The Deadly Affair


The Deadly Affair is a 1967 British neo noir spy film based on John le Carré's first novel, Call for the Dead, published in 1961. The film stars James Mason and was directed by Sidney Lumet from a script by Paul Dehn.
As it is a Columbia Pictures production and Paramount own the film rights to the name George Smiley, the central character is renamed Charles Dobbs. Paramount acquired the film rights to the character name when filming The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.
The soundtrack was composed by Quincy Jones, and the bossa nova theme song, "Who Needs Forever", was performed by Astrud Gilberto.

Plot

In 1960s London, Charles Dobbs is a staid MI5 operative investigating Foreign Office official Samuel Fennan, a former Communist who apparently commits suicide. Dobbs becomes suspicious about the cause of Fennan's death while visiting Fennan's widow the morning after his death. When a wake-up call is received at Fennan's home, his widow Elsa says the call was for her. Dobbs discovers this to be a lie, and as a result Dobbs suspects that Elsa, a survivor of a Nazi extermination camp, might have some clues regarding Fennan's death.
Other government officials want Dobbs to drop the case. However, Dobbs privately links up with retired police inspector Mendel to continue inquiries.
They uncover a network of Communist agents. Dobbs also discovers that his wife Ann is leaving him to go to Switzerland to join a former World War II colleague, Dieter Frey, who may be using Ann to gain knowledge of Dobbs' investigation.
Dobbs uses his knowledge of Dieter to set a trap that proves that Elsa is a spy and Dieter is her control. In a final confrontation, Dieter strangles Elsa and shoots Mendel, but he is killed bare handed by the enraged Dobbs.

Cast

Location shooting for The Deadly Affair took place in London, in St. James's Park, at the Balloon Tavern and the Chelsea Embankment in Chelsea, in Clapham and Barnes, in Twickenham, and at the Serpentine Restaurant in Hyde Park. The exterior of Dobbs's house is in St. George's Square, Pimlico. For the theatre scene a performance of the Royal Shakespeare Company Edward II was recreated at its real location of the Aldwych Theatre, London.
Director of photography Freddie Young's technique of pre-exposing the colour film negative to a small, controlled amount of light in order to create a muted colour palette was first used in this film. Lumet called the result "colourless colour" and it proved influential, being used by other cinematographers such as Vilmos Zsigmond on McCabe & Mrs. Miller.

Awards and honours

The Deadly Affair received five BAFTA Awards nominations: Best British Film for Sidney Lumet, Best British Screenplay for Paul Dehn, Best British Cinematography for Freddie Young, Best Foreign Actress for Simone Signoret, and Best British Actor for James Mason. However, it did not win any of the awards.

Musical score and soundtrack

The film score was composed, arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones, and the soundtrack album was released on the Verve label in 1967.
Allmusic's Stephen Cook noted, "Deadly Affair's dreamy mix of bossa nova moods and unobtrusive symphonics still makes for some pleasant, if not always provocative, listening. Plus, one gets to hear Astrud Gilberto in fine fettle on the opening cut". The Vinyl Factory said "This soundtrack to the Sidney Lumet thriller starts off with Astrud Gilberto drizzling her best desultory vocal over ‘Who Needs Forever’, which creates a moody atmosphere that is sustained throughout the entire album. With its languid orchestrations, breezy strings, and airy samba rhythms, this is a perfect Sunday morning record".

Track listing

All compositions by Quincy Jones
  1. "Who Needs Forever" − 3:00
  2. "Dieter's First Mistake" − 4:50
  3. "Instrumental Main Theme " − 2:05
  4. "Postcard Signed "S" / Mendel Tails Elsa / Tickets to "S"" − 5:31
  5. "Instrumental Main Theme " − 3:00
  6. "Don't Fly If It's Foggy" − 1:11
  7. "Blondie-Tails" − 1:13
  8. "Instrumental Main Theme " − 2:05
  9. "Ridiculous Scene" − 1:48
  10. "Body on Elevator" − 0:55
  11. "Bobb's at Gunpoint" − 0:45
  12. "End Title" − 1:42

    Personnel