'Tinker, Tailor': The Greatest Spy Story Ever Told At its core, John le Carre's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy isn't really about espionage, says critic John Powers. The 1974 novel, adapted for the screen in 1979 by the BBC, is actually about secrets and lies and shifting identities — which is to say, a metaphor for our own daily lives.
Is Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy based on a true story?
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a 2011 Cold War spy thriller film directed by Tomas Alfredson. The screenplay was written by Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan, based on John le Carré 's 1974 novel of the same name.
What is the Dewey Decimal of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy?
Dewey Decimal. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a 1974 spy novel by British author John le Carré. It follows the endeavors of taciturn, aging spymaster George Smiley to uncover a Soviet mole in the British Secret Intelligence Service.
Is Tinker Tailor by John le Carré a good novel?
Le Carré himself believed the novel to be among his best works. In le Carré's obituary in the Daily Telegraph it read: He transformed espionage fiction in the masterworks The Spy Who Came in From the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
Is Tinker Tailor a good movie?
The TV series of Tinker Tailor …, with Alec Guinness as Smiley, allowed itself all the space and time required to let bureaucratic logic swell slowly into unbearable, unmissable suspense. To achieve at least part of that suspense in a single feature film is a triumph.
What actually happened in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy?
Haydon is arrested, but Prideaux kills him while he's in custody to avenge his betrayal. Smiley is reinstated at the Circus, this time at its head. In the end, it doesn't matter that the mole proved to be Haydon.
Is John le Carré realistic?
While le Carré's novels were fiction, their boundaries with the real world of espionage did sometimes blur. Unlike other espionage writers such as Graham Greene (a wartime MI6 officer), le Carré's writing entered intelligence services themselves.
Are Prideaux and Haydon lovers?
During his time at Oxford, Prideaux befriended Bill Haydon, who recruited him to MI6 for his athletic prowess; the book heavily implies that the two men became lovers, with Prideaux becoming agitated and defensive when he hears people speak ill of Haydon in his presence.
Who is the traitor in Tinker Tailor?
Fearing for his life, Tarr went into hiding. Smiley sends Guillam to steal the duty officer's logbook for the night Tarr contacted London. Guillam is unexpectedly brought before Circus leadership and told that Tarr is a traitor.
Was MI5 Smiley or MI6?
Oldfield himself believed that, although Green probably inspired le Carré, the character of Smiley was primarily based on John Bingham, 7th Baron Clanmorris, who had been le Carré's boss when he originally joined MI5 prior to his career in MI6.
What did John le Carré died of?
Spy author John Le Carré died days after a fall in the bathroom at his home in Cornwall, an inquest heard. The author of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, fractured his ribs in the fall, the hearing in Truro was told.
Why did Prideaux shoots and kills Haydon?
Prideaux does not kill Haydon because he was a traitor to his country, he kills him because he was a traitor to him personally, not just by giving him up to the Russians in Budapest, but because he refused to respond to Prideaux's homosexual feelings towards him and forced Prideaux to suppress his authentic self.
Who is Bill Haydon based on?
Kim PhilbyLe Carré's mole, Bill Haydon, is modeled on Kim Philby, a rising British intelligence official who was headed for a knighthood until he came under suspicion as a Soviet agent in the 1950s.
How did Esterhase know about Tinker Tailor?
Esterhase knew of Tinker Tailer because his source Merlin told him. Kara got the information from torturing Prideaux but he already knew because Prideaux told/warned Haydon who in turn warned Karla.
Why did Control take Smiley with him?
Control asks Smiley to step down along with him. Control does this because he knows Smiley is not the mole, he was in Germany when Jim was compromised.
What is considered John le Carre's best book?
John le Carré's international best-seller is dynamite—fiendishly clever, as Arthur Conan Doyle might have said, and morally alert in a way that puts it way above the usual run of espionage fiction.
What order should you read John Le Carre?
Novels in order with George Smiley in lead roleCall for the Dead (1961)A Murder of Quality (1962)Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1974) – Set around 1973.The Honourable Schoolboy (1977) – Set around 1974.Smiley's People (1979) – Set around 1977.
What order should I read Le Carre?
Having said you need not read the Smiley books in order, we recommend going straight to The Honourable Schoolboy after Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The second in the Karla trilogy has Smiley repairing the damage of the MI6 mole and turning to part-time spook Jerry Westerby for vital undercover work in Hong Kong.
