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The Deadly Affair
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Wikipedia article
'The Deadly Affair' is a 1967 British neo noir spy film based on John le Carr's first novel, 'Call for the Dead', published in 1961. The film stars James Mason and was directed by Sidney Lumet from a script by Paul Dehn.
As it is a Columbia Pictures production and Paramount owned the film rights to the name George Smiley, the central character is renamed Charles Dobbs. Paramount acquired the film rights to the character name when filming 'The Spy Who Came In from the Cold'.
The soundtrack was composed by Quincy Jones, and the bossa nova theme song, "Who Needs Forever", was performed by Astrud Gilberto.
Plot
In 1960s London, Charles Dobbs (James Mason) is a staid MI5 operative investigating Foreign Office official Samuel Fennan (Robert Flemyng), a former Communist who apparently commits suicide. Dobbs becomes suspicious about the cause of Fennan's death while visiting Fennan's widow the morning after his death. When a wake-up call is received at Fennan's home, his widow Elsa (Simone Signoret) says the call was for her. Dobbs discovers this to be a lie, and as a result Dobbs suspects that Elsa, a survivor of a Nazi extermination camp, might have some clues regarding Fennan's death.
Other government officials want Dobbs to drop the case. However, Dobbs privately links up with retired police inspector Mendel (Harry Andrews) to continue inquiries.
They uncover a network of Communist agents. Dobbs also discovers that his wife Ann (Harriet Andersson) is leaving him to go to Switzerland to join a former World War II colleague, Dieter Frey (Maximilian Schell), who may be using Ann to gain knowledge of Dobbs' investigation.
Dobbs uses his knowledge of Dieter to set a trap that proves that Elsa is a spy and Dieter is her control. In a final confrontation, Dieter strangles Elsa and shoots Mendel, but he is killed bare handed by the enraged Dobbs.
Cast
* James Mason as Charles Dobbs
* Simone Signoret as Elsa Fennan
* Maximilian Schell as Dieter Frey
* Harriet Andersson as Ann Dobbs
* Harry Andrews as Mendel
* Kenneth Haigh as Bill Appleby
* Roy Kinnear as Adam Scarr
* Max Adrian as Adviser
* Lynn Redgrave as Virgin
* Robert Flemyng as Samuel Fennan
* Leslie Sands as Inspector
* Corin Redgrave as David
* Sheraton Blount as Eunice Scarr (uncredited)
* Denis Shaw as Wilf the Barman (uncredited)
Production
Location shooting for 'The Deadly Affair' took place in London, in St. James's Park, at the Balloon Tavern and the Chelsea Embankment in Chelsea, in Battersea and Barnes, in Twickenham, and at the Serpentine Restaurant in Hyde Park (demolished in 1990[https://www.architecture.com/image-library/ribapix/image-information/poster/serpentine-restaurant-hyde-park-london-the-planthouse-bar-with-the-snack-bar-underneath/posterid/RIBA44917.html Photo of Serpentine Restaurant], accessed 18 November 2017). The exterior of Dobbs's house is in St. George's Square, Pimlico.IMDB [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061556/locations Filming locations] For the theatre scene a performance of the Royal Shakespeare Company 'Edward II' was recreated at its real location of the Aldwych Theatre, London.
Director of photography Freddie Young's technique of pre-exposing the colour film negative to a small, controlled amount of light (known as "flashing" or "pre-fogging") in order to create a muted colour palette was first used in this film.TCM [http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=72553 Misc. notes] Lumet called the result "colourless colour" Steffen, James [http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=72553&category=Articles "The Deadly Affair" (TCM article)] and it proved influential, being used by other cinematographers such as Vilmos Zsigmond on 'McCabe & Mrs. Miller'.
Awards and honours
'The Deadly Affair' received five BAFTA Awards nominations: Best British Film for Sidney Lumet, Best British Screenplay for Paul Dehn, Best British Cinematography (Colour) for Freddie Young, Best Foreign Actress for Simone Signoret, and Best British Actor for James Mason. However, it did not win any of the awards.IMDB [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061556/awards Awards]
Musical score and soundtrack
The film score was composed, arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones, and the soundtrack album was released on the Verve label in 1967.[https://www.jazzdisco.org/verve-records/catalog-8600-series/#quincy-jones-the-deadly-affair-soundtrack Verve Records Catalog: 8600 series] accessed 17 January 2018
Allmusic's Stephen Cook noted, "'Deadly Affair's dreamy mix of bossa nova moods and unobtrusive symphonics still makes for some pleasant, if not always provocative, listening. Plus, one gets to hear Astrud Gilberto in fine fettle on the opening cut". The Vinyl Factory said "This soundtrack to the Sidney Lumet thriller starts off with Astrud Gilberto drizzling her best desultory vocal over Who Needs Forever, which creates a moody atmosphere that is sustained throughout the entire album. With its languid orchestrations, breezy strings, and airy samba rhythms, this is a perfect Sunday morning record".[https://thevinylfactory.com/features/10-definitive-quincy-jones-soundtracks-from-the-60s-and-70s/ 10 definitive Quincy Jones soundtracks from the 60s and 70s], The Vinyl Factory, accessed 17 January 2018
Track listing
All compositions by Quincy Jones# "Who Needs Forever" (lyrics by Howard Greenfield) 3:00
# "Dieter's First Mistake" 4:50
# "Instrumental Main Theme (1)" 2:05
# "Postcard Signed "S" / Mendel Tails Elsa / Tickets to "S"" 5:31
# "Instrumental Main Theme (2)" 3:00
# "Don't Fly If It's Foggy" 1:11
# "Blondie-Tails" 1:13
# "Instrumental Main Theme (3)" 2:05
# "Ridiculous Scene" 1:48
# "Body on Elevator" 0:55
# "Bobb's at Gunpoint" 0:45
# "End Title" 1:42
Personnel
*Unidentified orchestra arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones featuring:**Hank Jones piano
**Astrud Gilberto vocals (track 1)
References
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