''The Looking Glass War'' is a 1970 British neo-noir action-thriller film directed by Frank Pierson based on the 1965 novel by

John le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British and Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. ...

'' The Looking Glass War''.

Plot

After an MI6 agent carrying a roll of film containing flyover photographs of the

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

town of Kalkstadt is found dead and the film goes missing, MI6 concludes he was killed by the

Stasi The Ministry for State Security, commonly known as the (),An abbreviation of . was the state security service of the East Germany from 1950 to 1990. The Stasi's function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maintaining state autho ...

to cover up the presence of a new rocket system based on the

V-2 The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was develope ...

. The rocket was previously spotted in vague, on-the-ground photos, and if real, its existence would be a violation of international agreements. A source entices MI6 with another set of photos that conclusively confirms the rocket's existence, and only after receiving payment does he reveal that the photos are being held in Kalkstadt itself by his father. MI6 members John Avery, Haldane, and their superior LeClerc hatch a plan to retrieve the photos and verify the rocket by sending a lone operative over the East German border to Kalkstadt. Polish defector Leiser, who illegally entered

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

to be with a woman who is bearing his child, is vetted for the role by MI6 and offered

UK citizenship British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a person is recognised as being a national of the United Kingdom. The six different classes of British nationality each have varying degrees of civil and political rights, due to th ...

if he agrees to work for them. Leiser accepts to be with his child. Leiser is quickly trained in self-defense and survival skills at an MI6 safehouse, and taught how to use a portable radio transmitter to send coded messages. Not long before the mission, however, he briefly escapes his handlers to meet with his girlfriend. When she tells him that she had their child aborted, Leiser is deeply distraught and loses the motivation to carry out the mission, but changes his mind after bonding with Avery over a night of drinking. Leiser crosses the border into East Germany under cover of night, while the MI6 agents monitor for his radio messages from a West German cabin. On the way in, Leiser cuts his hand badly on the barbed wire fence and is forced to kill a young East German border guard who sees him. In the morning, the dead border guard is discovered and becomes a major news story. Leiser is picked up by a lorry driver, but kills the driver after he demands sexual favours for the ride. Leiser continues driving the lorry until he passes out from exhaustion, at which point a local girl and her brother board and drive for him. When the lorry is stopped at a military checkpoint, the girl covers for Leiser, but the soldiers still run his papers. The Stasi immediately notice inconsistencies in Leiser's circumstances and identify him as the person who breached the border and killed the guard, but the soldiers are ordered to let him go so that his intentions can be determined. At a lake, the girl submerges the lorry and Leiser leaves the girl and her brother behind. In Kalkstadt, Leiser finally reaches his destination, but learns that the photographs never existed and MI6's source was a con artist. Despondent and feverish from his infected hand, Leiser attempts to leave town but is stopped by the Stasi, who tell him that the roads are closed and he must stay at a hotel. He reunites with the girl and is taken to her apartment, where she explains that she knows he is from the West and wants to leave the country with him. That night, the MI6 operation is ordered to shut down since it caused an international incident; at the same time, Leiser witnesses the East German rocket being transported through Kalkstadt's streets. As Leiser frantically relays his observation over radio, the Stasi pick up his transmission and triangulate his location, then gun him and the girl down. At the West German cabin, Avery is disillusioned by LeClerc's revelation that Leiser had always been considered expendable; he was given an obsolete radio to make it seem he was working alone, and he was denied a pistol so the West could not be accused of an act of war. In the end, it is implied that the East German rocket was only an elaborate bluff intended to provoke the West. The roll of film lost by the dead MI6 agent is found by a group of children who open it up and destroy it while playing.

Cast

* Christopher Jones as Leiser * Pia Degermark as The Girl *

Ralph Richardson Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, was one of the trinity of male actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He w ...

as LeClerc * Paul Rogers as Haldane *

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...

as John Avery * Susan George as Susan * Ray McAnally as Undersecretary of State * Robert Urquhart as Johnson * Anna Massey as Avery's Wife * Vivian Pickles as Mrs. King * Maxine Audley as Mrs. LeClerc * Cyril Shaps as East German Detective * Michael Robbins as Truck Driver * Timothy West as Taylor *

Frederick Jaeger Manfred Frederick Jaeger (9 May 1928 – 18 June 2004) was a German-born British film, television, theatre and radio character actor. Biography Jaeger was born in Berlin, Germany, but moved to England following Adolf Hitler's rise to power. H ...

as The Pilot *

Peter Swanwick Walter Peter Swanwick (29 September 1922 – 14 November 1968) was a British actor best remembered as the "Supervisor" (sometimes called the Controller) in the 1967 TV series, '' The Prisoner''. Swanwick's film career began with bit parts in ...

as Finnish Policeman * Paul Maxwell as CIA Man *

Guy Deghy Guy Deghy (born Gedeon Aladar Istvan Deghy; 11 October 1912 – 25 February 1992), was a Hungarian-born actor who appeared largely in British films and television, as in the 5th episode of the first season of '' The Saint'' depicting Inspector ...

as Fritsche *Ernest Walder as Radio Engineer *Patrick Wright as East German Policeman (VoPo) *

Sylva Langova Sylva Langova (31 August 1921 – 15 January 2010) was a Czech actress who from the late 1940s lived and worked in England. Partial filmography Film Television References External links * 1921 births 2010 deaths Actors from Plzeň ...

as East German Woman *David Scheur as Russian Officer *Allan McClelland as Doctor *

Angela Down Angela Down (born 15 June 1946) is an English actress. She is known for her role in the BBC drama programme '' Take Three Girls'' portraying cockney art student Avril for the first series before being replaced in the second. Career Down play ...

as Chelsea Girl *Robert Wilde as English Policeman *Nicholas Stewart as German Boy *Linda Hedger as Taylor's Child * Russell Lewis as Avery's Child

External links

* * 1970 films British spy films Cold War spy films Films based on works by John le Carré Films directed by Frank Pierson 1970s thriller drama films 1970s spy films 1970s action thriller films 1970s English-language films 1970s German-language films Films based on British novels British action thriller films British thriller drama films Films about the Secret Intelligence Service Columbia Pictures films 1970 drama films Films set in East Germany Films about the KGB 1970 multilingual films British multilingual films 1970s British films {{action-thriller-film-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

External links