A Dandy in Aspic
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| A Dandy in Aspic | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Anthony Mann Laurence Harvey (uncredited) |
| Written by | Derek Marlowe |
| Based on | A Dandy in Aspic 1966 novel by Derek Marlowe |
| Produced by | Anthony Mann |
| Starring | Laurence Harvey Tom Courtenay Mia Farrow Peter Cook Harry Andrews |
| Cinematography | Christopher Challis Austin Dempster |
| Edited by | Thelma Connell |
| Music by | Quincy Jones |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates | April 2, 1968 (USA) April 4, 1968 (London - premiere) |
Running time | 107 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
A Dandy in Aspic is a 1968 neo-noir[1] Technicolor and Panavision British spy film, directed by Anthony Mann, based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Derek Marlowe and starring Laurence Harvey, Tom Courtenay, and Mia Farrow, with costumes by Pierre Cardin.[2] It was Mann's final film.
Set against the backdrop of 1960s Cold War Europe, it is the story of a spy known to his superiors in British Intelligence by his code name "Eberlin".
Plot[edit]
Eberlin, a Cold War British intelligence operative, has a problem. His superiors have ordered him to find and assassinate a KGB agent named Krasnevin, believed to be responsible for the recent murders of British agents. Summoned to a meeting at a country estate, he is presented with film footage of the suspected Krasnevin. He turns out to be Eberlin's go-between with Russian double agents.
To accomplish his assignment, Eberlin is partnered with a ruthless, cynical, and sociopathic British agent, Gatiss, who openly distrusts and dislikes him. Caroline is a London-based photographer with whom Eberlin has an affair. Much of the film takes place in West Berlin, where Eberlin, as part of his mission, attempts to cross the Berlin Wall to the East. His attempts are frustrated by his partnership with Gatiss and by the Soviet authorities, who are keen to retain the identity of the assassin.
Cast[edit]
- Laurence Harvey as Eberlin
- Tom Courtenay as Gatiss
- Mia Farrow as Caroline
- Harry Andrews as Fraser
- Peter Cook as Prentiss
- Lionel Stander as Sobakevich
- Per Oscarsson as Pavel
- Barbara Murray as Miss Vogler
- John Bird as Henderson
- Norman Bird as Copperfield
- Geoffrey Bayldon as Lake
- Calvin Lockhart as Brogue
- James Cossins as Heston-Stevas
- Michael Trubshawe as Flowers
- Geoffrey Lumsden as Ridley
- Elspeth March as Lady Hetherington
- Richard O'Sullivan as Nevil
- Mike Pratt as Greff
- George Murcell as Sergeant Harris
- Vernon Dobtcheff as Stein
Production[edit]
Largely filmed on location in London and Berlin,[citation needed] this was Anthony Mann's final film; he died of a heart attack before it was finished. Its direction was completed by Harvey.
Music[edit]
Unidentified orchestra arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones including Carol Kaye (electric bass)[3] and Earl Palmer (drums).[4]
Reception[edit]
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "One wonders what Bresson might have made of Derek Marlowe's novel, which is in one way a completely routine spy thriller, and in another, anything but. The point about the novel is that when Eberlin, the double agent, finds that he has been assigned to kill himself, it is as if he were paralysed by the irony of his position. All the usual spy things happen, violence proliferates, he acts and is acted upon; but because he is aware that he is securely caught in a trap (and the book sees events exclusively from his point of view), all this action is merely vain fluttering, leading nowhere and having no real meaning. In a very real, Bressonian sense, the action takes place in Eberlin's mind, where exterior events are seen, as it were, through a glass darkly, imponderably adding to or subtracting from his chances of survival. The film, predictably, opts for a straightforward actionful approach, with the result that what we get is a totally routine spy thriller. ... The plot, in fact, just isn't strong enough or inventive enough to withstand this sort of clumsy exteriorisation, and the result is deadly dullness."[5]
The New York Times described it as "a very wobbly spy movie ... slow, blank, decorous and completely devoid of suspense."[6]
Variety called the film as a "routine, poorly-titled espionage meller loaded with uninteresting, cardboard characters."[7]
Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide rates the film 2 out of 4 stars and describes it as a "wooden spy melodrama in which principals keep switching sides so rapidly it becomes impossible to follow."[8]
Time Out said: "the film is strong on Cold War atmospherics and notable for its superior cast."[9]
Home media[edit]
A Dandy in Aspic was released to DVD on 1 August 2011 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment as a DVD-on-demand title available through Amazon. A limited edition blu-ray disc with extensive bonus materials was released in the United Kingdom on 25 March 2019. In 2020, it became available for streaming on The Criterion Channel.
References[edit]
- ^ Spicer, Andrew (2010). Historical Dictionary of Film Noir. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. p. 427. ISBN 978-0-8108-5960-9.
- ^ "A Dandy in Aspic". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ "A Dandy In Aspic". Library of Congress.
- ^ "A Dandy In Aspic". Library of Congress.
- ^ "A Dandy in Aspic". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 35 (408): 71. 1 January 1968 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Adler, Renata. "Screen: Harvey Plays a Deadpan 'Dandy in Aspic'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- ^ Variety staff. "A Dandy in Aspic". Variety. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- ^ Maltin, Leonard (2015). Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide (2015 ed.). New York: Penguin Random House. p. 316. ISBN 9780451468499.
- ^ "A Dandy in Aspic". Time Out. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
External links[edit]
- A Dandy in Aspic at IMDb
- A Dandy in Aspic at AllMovie
- A Dandy in Aspic at the TCM Movie Database
- A Dandy in Aspic then-and-now location photographs at ReelStreets
