Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011) - John Le Carre's Cold War classic on film

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SPOILER ALERT - SPOILER ALERT - SPOILER ALERT

The Simple version; There is a Russian spy in British Intelligence. Retired Intelligence Officer George Smiley is asked to come out of retirement to identify the traitor.

Above: The original Smiley, Alec Guinness

Below: The New, Gary Oldman

The Background; the early Seventies and the Cold War rumbles on. The Head of British Intelligence, (known as the Circus) Control and his deputy George Smiley are forced out after a disastrous operation behind the Iron Curtain. Intelligence Officer Jim Prideaux has been shot and captured in Hungary on a mission to reveal the identity of the mole. The name of the story comes from the nicknames assigned to key players by the outgoing Control; thus Smiley himself is 'Beggar-Man', New Intelligence chief Percy Alleline is 'Tinker', his deputy Bill Haydon 'Tailor'. Roy Bland and Toby Esterhase, two high-rising stars of the Secret Service are 'Soldier' and 'Poor-Man' respectively. These, then the possible suspects for the betrayal of Prideaux and the Service.

Above; The secure room at the heart of the Circus, Control (John Hurt) is losing his grip

Witchcraft; a high-level source of fantastic Soviet state secrets, 'Witchcraft's' identity and information are jealously guarded secrets. The story is set in the years of paranoia following the spy scandals of the post-war years; England is no longer considered fit for the 'top table' of Intelligence agencies and England wants her seat back. At what cost?, supposing Witchcraft is too good to be true?. If British Intelligence buys one more dud it is finished as a serious player – we will never be trusted again. Delight at Witchcraft's potential is widespread, especially among those climbing the ladder. Only two people – Control and Smiley – doubt Witchcraft, smelling a rat.

Laconic intervention; Overseeing British Intelligence is, inevitably a civil servant (The real power in England since the stapler and the hole punch were invented); Oliver Lacon. Lacon has got wind of the mole from disgraced Intelligence Officer Ricky Tarr, himself a suspected defector. Wisely, Lacon brings Smiley in to find the traitor.

Gary Oldman's Smiley is measured, studied and close to flawless

Smiley's friends; Terminally ill, Control has now died. Young star of the Circus, Peter Guillam and a retired Special Branch Officer, Mendel (first name 'Officer') are enlisted quietly by Smiley to assist him. In his travels, Smiley also visits Connie Sachs, a former 'Registry Queen', sacked from the Circus by Alleline for her insistence that a Soviet Cultural Attaché, Polyakov was a spy. A former Duty Signals Officer, Jerry Westerby was on duty at the Circus the night Prideaux was shot. He called Smiley's house and his wife Ann answered. Haydon then arrived at the Circus and claimed he'd seen the news at his (gentleman's) Club. Smiley is no fool – he knows his wife is unfaithful and this confirms her affair with Haydon.

Above; Ricky Tarr, as played by Tom Hardy

Karla; Ricky Tarr reveals to Smiley that he was in Istanbul to investigate a Soviet agent, Boris. To get to Boris, Ricky had an affair with his wife Irina, herself an agent. Tarr fell for her and she offered him the name of the Circus mole if Tarr could get her to safety in the West. The mole was controlled by the most shadowy figure of all; Karla, a high-ranking KGB officer and spymaster. (Smiley has actually met Karla; many years before, when he interrogated the captured KGB officer in India. Karla's nature was revealed by his insistence on returning to Russia in disgrace, knowing that he would almost certainly face execution. Karla, simply put, is a fanatic.) Tarr sends a signal to the Circus, but is ordered home at once. He then finds Boris has been murdered along with the Circus' Station Chief in Istanbul. Irina is captured by the KGB and realising he has been betrayed and framed, Tarr goes into hiding. Smiley sends Guillam to 'borrow' the Circus logbook for the night of Tarr's message, but the relevant pages have been removed.

Above; Benedict Cumberbatch is Guillam, seen here in the Circus Registry

The school teacher; Jim Prideaux was repatriated after a spy exchange and sacked. Taking a job at a minor prep school he tends his wound and bides his time. Smiley tracks him down and a bitter Prideaux reveals he was in Hungary to learn the name of the mole. During harsh interrogations by the Soviets, he saw a blonde prisoner, Irina being executed.

