''Embassy'' is a 1972 British

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

Gordon Hessler Gordon Hessler (12 December 1925 – 19 January 2014) was a German-born British film and television director, screenwriter, and producer. Biography Early Years Born in Berlin, Germany, Katz, Ephraim. ''The Film Encyclopedia'', Harper Perennial, ...

, written by John Bird and

William Fairchild William Fairchild (sometimes credited as W. E. C. Fairchild) (1918–2000, aged 81-82) was an English author, playwright, director and screenwriter. He was married to actress Isabel Dean from 1953 to the early 1970s, and to producer, agent, and w ...

, and with music scored by

Biddu Biddu Appaiah (born 8 February 1944) is a British-Indian singer-songwriter, composer, and music producer who composed and produced many worldwide hit records during a career spanning five decades. Considered one of the pioneers of disco, Euro d ...

.McKay p.252 It is based on the 1969 novel of the same title by

Stephen Coulter Stephen Coulter (born 1913/14) was an English novelist, journalist, and, as James Mayo, the author of several spy and adventure thrillers. His series character Charles Hood, a James Bond clone, is an art-loving British spy. Coulter was also friend ...

. It was shot on location in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

where the film is set, whereas the novel had been centred in Paris. The film starred

Richard Roundtree Richard Roundtree (born July 9, 1942) is an American actor. Roundtree is noted as being "the first black action hero" for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film ''Shaft'', and its four sequels, released between 1972 and 2 ...

as a

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

officer, Ray Milland as an Ambassador,

Max von Sydow Max von Sydow ( , ; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish-French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...

as a Russian defector taking refuge at the embassy, and

Chuck Connors Kevin Joseph Aloysius "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have p ...

as a

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

assassin posing as a U.S. Air Force officer. Broderick Crawford played the embassy Regional Security Officer, Frank Dunniger, who had to capture and hide the KGB man while the CIA smuggled the defector out of town.

Cast

as Richard 'Dick' Shannon *

as Kesten *

Marie-José Nat Marie-José Benhalassa (22 April 1940 – 10 October 2019), known professionally as Marie-José Nat, was a French actress. Among her notable works in cinema were the sequel films '' Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Jean-Marc'' and '' Anatomy ...

as Laure * Ray Milland as Ambassador * Broderick Crawford as Frank Dunniger *

as Gorenko * David Bauer as Kadish * Larry Cross as Gamble * David Healy as Phelan *

Karl Held Carl Held (born September 19, 1931), sometimes credited as Karl Held and Christopher Held, is an American actor who has worked extensively in both American and British television. Career Held is best known for his role as Garth in the 1980s s ...

as Rylands * Sarah Marshall as Miss Harding * Dee Pollock as Stacey * Leila Buheiry as Leila, Receptionist * Gail Clymer as Switchboard Operator * Edmond Hannania as First Man in Black * Saladin Nader as Roget * Peter Smith as Cypher Clerk * Dean Turner as Clem Gelber

References

Bibliography

* James McKay. ''Ray Milland: The Films, 1929-1984''. McFarland, 2020.

External links

* *http://filmsdefrance.com/FDF_Embassy_1972_rev.html *http://www.bcult.it/scheda.asp?Id=12831 1972 films 1970s spy thriller films British spy thriller films Films scored by Biddu Films directed by Gordon Hessler Films based on British novels Cold War spy films Films shot in Lebanon Films set in Lebanon 1972 drama films 1970s English-language films 1970s British films {{1970s-crime-drama-film-stub