"The Spy Who Came In From the Cold" with Richard Burton and Claire Bloom (1962)

I am a big fan of the Cold War. It had all the necessary elements for a good spy story on a daily basis. And they were true.

Growing up during the some of the hottest times in the Cold War was kind of exciting. The Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile Crisis, the Berlin Wall. All of these real life dramas made interesting fodder for the writers of spy novels and the stories they spun. "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold" is one of my all time favorites.

John LeCarre takes a man, a broken and tired man, Alec Leamus, and turns him into a political anti-hero. Here is a man who has been engaged in espionage against the Russians for a decade or more, who knows all the ropes, and yet finds himself caught in a web he inadvertently helps to create.

The book and the movie are almost identical. It is helpful to have read the book first, but not necessary. Alec Leamus is asked by MI5 to leave the agency on the pretext of not having gained promotion due to his drinking. Richard Burton plays the part in the movie and his own public struggles with alcoholism make this role very believable.

As he skids down the path of his affliction he takes a job as a research librarian, filing books in a private collection. There he meets a woman named Liz, played in the movie by Claire Bloom, with whom he forms an instant connection. Two lonely people trapped in their own gray and dreary lives. The film is in black and white. It is an accurate depiction of England at that time, still reeling from the ravages of World War Two. Rationing didn't formally end until 1965. Both the novel and the movie capture this aspect with perfection.

When Alec defects to the Russian side for a price, at the direction of his superiors, a chain of events ensues that brings sharply into focus both the differences and the similarities of what we call Freedom and the other side calls Communism. Both sides have agendas. Both sides resort to unthinkable means in order to obtain their respective goals.

Caught in a struggle between a principled Communist Party member who tries Leamus for espionage, and a ruthless ex-Nazi who may be a British double agent, Leamus finds himself in the grips of a plot that will either reinforce his beliefs or tear them apart, revealing them as the other side of the same coin.

The book is riveting, as is the movie. Richard Burton gives one of his finest performances as the troubled spy. And Claire Bloom is exceptional as a woman torn between her beliefs and the reality with which she finds herself confronted.

Stark and intense writing give the book the feel of the gray and colorless world of Communism in Eastern Europe at the time. Stark and intense direction by Martin Pitt transfer these elements to the screen with perfection.

"Blessings In Disguise" by Sir Alec Guinness

It would be hard to argue that Alec Guinness, often referred to as "the man with no face", is one of the finest actors ever. He has triumphed in every arena he has performed in. From stage to screen, from Shakespeare's "Hamlet", to George Lucas' "Star Wars", few actors can really claim to have managed such diverse roles, pulling them all off with perfection, and then some.

Who can forget Mr. Guinness as the indomitable Colonel Nicholson in Pierre Boulle's "The Bridge Over the River Kwai", or the crafty Fagin in David Lean's film version of "Oliver Twist." I can go on, but why?

In this very theatrically toned memoir, Mr. Guinness recounts his early years as the child of a mother and stepfather; who fell in and out of fortune at regular intervals; which left him to his own devices when not confined to boarding school. His childhood straddled the years between the two World Wars, which were amongst some of the most politically interesting decades of the 20th Century. The different characters whom he meets during these years are a fascinating, though odd, assortment of talented people.

He recounts his introduction to the theater, and then acting, naming long forgotten performers; who's names I am unfamiliar with; but through his remarkable style of writing, still manages to convey their wit, and importance, in the theatrical circles of their time.

One of the more amazing things, to me at least, about this book is the way the authors words convey his personality so well. He translates on paper just as well as he did on the screen. I cannot say how his films, or this book, compare to his stage appearances, never having had the honor of seeing him in person. As close as I've gotten to his level of performance is seeing Richard Burton in "Camelot" when I was about 7; I really did think that he was King Arthur; and then seeing Claire Bloom in Ibsen's "Doll's House" when I was 14. Jason Robards co-starred in that, it was a Sunday afternoon matinee in a loft somewhere in Manhattan for $4 a ticket. One of my friends mother's took us there, and I fell in love with Ms. Bloom that day, though she has still never answered my letter.

That's another thing which makes this book so readable. For all his accomplishments, and title, Sir Alec was very much like you and I. For instance, when he was 7 he saw Nellie Wallace in a music hall performance and sent her flowers, just as I had sent a note to Claire Bloom. In Mr. Guinness' case, Ms. Wallace returned the gesture with a note and some flowers of her own. (Ms. Bloom, please take note.)

Through all of his years in the theater; where people are sometimes apt to take themselves too seriously; and in all of his performances as Kings, Colonels, Princes, etc., he never ceased to be Alec Guinness. He even begins the book by stating that he was born out of wedlock. No excuses offered, just the unabashed fact. And that's the way the entire 200 pages, or so, reads, as a collection of facts, presented almost in vignettes that define the author’s life.

At the beginning to the final paragraph Mr. Guinness writes, "At the risk of pretension I have to say that, for me, the great adventure could be yet to come, had I only the courage and strength of will to embark on it: a spiritual journey, all foibles, silliness and ill-will mastered and thrown overboard and a genuine attempt made at achieving total simplicity. A day dream only, I fear. I lack sufficient humility and it is so warm and cozy on shore." That's quite a statement from a very unique and humble man.

Cold War Duo- "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold" by John LeCarre

I am a big fan of the Cold war. It had all the necessary elements for a good spy story on a daily basis. And they were true.


Growing up during the some of the hottest times in the Cold War was kind of exciting. The Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile Crisis, the Berlin Wall. All of these real life dramas made interesting fodder for the writers of spy novels and the stories they spun. "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold" is one of my all time favorites.

John LeCarre takes a man, a broken and tired man, Alec Leamus, and turns him into a political anti-hero. Here is a man who has been engaged in espionage against the Russians for a decade or more, who knows all the ropes, and yet finds himself caught in a web he inadvertently helps to create.
The book and the movie are almost identical. It is helpful to have read the book first, but not necessary. Alec Leamus is asked by MI5 to leave the agency on the pretext of not having gained promotion due to his drinking. Richard Burton plays the part in the movie and his own public struggles with alcoholism make this role very believable.
As he skids down the path of his affliction he takes a job as a research librarian, filing books in a private collection. There he meets a woman named Liz, played in the movie by Claire Bloom, with whom he forms an instant connection. Two lonely people trapped in their own gray and dreary lives. The film is in black and white. It is an accurate depiction of England at that time, still reeling from the ravages of World War Two. Rationing didn't formally end until 1965. Both the novel and the movie capture this aspect with perfection.
When Alec defects to the Russian side for a price, at the direction of his superiors, a chain of events ensues that brings sharply into focus both the differences and the similarities of what we call Freedom and the other side calls Communism. Both sides have agendas. Both sides resort to unthinkable means in order to obtain their respective goals.
Caught in a struggle between a principled Communist Party member who tries Leamus for espionage, and a ruthless ex-Nazi who may be a British double agent, Leamus finds himself in the grips of a plot that will either reinforce his beliefs or tear them apart, revealing them as the other side of the same coin.
The book is riveting, as is the movie. Richard Burton gives one of his finest performances as the troubled spy. And Claire Bloom is exceptional as a woman torn between her beliefs and the reality with which she finds herself confronted.
Stark and intense writing give the book the feel of the gray and colorless world of Communism in Eastern Europe at the time. Stark and intense direction by Martin Pitt transfer these elements to the screen with perfection.