Chicken-feed for Caviar; Alleline ('Tinker'), Haydon, ('Tailor') Bland ('Soldier') and Esterhase ('Poor-Man') have all been meeting Polyakov, the Cultural Attaché at a safe house. The idea was to hand Polyakov low-grade material, known as 'Chicken-feed' to convince his Soviet masters he is a loyal and active spy. At the same time, he would hand over the 'Witchcraft' material. The reality? - the 'Witchcraft' material was Chicken-feed and at least one of the British suspects were handing over top-level British and American secrets at the meetings.

Smiley visits the tailor; Learning of the safe house from Esterhase, Smiley arranges for Tarr to present at the Circus' Paris Station and claim to know the mole's identity. This triggers a meeting at the safe house, the panicked mole running to inform Polyakov and request the KGB to eliminate Tarr. Smiley is waiting, of course and arrests Haydon.

 Dramatis Personae with the author John Le Carre

The top table; Haydon is held in the Circus facility at Sarratt and tells Smiley his affair with Ann was Karla's idea. He knew that Smiley wouldn't be able to 'see him straight', his judgement clouded by personal feelings. Prideaux had trusted Haydon, his friend with the nature of his mission in Hungary and knowing he was in danger of being uncovered, Haydon betrayed Prideaux. From Sarratt, Haydon is to be exchanged to the Soviets; but Prideaux shoots him from outside the compund with a hunting rifle. George Smiley returns home to reconcile his marriage with his new job; he is the new Control.

The Book; essential for any Espionage or Cold War buff.

Note to the reader; the above is a cut-to-the-bare-bones account of the 2011 film, some events have been twisted to fit and for clarity, but the gist is, I believe, faithful enough. The book and classic Television play were more complex and the TV version more faithful to the original. Almost every reviewer I've read prefers the TV mini-series, but I feel many have missed something; the film version isn't trying to be original, however much Gary Oldman's Smiley (deliberately) echoes the late Alec Guinness'. Rather, there's a genuine, credible attempt to set the story into a structured reality and identity that you might call '1970's drab Cold War'. I'll try to avoid the horribly over-used word 'palette' here, but the colours and tones are muted, Seventies orange brought in as a sinister and genuinely disconcerting reminder that the times I grew up in were anything but the safety and stability of life with Mum. By the bye, look out for a Le Carré cameo, during the flashback Christmas party scene.

Above; John le Carre in Hamburg, 1964

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a great film for people wanting cinema realism with their Espionage story. The plot isn't easy to get through, but it's far from the gordian knot of common perception. Even intelligent audiences seem to struggle and my inevitable conclusion is because films are just too easy to watch these days. In the early days of cinema, plots were generally; Hero meets girl, Hero gets knocked back, Hero wins girl – or something equally simplistic. Then, as competition from TV and radio grew, film-makers had to bring in gimmicks such as wide-screen and then, with the politically-savvy audiences of the late sixties and seventies, they turned to story as a draw. Compare the seventies politico-thrillers such as The Conversation or All the President's Men and the Bourne movies and you see the difference; modern films draw the viewer along with action sequences as the pull, as opposed to plot and dialogue. This film makes you think, you have to stay 'switched on' throughout or you just won't get it, just the flavour. I've read arguments that the flavour is enough, the essence is the same, but having a drink of Ribena doesn't mean you've eaten a blackcurrant. Maybe Ribena's better.

Above; Smiley with Peter Guillam

Smiley Vs Bond; Where Tinker, Tailor – indeed all John Le Carré's works scores is the realism. Both Le Carré and Ian Fleming worked in Intelligence – the latter for wartime Naval Intelligence, Le Carré for both the Security Service (often called MI5) and the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), but whereas Fleming's creation was mainly fantasy and exaggeration based on an intelligence framework, Smiley's world is a dirty mirror of reality. Officers and Agents in the real World rarely carry guns or gadgets; if you are caught with either in a hostile country you must be a spy, up to no good. So too with Smiley's reality; on his side of the mirror agents don't drive Astons or drink Dom Perignon on luxury yachts because real ones don't. Perversely, the appeal is the opposite of Fleming's, the normally unattractive grey dowdyness of it all, the bleak outlook and haggard, awful people are compelling. Le Carré works hard to make them this way; they are either intelligent, unpleasant, loyal, treacherous, noble or vain, but they all have their motivation and their purpose. (If you want to take the Bond comparison further, see the forthcoming SPECTRE as both films were lensed by Hoyte Van Hoytema.)

