请输入您要查询的百科知识:

 

词条 Charlie Muffin
释义

  1. Plot

  2. Cast

  3. External links

{{multiple issues|{{unreferenced|date=January 2015}}{{Tone|date=December 2007}}{{Original research|date=September 2007}}
}}{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}{{Use British English|date=May 2016}}

Charlie Muffin is a 1979 made-for-TV film based on the novel Charlie M by Brian Freemantle. In the U.S., the picture was later re-released under the title A Deadly Game.

A Euston Films production, the movie features David Hemmings, Sir Ralph Richardson, Sam Wanamaker, Pinkas Braun, Ian Richardson, Shane Rimmer and Jennie Linden and was directed by Jack Gold.

Plot

The Cold War espionage thriller follows the moves of British anti-hero spy Charlie Muffin (Hemmings) who has fallen on hard times since the forced retirement of Sir Archibald Willoughby, his previous boss at the U.K. secret service (played by Sir Ralph Richardson). His new boss, Sir Henry Cuthbertson (Ian Richardson), who epitomizes the haughty upper class British imperialist, hardly attempts to conceal his disdain for the under-educated agent who quite obviously does not stem from the "right class". Right at the start of the film, it is shown how Charlie has evidently been deemed expendable and accordingly gets set up to be caught or killed during a joint mission in East Germany—this despite Muffin essentially having been responsible for the mission's success. Cuthbertson's lap-dog agents Snare and Harrison—who are both totally lacking in experience and as arrogant as their boss—are shocked and embarrassed to see Muffin returning alive and well.

Once home in the UK, Muffin's humiliation does not end, as he gets demoted and put on leave, which he spends with his wife Edith (Linden), but not until after a hilarious take on the obligatory spy agent–secretary-receptionist affair.

Next, a classic yet utterly unpredictable spy story unfolds around British and U.S. attempts to facilitate a safe defection of high-ranking Soviet General Valery Kalenin (Braun). CIA Director Garson Ruttgers (Wanamaker) proves not much smarter and ultimately equally officious and presumptuous as his British counterpart, though in a distinctly—satirically—American way. After Harrison and Snare's spectacular downfalls at the task (one ends up dead trying to escape and the other captured), Ruttgers' aide Braley (Rimmer), a chubby, good-hearted but docile sideshow official, is assigned to join Muffin on a trip to Prague, to liaise with Kalenin.

Cast

  • David Hemmings—Charlie Muffin
  • Sam Wanamaker—Garson Ruttgers
  • Jennie Linden—Edith
  • Pinkas Braun—General Valery Kalenin
  • Ian Richardson—Sir Henry Cuthbertson
  • Rohan McCullough—Janet
  • Sir Ralph Richardson—Sir Archibald Willoughby
  • Shane Rimmer—William Braley
  • Tony Mathews—Harrison
  • Christopher Godwin—Snare
  • Clive Revill—Alexei Berenkov
  • Donald Churchill—Wilberforce
  • Reinhold Olszewski—General Kastanazy
  • Frederick Treves—Colonel Wilcox
  • Elspeth March—Mrs. Heiderman
  • Olaf Pooley—Soviet First Secretary
  • David Daker—Bolton

A major strong point of Charlie Muffin is the very solid and convincing performances by its actors; something that is not always seen with made-for-TV movies (and, for that matter, silver screen films). Without being as brainy as films like Memento, the story of Charlie Muffin still calls for an attentive audience to best enjoy it. Since the end of the Cold War however, the realism of the film's Cold War background is no longer readily appreciated or even something that a younger audience will notice. Despite extensive use of satirical humor in the film, and despite its spy thriller storyline, it does, with its anti-hero Muffin, have its uplifting moments. The film has never been very widely shown or known, but some of its fans hold it in very high regard.

External links

  • {{IMDb title|id=0078956|title=Charlie Muffin}}
  • [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_7wAyieyMg See "Charlie Muffin" on YouTube]
  • New York Times mini-review of the film
{{Jack Gold}}

11 : 1979 films|1970s spy films|1970s thriller films|British spy films|British thriller films|British films|Cold War spy films|Films based on British novels|Films based on thriller novels|Films directed by Jack Gold|British television films

随便看

 

开放百科全书收录14589846条英语、德语、日语等多语种百科知识,基本涵盖了大多数领域的百科知识,是一部内容自由、开放的电子版国际百科全书。

 

Copyright © 2023 OENC.NET All Rights Reserved
京ICP备2021023879号 更新时间:2024/9/21 17:35:46