A Dandy in Aspic
Norwegian DVD cover
Directed byAnthony Mann
Laurence Harvey (uncredited)
Written byDerek Marlowe
Based onA Dandy in Aspic
1966 novel
by Derek Marlowe
Produced byAnthony Mann
StarringLaurence Harvey
Tom Courtenay
Mia Farrow
Peter Cook
Harry Andrews
CinematographyChristopher Challis
Austin Dempster
Edited byThelma Connell
Music byQuincy Jones
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release dates
April 1968 (UK)
2 April 1968
Running time
107 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

A Dandy in Aspic is a 1968 neo-noir[1] Technicolor and Panavision British spy film, directed by Anthony Mann, based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Derek Marlowe and starring Laurence Harvey, Tom Courtenay, and Mia Farrow, with costumes by Pierre Cardin. It was Mann's final film.

Set against the backdrop of 1960s Cold War Europe, it is the story of a spy known to his superiors in British Intelligence by his code name, "Eberlin" (Laurence Harvey).

Plot

Eberlin (Laurence Harvey), a Cold-War British intelligence operative, has a problem. His superiors have ordered him to find and assassinate a KGB agent named Krasnevin, believed to be responsible for the recent murders of British agents. Summoned to a meeting at a country estate, he is presented with film footage of the suspected Krasnevin. He turns out to be Eberlin's go-between with Russian double agents.

To accomplish his assignment, Eberlin is partnered with a ruthless, cynical, and sociopathic British agent, Gatiss (Tom Courtenay), who openly distrusts and dislikes him. Mia Farrow plays a London-based photographer with whom Eberlin has an affair. Much of the film takes place in West Berlin, where Eberlin, as part of his mission, attempts to cross the Berlin Wall to the East. His attempts are frustrated by his partnership with Gatiss and by the Soviet authorities, who are keen to retain the identity of the assassin.

Cast

Production

Largely filmed on location in London and Berlin, this was Anthony Mann's final film; he died of a heart attack before it was finished. Its direction was completed by Harvey. The film also features Peter Cook, at a time when his TV career was at a peak, in a minor role as the foppish but libidinous British agent Prentiss.

Music

Personnel

Reception

Reviews of the film were largely unfavourable. The New York Times described it as "a very wobbly spy movie...slow, blank, decorous and completely devoid of suspense."[4] Variety dismissed the film as a "routine, poorly-titled espionage meller loaded with uninteresting, cardboard characters."[5] Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide rates the film 2 out of 4 stars and describes it as a "wooden spy melodrama in which principals keep switching sides so rapidly it becomes impossible to follow."[6] Among the more positive reviews, Time Out says "the film is strong on Cold War atmospherics and notable for its superior cast."[7]

Home media

A Dandy in Aspic was released to DVD on 1 August 2011 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment as a DVD-on-demand title available through Amazon. A limited edition blu-ray disc with extensive bonus materials was released in the United Kingdom on 25 March 2019. In 2020, it became available for streaming on The Criterion Channel.

References

  1. ↑ Spicer, Andrew (2010). Historical Dictionary of Film Noir. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. p. 427. ISBN 978-0-8108-5960-9.
  2. ↑ "A Dandy In Aspic". Library of Congress.
  3. ↑ "A Dandy In Aspic". Library of Congress.
  4. ↑ Adler, Renata. "Screen: Harvey Plays a Deadpan 'Dandy in Aspic'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  5. ↑ Variety staff. "A Dandy in Aspic". Variety. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  6. ↑ Maltin, Leonard (2015). Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide (2015 ed.). New York: Penguin Random House. p. 316. ISBN 9780451468499.
  7. ↑ "A Dandy in Aspic". Time Out. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
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