Le Carré displays a phenomenal intellect and ability to paint his characters with the palette (aargh!) of memory, giving fictional characters the lives and attributes of real people. This is most evident in his books, but it transfers to the screen. My advice for people new to his works is to try the film before the books, but beware; the earlier Le Carré works are the best. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, (Pub. 1974) The Honourable Schoolboy (Pub. 1977) and Smiley's People (1979) form a trilogy, known as the 'Karla Trilogy', A Perfect Spy (1986) is a fabulous, semi-autobiographical work, loosely based on his own childhood and strained relationship with his father; a criminal associate of the Krays, The Russia House (1989) is a late Cold War thriller with unforgettable characters, while The Secret Pilgrim (1990) gives Smiley a swansong and us a selection of short espionage stories that I found utterly beguiling. If I leave out any classics, it's because I haven't read them all.
So, if I had to rate this film – and I do, I'd give it...

Yes, 4 Rose and Daggers out of 5!

Dramatis Personae;

Gary Oldman is George Smiley

John Hurt is Control

Colin Firth is Bill Haydon

Mark Strong is Jim Prideaux

Ciaran Hinds is Roy Bland

Benedict Cumberbatch is Guillam

David Dencik is Toby Esterhase

Toby Jones is Percy Alleline

Kathy Burke is Connie

Simon McBurney is Oliver Lacon

and 

Michael Sarne is Karla

The Espionage Library - Spy Books you should read

Spycatcher – Peter Wright

It's easy to forget the impact Peter Wright's book made. His memoirs of his career as MI5's first scientist is unique. A born scientist, Wright's childhood was happy – his father was a Marconi engineer who made breakthroughs intercepting German signals in the Great War. Things changed in 1931 when his father was a victim of circumstances – wireless research budgets were, unbelievably, slashed and Wright senior took to drink. As war approached, however, Wright's father was again sought out and his signal plans for D-Day were crucial to its success. The Second World War faded into the Cold War. Now recruited by MI5, Wright was put to work to solve a mystery. The bug in the Great Seal of the US Ambassador's Office was of a new type, unknown to Western scientists. Working under strict secrecy, Wright managed to uncover its secrets and scored a major triumph for Anglo-US Relations. Our stock with the rising star of US intelligence was up.

Over the next 25 years, he rose to become a legend within British intelligence – starting with Bread and Butter jobs planting bugs, hunting Soviet spies and, ultimately hunting for the Mole at the very top of MI5. Wright's memoir is compelling, remarkable and occasionally tainted with bitterness at his shabby treatment by MI5. A comparable employee at the NSA or FBI would have retired wealthy. Predictably, the Thatcher government tried it's best to ban Spycatcher – but this descended into farce when Scottish bookshops discovered they could legally sell copies. Scottish newspapers happily reported the debacle. Finally published in England in 1988, Peter Wright's book became a global best-seller. He died, a millionaire, in 1995.

One Girl's War – Joan Miller

Another book the British government tried to ban, Joan Miller's wartime memories cover her time as secretary to MI5's eccentric Maxwell Knight. Her first job was to penetrate a Fascist group, which she did successfully. The book itself collects a fairly odd group of disparate characters – spies, occultists and foreign agents who all add colour to the book, none so much as the enigmatic Knight himself. A popular postwar naturalist, photos of Knight invariably show him with a bird or animal of some description. Miller alleges he was both an occultist and homosexual. A remarkable young woman, Miller's book is by turns odd and informative, endearing and captivating. She died at her Malta home in 1984.

