''Reilly, Ace of Spies'' is a 1983 British television programme dramatizing the life of Sidney Reilly, a Russian-born adventurer who became one of the greatest spies ever to work for the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. Among his exploits, in the early 20th century, were the infiltration of the German General Staff in 1917 and a near-overthrow of the Bolsheviks in 1918. His reputation with women was as legendary as his genius for espionage. The series was written by Troy Kennedy Martin, and based on the 1967 book ''Ace of Spies'' by Robin Bruce Lockhart, whose father R. H. Bruce Lockhart was one of Reilly's fellow spies. Sam Neill stars as the eponymous character. The theme music is the romance movement from Dmitri Shostakovich's '' The Gadfly Suite,'' though Shostakovich is not actually credited ( Harry Rabinowitz is credited with the music).

Episodes

There are 12 episodes, each approximately 50 minutes in length, except Episode 1, which is approximately 80 minutes).

Cast

* Sam Neill as Sidney Reilly * Peter Egan as

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Charles Fothergill *

Ian Charleson Ian Charleson (11 August 1949 – 6 January 1990) was a Scottish stage and film actor. He is best known internationally for his starring role as Olympic athlete and missionary Eric Liddell in the Academy Award, Oscar-winning 1981 film ''Chariots ...

as R. H. Bruce Lockhart * Norman Rodway as

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Mansfield Smith-Cumming * Tom Bell as Felix Dzerzhinsky * David Burke as

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

* Kenneth Cranham as

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

Leo McKern Reginald "Leo" McKern (16 March 1920 – 23 July 2002) was an Australian actor who appeared in numerous British, Australian and American television programmes and films, and in more than 200 stage roles. His notable roles include Clang in ...

as Basil Zaharoff * Jeananne Crowley as Margaret Callaghan Reilly (wife #1) * Derek Newark as General Stoessel * Donald Morley as

Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (3 August 186714 December 1947), was a British statesman and Conservative politician who was prominent in the political leadership of the United Kingdom between the world wars. He was prime ministe ...

* John Castle as Count Massino * Celia Gregory as Nadina "Nadia" Massino (wife #2) * Brian Protheroe as Shasha Grammaticoff * Joanne Whalley as Ulla Glass * Clive Merrison as

Boris Savinkov Boris Viktorovich Savinkov (; 31 January 1879 – 7 May 1925) was a Russian revolutionary, writer, and politician. As a leading figure in the Socialist Revolutionary Party's (SR) Combat Organization in the early 20th century, he was a key organ ...

* Laura Davenport as Nelly "Pepita" Burton (wife #3) * Joanne Pearce as Caryll Houselander * Michael Aldridge as Orlov * Victoria Harwood as Natalia * Anthony Higgins as Mikhail Trilisser *

John Rhys-Davies John Rhys-Davies (born 5 May 1944) is a Welsh actor known for portraying Gimli (Middle-earth), Gimli in The Lord of the Rings (film series), ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy and Sallah in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise. He has received three ...

as Tanyatos * Sebastian Shaw as Reverend Thomas * Bill Nighy as Goschen * David Ryall as Herr Glass * Denis Lill as William Knox D'Arcy * David Suchet as Inspector Tsientsin * Alex McCrindle as Captain MacDougal * Colin Jeavons as Widdemeyer * Alfred Molina as Yakov Blumkin * Peter Howell as Baron Rothschild * Lindsay Duncan as The Plugger * Hugh Fraser as George Hill * Malcolm Terris as Sykes * Diana Hardcastle as Anna * Prentis Hancock as Boris Souvarine * Geoffrey Whitehead as Count Lubinsky * Aubrey Morris as Mendrovovich * Phil Smeeton as Chekist *

Michael Angelis Nicolas Michael Angelis (29 April 1944 – 30 May 2020) was an English actor. He was best known for his television roles as Chrissie Todd in ''Boys from the Blackstuff'', Martin Niarchos in ''G.B.H. (TV series), G.B.H.'' and as the longest-run ...

as Artur Artuzov * Alan Downer as Eduard Berzin * Alan Bowerman as Lieberman * Sara Clee as Fanya "Fanny" Kaplan

Critical reception

In a 1984 review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', John Corry wrote, "much of 'Reilly' is eminently watchable simply because it is eminently watchable." He praised the production and Sam Neill's performance and summarized "a mixed bag of pleasures, but it's worth dropping in on, if not in whole, then at least in part."

Awards

Costume designer Elizabeth Waller was nominated for a 1984 British Academy Television Craft Award for best costume design for the series, and editors Edward Marnier and Ralph Sheldon won the BAFTA TV Craft award for Best Film Editor.

Home media

The series was issued on Region 1 DVD by A&E Home Entertainment, under licence from THAMES International, talkbackTHAMES and FremantleMedia Ltd on 22 February 2005.

References

External links

* .
Reilly, Ace of Spies
- BFI Screenonline {{Jim Goddard Television shows shot at EMI-Elstree Studios ITV television dramas Television series set in the 1900s Television series set in the 1910s Fiction set in 1901 Fiction set in 1904 Fiction set in 1905 Fiction set in 1906 Fiction set in 1910 Fiction set in 1917 Fiction set in 1918 1983 British television series debuts 1983 British television series endings 1980s British drama television series 1980s British television miniseries Television shows produced by Thames Television Television series by Fremantle (company) World War I television drama series Works about the Russian Revolution British English-language television shows Television series by Euston Films Films directed by Jim Goddard British spy television series Television series set in 1924 Television series set in 1925