The letter to the Kremlin
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The letter to the Kremlin |
| Original title | The Kremlin Letter |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1970 |
| length | 121 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 18 |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Huston |
| script | John Huston Gladys Hill |
| production | John Huston Carter DeHaven Sam Wiesenthal |
| music | Robert Drasnin |
| camera | Edward Scaife |
| cut | Russell Lloyd |
| occupation | |
| |
The Letter to the Kremlin is a 1970 American agent film by John Huston based on the novel by Noel Behn and tells a story that takes place at the height of the Cold War .
action
A US intelligence officer has signed an agreement under which the US and the Soviet Union will attack China. The US government hastily dispatched a group of spies to get their hands on the so-called "Letter to the Kremlin". The team is led by the "Highwayman", his assistant is Ward. The troops include ex-Navy officer Rone, BA, who is replacing her sick father, a safe-cracker, the Mexican half-time pimp Janis, and the transvestite Warlock.
The daughter of the Russian spy Potkin is seduced by a lesbian. The Americans blackmail Potkin so that he can use his apartment in Moscow as a base. In Moscow, the troops bugged the house of the secret police chief Kosnov, who is married to Erika, the widow of an enemy spy. Kosnov is in a power struggle with party leader Bresnavich.
BA, now in a relationship with Rone, is captured by Bresnavich. While Ward briefly leaves the country, Potkin contacts Bresnavich and explains the situation to him. But Bresnavich has another problem. Rone found out about him and revealed him to be a traitor. In addition, the letter you are looking for is in Beijing. Ward is also exposed as a traitor who works for Bresnavich. Erika has worked out a plan to get Rone out of the country, but she is killed by the returning Ward. At the airport he also murders Kosnov, who put him on the cross years ago. Rone is ready to give up the search, but Ward only wants to release BA if Rone goes on another mission. He is said to have murdered Potkin's wife and daughter in the USA.
criticism
The lexicon of the international film about the film: "The complicated spy story was staged by old master John Huston calmly and with touches of tongue-in-cheek humor."
The film magazine Cinema was enthusiastic: "Cold war, but a hot story - great!"
The Variety sees the film ambiguously. Each scene is valuable in itself, but putting it together into a whole is a different matter. The shabbiness of the espionage business is shown here. The film is a bindingly filmed piece of work.
Vincent Canby of the New York Times writes that the film is extravagant and depressed.
Channel 4 complains that the interesting elements of the book were dropped in the mutilated film version in favor of a complex and twisted script.
The Protestant film observer complains that the film Murder and Manslaughter, if not explicitly praised, is in abundance pre-demonstrated, but then comes to the conclusion that the film is "exciting, entertaining, variedly structured and excellently played".
background
The world premiere took place on February 1, 1970. The film first appeared in Germany on April 17th of the same year. The film was shot in the Finnish capital Helsinki , as well as in Rome , New York City and Mexico .
The film offers a star ensemble that extends into smaller supporting roles. To play with: Raf Vallone as a puppet maker, Vonetta McGee , Marc Lawrence as a priest, Cyril Shaps as a police doctor, George Pravda as Kazar and director John Huston as an admiral.
One of the special features of the film are the dialogues that began in the original version in Russian and that change into English after a short time. Subtitles and dubbing were not used.
Web links
- The letter to the Kremlin in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ The letter to the Kremlin. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ http://www.cinema.de/kino/filmarchiv/film/der-brief-an-den-kreml,1331194,ApplicationMovie.html
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from November 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9901EEDE1138E43ABC4A53DFB466838B669EDE
- ↑ http://www.film4.com/reviews/1970/the-kremlin-letter
- ↑ Evangelischer Presseverband München, Review No. 243/1970.
