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The Spy Who Came in from the Cold ()

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Instead of coming in from the Cold War, British agent Alec Leamas chooses to face another mission.
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Writers:
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Awards:
  • Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 3 nominations.
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Photos and Videos

62 photos | 2 videos

Cast verified as complete

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Alec Leamas
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Nancy 'Nan' Perry
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Fiedler
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Peters
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Comrade Karden - Defense Attorney
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George Smiley
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Control
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Hans-Dieter Mundt (as Peter Van Eyck)
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Ashe
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Dick Carlton
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Mr. Patmore - Grocer
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Tribunal President
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Old Judge
Tom Stern ...
CIA Agent
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Checkpoint Charlie Guard
Scot Finch ...
German Guide
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Miss Crail
George Mikell ...
Checkpoint Charlie Guard
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Vopo Captain
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Mr. Zanfrello - Grocery Customer
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East German Judge
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
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Pawson (uncredited)
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Young Judge (uncredited)
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Mr. Pitt - Employment Officer (uncredited)
Marianne Deeming ...
Frau Floerdke (uncredited)
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Holten (uncredited)
Edward Harvey ...
Man in Shop (uncredited)
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British sentry (Sgt.) at Checkpoint Charlie. (uncredited)
Katherine Keeton ...
Pussywillow Club Stripper (uncredited)
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Young German Officer (uncredited)
Henk Molenberg ...
Dutch Customs Officer (uncredited)
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Mrs. Zanfrello - Grocery Customer (uncredited)
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Pawson (uncredited)
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Lofthouse - Library Assistant (uncredited)
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Security Officer (uncredited)
Richard Shaw ...
Guard (uncredited)
Terry Yorke ...
Karl Riemeck (uncredited)

Directed by

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Martin Ritt

Written by

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John le Carré ... (novel)
 
Paul Dehn ... (screenplay) and
Guy Trosper ... (screenplay)

Produced by

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Martin Ritt ... producer

Music by

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Sol Kaplan

Cinematography by

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Oswald Morris ... director of photography

Editing by

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Anthony Harvey

Editorial Department

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Denis Whitehouse ... assistant editor
Ray Lovejoy ... assistant editor (uncredited)

Production Design by

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Tambi Larsen
Hal Pereira ... (uncredited)

Art Direction by

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Edward Marshall

Set Decoration by

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Josie MacAvin ... (uncredited)

Costume Design by

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Sophie Devine ... (as Motley)

Makeup Department

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Eric Allwright ... makeup artist
George Frost ... makeup supervisor
Joan Smallwood ... hairdresser

Production Management

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James H. Ware ... production supervisor (as James Ware)
Wim Lindner ... production manager: Netherlands (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Colin M. Brewer ... assistant director (as Colin Brewer)

Art Department

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Stan Gale ... construction manager
Josie MacAvin ... set dresser
Peter Melrose ... scenic artist

Sound Department

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John Cox ... sound recordist
Gordon Daniel ... dubbing editor
John W. Mitchell ... sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department

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Brian West ... camera operator
Maurice Gillett ... supervising electrician (uncredited)
John Palmer ... clapper loader (uncredited)
Bob Penn ... still photographer (uncredited)

Casting Department

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Sally Nicholl ... casting supervisor

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Barbara Gillett ... wardrobe

Music Department

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Sol Kaplan ... conductor
David Lindup ... orchestrator (uncredited)

Script and Continuity Department

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Angela Martelli ... continuity

Transportation Department

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Arthur Dunne ... transportation captain (uncredited)

Additional Crew

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Richard McWhorter ... assistant to the producer
Doreen Jones ... production secretary (uncredited)
Gerry Lewis ... publicist (uncredited)
Crew believed to be complete

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

Alec Leamas (Richard Burton), a British spy, is sent to East Germany, supposedly to defect, but in fact to sow disinformation. As more plot turns appear, Leamas becomes more convinced that his own people see him as just a cog. His struggle back from dehumanization becomes the final focus of the story. Written by John Vogel

Plot Keywords
Taglines BRACE YOURSELF FOR GREATNESS See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • John le Carré's The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (World-wide, English title)
  • L'espion qui venait du froid (France)
  • Der Spion, der aus der Kälte kam (Germany)
  • El espía que surgió del frío (Spain)
  • Шпион, пришедший с холода (Soviet Union, Russian title)
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Runtime
  • 112 min
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Language
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Sound Mix
Filming Locations

Did You Know?

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Trivia After Richard Burton became a superstar, he insisted on casting his friends from his days at the Old Vic and West End (London's equivalent to New York City's Broadway). Friends of Burton's cast in this movie included Michael Hordern and Robert Hardy. Burton's former leading lady (on-stage and in two movies) Claire Bloom, however, was cast by Martin Ritt. This caused friction for several reasons: Burton had wanted his wife, Elizabeth Taylor, in the role, and he and Bloom had been an item in the 1950s. John le Carré remembers that "off-screen Bloom preserved a dignified distance in her caravan". See more »
Goofs At the beginning of the film they say that Leamas has been waiting for days for the arrival of Riemeck. This behavior doesn't make sense, as it gives away the arrival of a defector to the opposing side. See more »
Movie Connections Featured in Richard Burton: In from the Cold (1988). See more »
Quotes Alec Leamas: It was a foul, foul operation, but it paid off.
Nan Perry: Who for?
Alec Leamas: What the hell do you think spies are? Moral philosophers measuring everything they do against the word of God or Karl Marx? They're not! They're just a bunch of seedy, squalid bastards like me: little men, drunkards, queers, henpecked husbands, civil servants playing cowboys and Indians to brighten their rotten little lives. Do you think they sit like monks in a cell, balancing right against wrong? Yesterday I would have killed Mundt because I thought him evil and an enemy. But not today. Today he is evil and my friend. London needs him. They need him so that the great, moronic masses you admire so much can sleep soundly in their flea-bitten beds again. They need him for the safety of ordinary, crummy people like you and me...
Nan Perry: You killed Fiedler!
Alec Leamas: How big does a cause have to be before you kill your friends? What about your Party? There's a few million bodies on that path!
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