Master Spy

The film starts promisingly enough, with what we can only assume is a Russian scientist, Boris Turganov, played by Stephen Murray successfully seeking political asylum and for next 20 minutes the storyline unfolds as the scientist is introduced to his new British scientist colleagues and working conditions. Yet once the 'Russian' scientist settles into his new role, interest starts to falter as very early on it's clear as daylight that two of the main characters are obviously are up to their neck in spying and espionage. Most of the scenes are in either Dennis Wheatley's drawing room is his rather grand house, where everyone is well mannered and polite, and in the laboratory, where again there is very little action. Considering this is a Cold War spy film, it's very short on suspense or dramatic twists and turns. The film needed a Herbert Lom to give the film an 'edge' and menace, and although Stephen Murray, who takes the lead role does a reasonable job as the Russian scientist, his performance is too bland and too low key! Indeed, my problem with the whole film is the lack lustre script, which never allows the characters to be more than just one dimensional. Also, the characters never convince me as serious scientists working in a top secret government laboratory. For instance, Peter Gilmore, playing Tom Masters a cynical young scientist, seems more interested in 'skirt chasing' and chatting up young women, and as such comes across as an unnecessary distraction to the story. John Carson, cast as the handsome and suave Richard Colman, is wasted, as he has little to do apart from befriend his love interest, Leila played by June Thorburn. Yet it is Leila, the young female top scientist, who is the least convincing, by her timid and dull demeanour as well as her 'secretarial' manner, even when the director has her wearing glasses in the laboratory, to make her look 'studious' and something of a boffin, it doesn't really work. However, there are compensations. Alan Wheatley is always a joy to watch, as is Ernest Clark, both British stalwart character actors of the 50's & 60's. In a sense the film is a disappointment, as it promised so much at the beginning but quickly loses its way half way through. Nevertheless, it's still worth watching.

The IMDB reviews for Master Spy are all over the place but I have to say that I rather enjoyed it. Now, I also think that being a non-British but American citizen could perhaps have influenced my opinion for the better. I've been watching a lot of the British B dramas/thrillers/suspense films lately and one thing that I consistently enjoy that few others mention, is the pure Britishness of them all. It's true, I admit it. Now having admitted that there is more to that in Master Spy. I think all of the performers did a solid job, even the minor characters were well developed. The story itself was somewhat basic but there are some fun twists at the end that all made for an interesting and fun viewing experience.

Despite the title and the credit sequence depicting a chessboard Professor Turgenev is just a pawn in a much bigger game. Unlike the glamorous foreign locations paraded behind 007 this film is set in a thoroughly everyday black & white Britain.

Stephen Murray in a rare big screen lead plays Cambridge-educated professor of physics Boris Turganev, a leading expert on the acceleration of neutron rays but just an amateur in the world of espionage.

His patronising disdain for women, demonstrated by his outspoken discomfort at being given June Thorburn as an assistant is one of several aspects of the film that now looks very dated; but the other men are just as bad and the casting of Ellen Pollock as a senior member of the team serves as compensation while the ending is pretty cool.

No fast action here, as spying business is a very slow and tedious affair, as already Somerset Maugham made clear in his early short stories, as that activity mainly tries your patience until it breaks, and that's when the mistakes are committed. Stephen Murray makes a very credible character as the defector from Yugoslavia seeking asylum in Britain and getting employed in an advanced nuclear research centre, where he can be at large doing whatever research he wants and using the results for his own ends, but unfortunately his collaborator is the wrong kind of man, and when he prompts the execution of Murray's secretary, for having found out about their business, Murray declines, and things are messed up. It's a rather ordinary spying story of double crossing and double purposes and the main issue getting busted, and the whole enterprise reaches a rather hasty end, without the original purpose getting fulfilled. But no one dies, and that at least is something in this rotten business where the end always justifies the means and usually get shipwrecked on the way.

I had never heard of Montgomery Tully when I saw his name come up as director in the starting credits. He has impressed me with this outing, both by having a hand in the riveting screenplay and mainly by extracting high standard performances from his actor ensemble, in particular June Thorburn, Paul Skelton, and Jack Watson. Stephen Murray, the main lead, does well enough but something is lost in his continual attempt to present a Polish/Russian accent.

Cinematography by Geoffrey Faithfull is excellent, with a truly wonderful chess game introduction, serving as backup to the chess mastery relation that develops between master spies Murray and Skelton.

The scene where Thorburn recognizes the file that Murray has removed from the cupboard, and Skelton decides to poison her is sheer textbook stuff in terms of credibility, direction and acting.

At an economical 68', this is arresting viewing and a Cold War time capsule, months after US President JF Kennedy was assassinated, and about 18 months after Cuba's Bay of Pigs incident, with the world split between US and USSR influence.

Intelligent, exciting, literate dialogue. Recommended viewing.