Telefon

1977
PG
1h 42m

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

6.5K

YOUR RATING

Charles Bronson and Lee Remick in Telefon (1977)

A Russian officer is sent to the U.S. to try and stop sleeper agents who will mindlessly attack government entities when they hear certain coded words.

Play trailer2:35

1 Video

45 Photos

Dark Comedy Political Thriller Action Crime Drama Thriller

A Russian officer is sent to the U.S. to try and stop sleeper agents who will mindlessly attack government entities when they hear certain coded words.A Russian officer is sent to the U.S. to try and stop sleeper agents who will mindlessly attack government entities when they hear certain coded words.A Russian officer is sent to the U.S. to try and stop sleeper agents who will mindlessly attack government entities when they hear certain coded words.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

6.5K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 nomination total

Videos1

Trailer 2:35

Trailer

Photos45

+ 39

‘Snow White’ Stars Test Their Wits

Rachel Zegler, Gal Gadot, and director Marc Webb take our Ultimate Disney Quiz.

Watch now

9:57

More like this

6.2

6.1

6.1

5.3

6.2

6.7

6.5

5.6

5.7

6.7

6.0

5.9

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
Director Don Siegel asked Charles Bronson to shave his trademark mustache off for this movie. Bronson replied, "No mustache, no Bronson." Siegel said in his book 'A Siegel Film: An Autobiography', "I felt that as much as Bronson wore a heavy mustache in Russia, it would help his disguise if he had no mustache when he arrives in Canada. However he didn't want to shave it off."

Goofs
All of the KGB characters shown in uniform at the beginning of the film are "out of uniform." Although Borzov, Bronson's character, and the others are clearly meant to be in the KGB, the uniforms they wear are trimmed in red, the color of the regular Soviet Army, not the KGB. During the era of the film KGB uniforms were trimmed in Royal Blue. Also, the uniforms in the film lack the distinctive "Sword and Shield" patch worn by KGB officers on their jacket and coat sleeves.

Quotes
Nicolai Dalchimsky: The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep. Remember. Miles to go before I sleep.

Connections
Featured in 42nd Street Forever, Volume 3: Exploitation Explosion (2008)

Soundtracks
The Yellow Rose of Texas
(uncredited)
Traditional American folk melody

User reviews55

Featured review

7/10

A good Bronson thriller

I was never a big Charles Bronson fan. His movies usually followed the same predictable patterns of revenge and violence with Bronson usually coming off dry and stiff. His performances were usually always one note.

Of the few films of his I have enjoyed (see also "The Mechanic" and "Hard Times") from that era, "Telefon is a surprisingly gripping thriller even though the story is downright silly at times. Bronson plays (and doesn't even begin to resemble) a KGB agent out to track a killer who have been brainwashed. One call from this guy and the reciting of some lines from a Frost poem and that person is hypnotized into going out and committing an act of violence that resembles terrorism in many cases. Donald Pleasance convincingly plays the bad guy and that, I think, is what makes the movie work. Pleasance is credible in the role, thus we fear him and route for Bronson to catch him. Also on hand is Lee Remick as an American agent assigned to help Bronson but who also has a hidden agenda of her own.

Director Don Seigel handles the silly material in a straightforward manner never taking things too seriously. Bronson is less stiff then usual and the action scenes are well done. The ending is a bit abrupt but that is minor nit picking. It's a silly thriller I enjoyed and, if you are a Bronson fan, I am sure you will enjoy it too.