Keywords:

CIA | Book | Kill | Key | Bird In Title

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Robert Redford	...	Joseph Turner / The Condor
Faye Dunaway	...	Kathy Hale
Cliff Robertson	...	J. Higgins
Max von Sydow	...	G. Joubert (as Max Von Sydow)
John Houseman	...	Mr. Wabash
Addison Powell	...	Leonard Atwood
Walter McGinn	...	Sam Barber
Tina Chen	...	Janice Chon
Michael Kane	...	S.W. Wicks
Don McHenry	...	Dr. Ferdinand Lappe
Michael B. Miller	...	Fowler (as Michael Miller)
Jess Osuna	...	The Major
Dino Narizzano	...	Harold
Helen Stenborg	...	Mrs. Edwina Russell (as Helen Stenbure)
Patrick Gorman	...	Martin
Hansford Rowe	...	Jennings (also as Hansford Rolle) (as Hansford H. Rowe Jr.)
Carlin Glynn	...	Mae Barber (as Carlin Gylnn)
Hank Garrett	...	Mailman
Arthur French	...	Messenger
Jay Devlin	...	Tall Thin Man
Frank Savino	...	Jimmy
Robert Phalen	...	Newberry
John Randolph Jones	...	Beefy Man
Garrison Phillips	...	Hutton
Lee Steele	...	Heidegger
Ed Crowley	...	Ordinance Man
John Connell	...	TV Reporter
Norman Bush	...	Alice Lieutenant
James Keane	...	Store Clerk
Ed Setrakian	...	Customer
Myron Natwick	...	Civilian
Michael Prince	...	Civilian
Carol Gustafson	...	Landlady
Sal Schillizzi	...	Locksmith
Harmon William	...	CIA Agent
David Bowman	...	Telephone Worker
Eileen Gordon	...	CIA Receptionist
Robert Dahdah	...	Santa Claus
Steve Bonino	...	Kid
Jennifer Rose	...	Kid
David Allen	...	Kid
Glenn Ferguson	...	Kid
Paul Dwyer	...	Kid
Marian Swan	...	Nurse
Dorothi Fox	...	Nurse
Ernest Harden Jr.	...	Teenager
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Beverly Goodman	...	Girl (uncredited)
Russell Johnson	...	Intelligence Officer at Briefing (uncredited)
Bruce Moreno	...	Computer Operator (uncredited)
Lauren Simon	...	Neighbor in Elevator (uncredited)

Directed by
Sydney Pollack

Writing credits
James Grady		(novel "Six Days of the Condor")
Lorenzo Semple Jr.		(screenplay) and
David Rayfiel		(screenplay)

Produced by
Stanley Schneider	....	producer
Dino De Laurentiis	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Dave Grusin

Cinematography by
Owen Roizman

Film Editing by
Don Guidice

Casting by
Shirley Rich

Production Design by
Stephen B. Grimes		(as Stephen Grimes)

Art Direction by
Gene Rudolf

Set Decoration by
George DeTitta Sr.		(as George DeTitta)

Costume Design by
Joseph G. Aulisi		(as Joseph C. Aulisi)

Makeup Department
Susan Germaine	....	hairdresser: Ms. Dunaway
Lee Harman	....	makeup artist: Ms. Dunaway (as Lee Harmon)
Gary Liddiard	....	makeup artist
Bob O'Bradovich	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Paul Ganapoler	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michael Haley	....	second assistant director (as Mike Haley)
Kim Kurumada	....	second assistant director
Peter R. Scoppa	....	first assistant director (as Pete Scoppa)
Ralph S. Singleton	....	second assistant director (as Ralph Singleton)

Art Department
Alan Levine	....	property master (as Allan Levine)
Bruno Robotti	....	master scenic

Sound Department
Dennis Maitland	....	production sound
Arthur Piantadosi	....	sound re-recordist
Josef von Stroheim	....	sound editor (as Josef E. Von Stroheim)

Special Effects by
Augie Lohman	....	special effects

Stunts
Dean Smith	....	stunt double (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Enrique Bravo	....	camera operator
Dusty Wallace	....	gaffer
Robert Ward	....	key grip
Holly Bower	....	special photographer (uncredited)
Brian Hamill	....	still photographer: special assignment (uncredited)
Gary Muller	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)
Tom Priestley Jr.	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joseph W. Dehn	....	wardrobe
Bernie Pollack	....	wardrobe
Bernie Pollack	....	costume supervisor (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Fredric Steinkamp	....	supervising editor