Ian Fleming's Commandos – Nicholas Rankin

The saying 'Knowledge is Power' never rings stronger than in time of war. Fleming's appointment to Naval Intelligence is well-known, but only more recently has the story of 30AU been told fully. The idea of a small group of commandos to go in ahead of (or alongside) the main force to gather intelligence was Fleming's main contribution to the war effort. Perhaps it's finest hour was the capture – in its entirety – of the entire German naval archive at Castle Tambach. Rankin's book is a fascinating look into a fledgling world of military spying, with amateurs, dreamers and professional soldiers co-existing – not always in harmony – to defeat the Axis.

Double Cross – Ben Macintyre

Spaniards, Croats, Slavs, Lesbians and Germans – a motley assortment of characters from all walks of life. Under the auspices of the ultra-secret Twenty Committee, a subtle game was played against the masterminds of German intelligence. The Roman numerals for Twenty, 'XX' give the first indication of the purpose of this shadowy organisation – a Double Cross. A Double Agent is an agent who, ostensibly is spying for a country when, in reality working for another. These highly courageous and complex people were working for the Allied cause feeding the Germans false and misleading information. Often laced with 'Chickenfeed' – low grade, but factual intelligence, to bolster the credibility of the agent, this stream of misinformation acted to convince the highly professional Abwehr that whole fictitious spy networks were operating in England. The culmination? - using all the agents in a co-ordinated campaign, misleading the Nazis into beelieving the impending D-Day landings would take place in the Pas de Calais and not those (now legendary) beaches in Normandy. Ben Macintyre's books have two common features; a massive amount of intelligence, facts and information with tremendous readability. Page-turners every one.

Agent ZigZag – Ben Macintyre

Eddie Chapman's story is true. It happened. It's worth keeping that in mind as you read through Macintyre's exceptional biography. (The first Ben Macintyre I read, ZigZag remains a favourite.) Born in Durham in 1914, Edward Chapman was 'intelligent, but lazy, insoleent and easily bored.' Underage, he joined the Coldstream Guards, going awol – over a girl – and was dishonourably discharged. Drifting from job to job in London's notorious Soho it wasn't long before he turned to petty crime, specialising in blackmail. In prison he met a safebreaker and, before long the 'Jelly gang' (Named for their use of gelignite) was notorious. Now able to mix in society, Chapman became friends with no less than Nöel Coward, Ivor Novello, Marlene Dietrich and the young Terence Young. (Young would go on to direct the first two Bond films.) Caught in Scotland, Chapman fled to Jersey, where he fell for a girl named Betty. Trouble was his habit, as always and while he was in custody there War broke out. Interrogated by the German occupiers, Chapman convinced them he was an ardent anti-British and Pro-German, assisted no doubt by his grasp of the language – he had learnt to speak it from his fianceé. Chapman was recruited and trained as a spy, and in late 1942 Agent 'Fritz' was dropped by parachute into Cambridgeshire.

After a perilous descent, a bloodied Chapman went straight to the nearest house – and asked for the Police!. When they arrived, he handed them a pistol and requested to be put in touch with British Intelligence. After careful interrogation, Chapman was eventually declared ideal for Double Cross operations. A long period followed with a frustrated Chapman under close guard, now codenamed 'ZigZag' he sent coded messages to mislead the Germans into believing – amongst other things, that he had sabotaged the De Havilland aircraft factory, which produced the famous Mosquito bombers. The legendary (there is no other word) Magician Jasper Maskelyne altered the appearance of the factory to suggest it had, indeed been attacked. In 1943, Chapman returned to Germany via Lisbon. After the usual suspicious routine of questioning, Chapman was reunited with his old spymaster in Norway, where he fell in love... with an agent of the Norwegian resistance!. By this time he had become the only UK citizen to be awarded the Iron Cross, so high was his stock with the Abwehr.

Amusingly, Chapman realised than Von Groning, his handler was onto him and didn't care – so long as he kept up the charade. Life in Norway was better than the Russian Front and profitable too; Von Groning was skimming the funds the Abwehr was throwing at Chapman. All good things... Germany was losing U-boats and had no idea why. German Intelligence had only a hazy idea of possible British scientific developments; Agent Fritz was tasked to investigate. With a shortage of spies, every branch of the German forces wanted a piece of Chapman; by the time he was dropped over England he had a veritable shopping list of objectives memorised. Of course, he contacted his MI5 handlers and gave them his own list of suitable German targets in Norway. After sending some subtle misinformation about the accuracy of the V-1 flying bombs and Britain's submarine hunting equipment, Chapman fell foul of his new case officer. This new man, perhaps best described as a 'Tosser' (English Vernacular) was determined to have Chapman kicked out of MI5.

