''The Jigsaw Man'' is a 1983

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

espionage film The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many James Bond films) ...

starring

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

, Susan George, Laurence Olivier and

Robert Powell Robert Powell (; born 1 June 1944) is an English actor who is known for the title roles in '' Mahler'' (1974) and ''Jesus of Nazareth'' (1977), and for his portrayal of secret agent Richard Hannay in '' The Thirty Nine Steps'' (1978) and its s ...

. It was directed by Terence Young. The screenplay was written by Jo Eisinger, based on the novel ''The Jigsaw Man'' by

Dorothea Bennett Dorothea Bennett (December 27, 1929 in Honolulu, Hawaii – August 16, 1990 in Houston, Texas) was a geneticist, known for the genetics of early mammalian development and for research into mammalian sperm surface structures and their role in ...

. The film was inspired by the story of

Kim Philby Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby (1 January 191211 May 1988) was a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union. In 1963 he was revealed to be a member of the Cambridge Five, a spy ring which had divulged British secr ...

, a British intelligence officer who was secretly working for the

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 ...

, then defected to the Soviet Union in 1963.

Plot

Sir Philip Kimberly, the former chief of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service who defected to Russia, is given plastic surgery and assigned back home by the

to retrieve vital intelligence documents. Once back in the United Kingdom, he escapes his Soviet handlers and sets out for business on his own, leading

MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

and the KGB on a hunt for him and the documents.

Cast

– Philip Kimberley/Sergei Kuzminsky * Laurence Olivier – Admiral Sir Gerald Scaith * Susan George – Penelope Kimberley/Annabelle *

– Jamie Fraser * Charles Gray – Sir James Chorley * Vladek Sheybal – General Zorin * Anthony Dawson – Vicar *

Michael Medwin Michael Hugh Medwin, OBE (18 July 1923 – 26 February 2020) was an English actor and film producer. Life and career Medwin was born in London. He was educated at Canford School, Dorset, and the Institute Fischer, Montreux, Switzerland. He ...

– Milroy *

Sabine Sun The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divid ...

– Doctor Zilenka Plus uncredited cameos from: *

Max Bygraves Walter William Bygraves (16 October 1922 – 31 August 2012), best known by the stage name Max Bygraves (adopted in honour of Max Miller), was an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, s ...

William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantat ...

* Arthur Negus *

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portra ...

Production

Director Terence Young cast Michael Caine to play the lead role. The second major role went to Laurence Olivier, thus reuniting the two actors who had previously received

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominations for their roles in the acclaimed ''

Sleuth Sleuth may refer to: * Detective *Sleuth, collective noun for a group of bears Computing * The Sleuth Kit, a collection of forensic analysis software *SLEUTH assembler language for the UNIVAC 1107 Entertainment and media *Cloo Cloo (stylized ...

'' in 1972. ''The Jigsaw Man'' had a troubled filming history. Filming began in 1982 but the film hit financial troubles, and was reportedly shut down due to cash difficulties. Laurence Olivier, who had been ill on and off since the late 1970s, collapsed on set. He also apparently walked away from the film after receiving no pay, with Caine following not long after. The actors returned when $4 million was secured as finance by Pakistani businessman, filmmaker and best seller author Mahmud Sipra. Originally Mike Hodges was going to direct ''The Jigsaw Man'', which, if he had cast Caine, would have been Hodges and Caine's third film after their cult classics ''

Get Carter ''Get Carter'' is a 1971 British crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detecti ...

'' (1971) and ''

Pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit Engineering * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Molded pulp, a packaging material ...

'' (1972). There are several uncredited cameos by friends of Olivier and Caine, who were invited to take part when they visited the set. These include

(3rd Policeman),

(Salvation Army band leader), Arthur Negus (Man in trilby) and Sir

as a Cockney bingo-caller. Dame

Eileen Atkins Dame Eileen June Atkins, (born 16 June 1934), is an English actress and occasional screenwriter. She has worked in the theatre, film, and television consistently since 1953. In 2008, she won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress and the Emmy Aw ...

was supposed to have leapt out of a wedding cake, but the scene was subsequently cut as it was felt her cardboard and cellophane leotard was too obviously ill-fitting. End Credits Song - "Only You And I" - Music by Georges Garvarentz. Lyrics by

Labi Siffre Claudius Afolabi Siffre (born 25 June 1945) is a British singer, songwriter and poet. Siffre released six albums between 1970 and 1975, and four between 1988 and 1998. His best known compositions include " It Must Be Love" which reached number 1 ...

, Scott English, Sung by Dionne Warwick. Produced by Bob Gaudio. Rhythm arrangement by Jeremy Lubbock and Bob Gaudio. String & horn arrangement by Jeremy Lubbock. Recorded by Paul Lani and Rick Ruggieri. Mixed by Ron Hitchcock. Producers assistant: Marla Miller. Recorded at Sound Lab Studios, Los Angeles, California. Song & theme published by P.G.G. (Chappell Aznavour Ltd.)

Release

The film was given a 15 rating by the

BBFC The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of fi ...

in August 1983 and was released by Thorn EMI. ''The Jigsaw Man'' was released in DVD format in 2002 by Prism Leisure with the special features being limited to chapter selection options.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, ''The Jigsaw Man'' holds a rating of 41% from 17 reviews.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jigsaw Man 1983 films British spy thriller films Cold War spy films 1980s English-language films Films based on British novels British independent films British political thriller films Films directed by Terence Young 1980s spy thriller films Films scored by John Cameron Films set in London Films shot in London Films shot in Surrey Films shot in Buckinghamshire Films shot in Finland Films shot in Berkshire Films shot in Bedfordshire Films shot in Hertfordshire Films about the Secret Intelligence Service Films about the KGB 1980s British films 1983 independent films