Music Department
Ted Whitfield	....	music editor

Other crew
Theoni V. Aldredge	....	clothes: Ms. Dunaway
Michael Britton	....	location coordinator
Dino De Laurentiis	....	presenter
Federico De Laurentiis	....	assistant to producer
Sam Goldrich	....	production accountant
Maggie James	....	script supervisor
Adeline Leonard Seakwood	....	office coordinator (as Adeline Leonard)
Phill Norman	....	title designer
Frans J. Afman	....	financial services (uncredited)
Stephen A. Glanzrock	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Dino De Laurentiis Company
• Paramount Pictures
• Wildwood Enterprises (as A Wildwood Enterprises, Inc. Co-Production)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1975) (USA) (theatrical) (as Paramount A Gulf + Western Company)
• Hafbo (1976) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1977) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere) (pan/scan)
• Fox Films (1975) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1992) (Finland) (TV) (MTV1)
• Nelonen (1997) (Finland) (TV)
• Paramount Home Video (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Paramount Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Rautakirja (????) (Finland) (VHS)
• Tec Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• Video Classics
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2001) (Finland) (TV) (TV2)

Other Companies

• Creative Film Arts  optical effects

Also Known As:

3 Days of the Condor (Australia)

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:AA (1975) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1976) | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

1 World Trade Center, World Trade Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Dino De Laurentiis Company

Trivia:

Excluding the action during the opening credits, this film has approximately 1172 shots in 1 hour 53 minutes and 8 seconds, or an average shot duration of about 5.8 seconds.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the Condor is getting soaked by rain on his way to lunch, everyone immediately around him has umbrellas. There is a man in the distance to the right of the police officer, obviously oblivious to the rain and walks as if he is beyond the reach of the rain machines.

Quotes:

Joe Turner: Listen. I work for the CIA. I am not a spy. I just read books! We read everything that's published in the world. And we... we feed the plots - dirty tricks, codes - into a computer, and the computer checks against actual CIA plans and operations. I look for leaks, I look for new ideas... We read adventures and novels and journals. I... I... Who'd invent a job like that?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Smother (2008/II)

A classic spy thriller that still does the trick after so many years

Sidney Pollack is a great admirer of Alfred Hitchcock, which he also proved with "The Interpreter". Apparently he loves suspenseful thrillers and I sure hope for him that his movies will age as well as those that Hitchcock made. And I guess they do. Even though it was made thirty years ago, "Three Days of the Condor" still hasn't lost any of its power. Sure, you could call it a typical product of the seventies, but even today this movie feels up-to-date and believable.

Turner works for the American Literary Historical Society, or at least so it seems. In reality he is a CIA researcher, with the code name Condor, who gets paid to read books, in which he has to find possible scenarios that could be used in intelligence work. When he returns to his office after he went out to get lunch, he finds all his colleagues dead and he doesn't know who shot them. He immediately calls a superior who sends his section chief to get him out of there. But when the man arrives, he immediately opens fire on Turner. In an act of pure desperation - he no longer knows who he can trust - Turner kidnaps a woman he has never seen before and forces her to hide him. He will stay in her house until he can find out what exactly is going on. But even there he isn't save. He is discovered and attacked in the woman's house, but is able to kill the man. Now he knows one thing for sure: the man too had a connection to the CIA, which means that someone in the CIA must be behind all this...

I guess the best thing about this movie is the fact that it doesn't give away all its information at once. At first Turner appears to be an ordinary guy who arrives late for work. Nothing special there. But because he gradually builds up tension by slightly releasing more information, the writer knows how to keep you focused and interested. I guess the best way to describe this movie is calling it a classic spy thriller without James Bond-like locations or bad guys and and no super hero who can beat all the bad guys with a blink of an eye. No, this is a normal man who was at the wrong place at the wrong time and who now has to face an unusual and life threatening situation. I guess that's where this movie gets its strength: you can easily identify with him, even though he is a spy.

And yes, the whole concept of the movie is very seventies: the paranoia towards the government, the insecurity of not knowing who your enemies or your friends are... all give it that typical feeling. but even today this movie hasn't lost any of its power or relevance. All in all this is a very good and stylish thriller that offers plenty of tension and some very nice acting. Especially Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway were very nice to watch, but the other actors did a fine job too. Thanks to the combination of the acting, a good story and some nice camera-work, Pollack has created a movie Hitchcock might have been proud of if he had done it. That's why I give this movie a 7.5/10.