Inevitably, Chapman started drifting back to crime – albeit now with an unofficial pardon from the Home Secretary. Using some fairly dubious skulduggery, the new case officer had Chapman sacked; Agent ZigZag was no more. Going into partnership with the underworld boss Billy Hill, Chapman resolved to find his old Jersey flame, Betty, whom he had last seen in 1939. After an incredible million to one co-incidental meeting, he found her. They were husband and wife for fifty years. Eddie Chapman became a newspaper crime columnist, stayed a crook and drove a Rolls Royce. He died in 1997 aged 83.

The Spying Game – Michael Smith

Describing this book alongside the others here makes it seem rather dull. A comprehensive book covering British espionage from the dark days of the Elizabethans to, well the dark days of the Elizabethans – this book is a concise and informative overview of MI5, MI6, GCHQ and Military Intelligence. From the Bolshevik threat through the World Wars to the Northern Ireland conflict the book covers everything right up to the present day conflicts in the Middle East. Indispensable, even if my vignette makes it seem otherwise.

The Big Breach – Richard Tomlinson

Richard Tomlinson was born in New Zealand in 1963 to English parents. They returned to rural Cumberland in 1968. Exceptional by any definition, Tomlinson won a scholarship to Cambridge where he was talent-spotted by MI6. For four years, Tomlinson was an Intelligence Branch Officer; in real-life James Bond would be one, but without the gun or the Aston Martin. Dismissed mid-operation, Tomlinson left under a cloud for reasons that remain unclear and was arrested for breaching the Official Secrets Act. He was prosecuted, hounded and harassed over his plans to publish this book and – Deja Vu – it was printed in Scotland. The book contains some unique and fascinating glimpses into the World of modern spies, covering as it does the transition from the old Century House to the world-famous HQ building immortalised in the recent Bond films.

A word of caution; I have been told, by a source I cannot divulge, of some deliberate 'inaccuracies' contained within The Big Breach. As MI6 themselves aren't likely to set the record straight, I shall simply urge the reader to use a pinch of salt and their own discretion.

A Spy among Friends – Ben Macintyre

Yes, him again.(This is the book I am reading at the time of writing). Harold Adrian Russell Philby? - you've never heard of him. Kim?, Kim Philby? - the spy?. If you want a biography of Philby – the Cambridge Communist who betrayed his country – there are plenty to choose from. This book sets out, boldly, cleverly to bring the World around the man to life through the focusing lens of those around him. Step by step, the picture is sharpened, re-focused and viewed from two principle angles; that of Philby's MI6 colleague Nicholas Elliott and James (Jesus) Angleton of the CIA. These three men cut their teeth in the intelligence war against the Nazis, Elliot and Angleton were Philby's closest friends, men whom he worked alongside and who – unwittingly were sharing their secrets with a Soviet spy. A complex character – Philby was inconsolable over a dead pet fox, but sanguine over the spies he sent to their deaths – Kim Philby betrayed them all for his belief in Communism. The irony was that his intelligence was mistrusted by Moscow Centre. This only changed over time and when he had proved himself genuine.

The book covers the period from just prior to World War II through the Cold War. Ben Macintyre has produced a masterwork – on one level a new type of history, on another a story of Cold War espionage that entertains as much as any Le Carré. The picture that emerges is that of the three men, bound by treachery and their shared notions of Britishness. The photographs in the book show the trio as they age, a curious vulnerability emerging in Philby with age. (In one shot, Elliott manages to resemble George Smiley – or is it the other way around?.) No Espionage library is complete without A Spy among Friends.

