Telefon (1977)

Director:

Don Siegel

Writers:

Peter Hyams (screenplay) &
Stirling Silliphant (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 December 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Action | Thriller

Tagline:

They'll do anything to stop Telefon. The operation that can trigger 51 human time bombs.

Plot:

The KGB's looking for one of their people, a man named Dalchimsky cause he has stolen something important...

Plot Keywords:

KGB | Brainwashing | Poem | Sabotage | Hypnosis

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Charles Bronson	...	Major Grigori Borzov
Lee Remick	...	Barbara
Donald Pleasence	...	Nicolai Dalchimsky
Tyne Daly	...	Dorothy Putterman
Alan Badel	...	Colonel Malchenko
Patrick Magee	...	General Strelsky
Sheree North	...	Marie Wills
Frank Marth	...	Harley Sandburg
Helen Page Camp	...	Emma Stark
Roy Jenson	...	Doug Stark
Jacqueline Scott	...	Mrs. Hassler
Ed Bakey	...	Carl Hassler
John Mitchum	...	Harry Bascom
Iggie Wolfington	...	Father Stuart Diller
Hank Brandt	...	William Enders

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:16 | West Germany:16 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1978) | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Atrium Lobby, Hyatt Regency Hotel - 5 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

When Borzov (Charles Bronson) encounters Immigration on the Canadian border, the agent asks about his citizenship and birthplace, to which he responds, "American, from Pennsylvania", Bronson's true birthplace.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: No foreign cars were allowed to be used by KGB officials back in 1970s. Instead of filmed Mercedes Pullman KGB general should've been driven in ZIL or Volga.

Quotes:

Lieutenant Alexandrov: [KGB-men enter Dalchimsky's apartment] NICOLAI DALCHIMSKY!

Movie Connections:

Edited into 42nd Street Forever, Volume 3: Exploitation Explosion (2008) (V)

Do you accept the call.

Nicolai Dalchimski, a now rogue secret agent for KGB has stolen an important notebook which has the names and phone numbers of sleeping undercover KGB agents living in America. Under hypnosis they were given instructions, that when they hear a certain poem resided it triggers them to unknowingly act upon their mission which is a suicidal act on mainly military targets. Dalchimski heads to America to begin the process, so the Soviets send Colonel Borzov over there to put a stop to it before it causes a world war three.

A curiously low-key, but plodding espionage cold war thriller (taken off Walter Wager's novel) by stalwart director Don Siegel. I'm really caught here, as the plot remains stimulating due to the novelty of its new slant (involving a KGB assignment of brainwashed sleepers living in the USA, who could be used to destroy an important target when a certain quote is mentioned to them), but I found it durably grinding than excitingly gripping. There was so much opportunity arising from the situations to the let the tension gradually build-up (as the concept is an alarming one), but despite some tight drilling set-pieces it never manages to tie them together to create a rampant urgency throughout. It's quite a spotty cross-country trip (spending a lot of time with Charles Bronson and Lee Remick), which gathers a head of steam before letting go the in the final third when the two parties finally come to blows (some underground car parking) and then delivering a well-staged, but underwhelming climax.

The plot-work (by Peter Hyams and Stirling Silliphant) is quite constructive (if outrageous) with its sober script consisting of humorous quirks, but Siegel's efficiently grounded direction tries to cleverly milk out the dramatic suspense, but is forced to sourcing the material in an mechanical fashion. Although Pleasance's phone calls of stating Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods" to trigger of the sleepers are eerily achieved. Those familiar with his work though would come to appreciate the use of the well positioned camera (photographed by Michael Butler), from the leering frames to the long, expansive shots of the surrounding backdrops. Siegel truly had an eye for those details. The music was composed by no other Lalo Schifrin (who's done quite a few scores for Siegel --- "Dirty Harry" (1971) comes to mind), as he chips in with an engrossingly simmering and characteristic score that works with its dangerous tone.

The performances are acceptably spot-on with a sturdy as ever Charles Bronson and Lee Remick shines with her affable presence. The two worked together very fittingly, but sometimes their moody interludes did take away from the bigger picture. Donald Pleasance gleefully turns it up as the rogue Russian agent, but in the end I wished there was a little more to his character. Patrick Magee, Sheree North, Jacqueline Scott also show up good support roles and Tyne Daly appears in something of a disposable character, well for laughs anyway. The way she was brought in, I thought there might have been more made of it. Also if you look at the cast there are some regulars, if only used in small parts that feature in other Bronson and Clint Eastwood films… with the likes of character actors Ed Bakey, John Mitchum and Roy Jenson.

Hypnotically established gear work that's leisurely paced, but bestows little to no fireworks.