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 | Sabotage | Poem | Hypnosis

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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:

The code used to activate sleepers is taken from a poem by Robert Frost, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening", originally published in 1923 in his collection titled "New Hampshire". The exact lines are: "The woods are lovely, dark and deep./ But I have promises to keep,/ And miles to go before I sleep,/ And miles to go before I sleep."

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Sergeant in KGB office is pulling out unloaded gun to shoot everyone in the room. The gun is revolver which used to be Soviet Army official gun but was changed soon after WWII to Makarov (clip type). Hence quite unlikely general would have such an obsolete weapon in his office minding all the security and control in KGB.

Quotes:

Grigori Borzov: Being paranoid doesn't mean we're not being followed.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Death Proof (2007)

Telefon was a superb movie of the 70's

This movie is one of my favorites. Lee Remick and Charles Bronson were the perfect pair for this thriller. Donald Pleasance was also well casted. Who cares if a KGB uniform was not exactly correct as some people have commented on! When I see a movie I want to be entertained and this one had me on edge from beginning to end. Bravo! I would love to get a copy of this film as these type of movies are ones that you could watch over and over again. The chemistry of Lee Remick and Charles Bronson happened as soon as they laid eyes on each other and their performances were excellent. I was also intrigued by the surprise ending