 

BRIXMIS – Tony Geraghty

Imagine a form of legal spying, designed to ensure neither side in the Cold War was secretly breaking the rules. The British Commander in Chief's mission to the Soviet Forces of Occupation in Germany, shortened to BRIXMIS was a military unit set up in East Germany to do just that. As well as the official mission, BRIXMIS teams kept an unofficial eye out for new Soviet equipment, weapons and any secrets they could sketch, photograph or steal. So vital were these eyes and ears on the ground that at one point they were the ONLY warning of a possible imminent invasion by the Soviet Union. There were nine indicators of impending hostilities and when Brixmis signalled all nine, GCHQ dismissed their reports as they had heard nothing over the airwaves. The Soviets had moved in total radio silence – an important lesson in the value of human eyes and ears over technology. Starting with old staff cars and even horses, Brixmis soon raised the game, using souped up Opel Käpitan saloons and RAF Chipmunk training aircraft which occasionally returned to base with bullet holes in the wings or fuselage after overflying a sensitive area. Ingenuity, inventive thinking prevailed; one NCO used an apple to take an impression of new Soviet equipment.

Brixmis was mirrored by SOXMIS in West Germany, but on the Allied side there were also American and French Missions. By and large, if the teams stuck to permitted areas they would be followed by the Stasi in their awful Wartburg cars, often losing them when required. Teams risked a beating if caught in prohibited areas, perhaps even shot and deaths were not unknown. Brixmis is a fantastic, original work and worth the price for the photographs alone. Must have reading.

 

The REAL-Q-Branch

We've all seen them; those scenes where Bond sneaks off into a disused building, pulls a lamp-shade and the wall slides back - revealing a fully-functional weapons lab staffed by accident-prone white-coat-and-clipboard types. This is Q-branch, secretive lair of 'Q' himself, the government scientist/inventor/armourer who dishes out the goodies.
           Real name Major Boothroyd, Q was played for four decades by Welshman Desmond Llewelyn. In no less than 17 films, Q provided both useful tools (often rather too conveniently) and weapons to various 007s. Sadly, we lost one of the most delightful characters in cinema with Llewelyn's tragic death in 1999, in a road-crash at Lewes (twelve miles from where I sit writing this) in East Sussex, England.
            Some of the gizmos Q dispensed are true movie history; Little Nellie, the Gyro-copter from You Only Live Twice, the Lotus Esprit/submarine from The Spy Who Loved Me - the endless succession of trick watches... but, surely all this is fantasy - real spies wouldn't carry exploding pens and the like. Would they?, well, here's just a few of my favourites from (mainly) the Cold War... Now, pay attention Double-0 Seven...



Hi-Standard suppressed pistol. CIA-Issue for clandestine killing where noise is unacceptable.

Issued by the East German STASI, this lighter is actually a camera, though the size of the lens means the image quality would rely on good lighting conditions.

Bottom Secret? - CIA-Issue from the 1960's -
this container was designed for rectal
concealment, with a fairly comprehensive
escape tool-kit inside. Perfect for, erm, sticky situations.

SOE Suitcase radio - WWII British organisation the Special Operations Executive was the sister outfit to the USA's OSS. Not exactly the size of your average Nokia, these transceivers were revolutionary, allowing agents in occupied territory to communicate with London. 

Tyre-Slasher ring. Both OSS and SOE agents were issued with an alarming range of blades, spikes and blunt instruments. These rings would be used prior to a sabotage attack to prevent pursuit.

Escape and Evasion Map. Printed on silk or   
cloth, these were issued to aircrew and other prone-to-capture troops as weatherproof 
aids to navigation. This one shows France and (neutral in WWII) Spain.

Yes, it's the KGB lipstick gun!, apparently an innocuous cosmetic, this fired a single small-calibre bullet, for either close-range assassination, a diversion or possibly even suicide if compromised.
Femme-Fatale indeed...

The Welrod - designed by the mysterious Station IX near Welwyn Garden City in England, this is still (allegedly) on issue to British Special Forces today. In .32 or 9mm, this single-shot weapon is reputedly the quietest pistol ever made.  

KGB Buttonhole camera. Used from the 1950's, these were a way to covertly photograph Western personnel and materiel. The remote-cable control would be hidden in a pocket for actual use.

OSS Pipe-Gun. The fore-runner of the CIA, the OSS produced some remarkable weaponry, not the least being this gun. If the owner asked you for a light, it might have been the last thing you ever saw...

KGB Microfilm concealment. Disguised as an ordinary coin, pressure on the right place causes the two halves to open. Clever, unless you spend it by accident...