What to read after the spy who came in from the cold?
I think there's a strong consensus here for 'The Spy Who Came in from the Cold', and I'd agree with that. But 'Call For the Dead' and 'A Murder of Quality' should be Number 2 and 3. Then it's the Karla Trilogy, and after that 'The Little Drummer Girl. '
What is the Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy about?
It follows the endeavours of taciturn, aging spymaster George Smiley to uncover a Soviet mole in the British Secret Intelligence Service. The novel has received critical acclaim for its complex social commentary —and, at the time, relevance, following the defection of Kim Philby. The novel has been adapted into both a television series and a film, and remains a staple of the spy fiction genre.
What is the spy jargon in Tinker Tailor Soldier?
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy employs spy jargon that is presented as the authentic insider-speak of British Intelligence. Le Carré has noted that with the exception of a few terms like mole and legend this jargon was his own invention. In some cases, terms used in the novel have subsequently entered espionage parlance. For example, the terms mole, implying a long-term spy, and honey trap, implying a ploy in which an attractive person lures another into revealing information, were first introduced in this novel, and have only subsequently entered general usage.
How did Smiley meet Karla?
Smiley explains that this 1955 operation was the one time that he had met Karla. Karla had been setting-up a radio operation in California, under the cover of 'Gerstmann', but for once the Circus was "ahead of the game. The wranglers broke the code and that's how we got our information. ... As soon as Control had the story from the wranglers, he traded it to the Americans on the understanding that they missed Gertsmann but hit the rest of the Rudnev network in California. Gerstmann [Karla] flew on to Delhi unaware." At Circus request, Indian police held Karla so that Smiley could try to swing Karla to defect. During his attempt to obtain Karla's defection, Smiley attempted to ply him to defect with cigarettes and promises that they could get any family he had out to the West safely. However, Smiley admits that all this did was reveal his only weakness, his love for his unfaithful wife, Ann. He had offered his lighter, a present from Ann, to light a cigarette, but Karla merely rose and left with it, keeping the lighter as a symbol of his victory over Smiley. Smiley concludes by telling Guillam that as a result of that arrest, Karla has never used radio on an operation since 1955.
What is the name of the book that Smiley's people and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy are named after?
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was followed by The Honourable Schoolboy in 1977 and Smiley's People in 1979. The three novels together make up the "Karla Trilogy", named after Smiley's long-time opponent Karla, the head of Soviet foreign intelligence. These were later published as an omnibus edition titled The Quest for Karla in 1982.
How many episodes of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy?
A TV adaptation of the Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was made by the BBC in 1979. It was a seven-part serial and was released in September of that year. The series was directed by John Irvin, produced by Jonathan Powell, and starred Alec Guinness as George Smiley, with Ian Richardson as Bill Haydon. Ricki Tarr was played by Hywel Bennett. In the US, syndicated broadcasts and DVD releases compressed the seven-part UK episodes into six, by shortening scenes and altering the narrative sequence.
Why is Smiley not the mole?
Lacon reasons that Smiley, and Guillam, cannot be the mole due to their respective dismissal and demotion as a result of Testify. Smiley, although cautious, agrees, and forms a team consisting of himself, Guillam, Tarr, and retired Scotland Yard Inspector Mendel.
What is an espionage agent?
An espionage agent or spy; a citizen who is recruited by a foreign government to spy on his own country. This term should not be confused with a member of an intelligence service who recruits spies; they are referred to as intelligence officers or more particularly case officers.
What is the rating of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy?
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy received critical acclaim. Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 83% based on 229 reviews, with an average rating of 7.80/10. The site's critics' consensus states: " Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a dense puzzle of anxiety, paranoia, and espionage that director Tomas Alfredson pieces together with utmost skill." Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating in the 0–100 range based on reviews from top mainstream critics, calculated an average score of 85 based on 42 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
Who played George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy?
The screenplay was written by Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan, based on John le Carré 's 1974 novel of the same name. The film stars Gary Oldman as George Smiley, with Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ciarán Hinds, David Dencik and Kathy Burke supporting. It is set in London in the early 1970s and follows the hunt for a Soviet double agent at the top of the British secret service.
What did Tarr tell Smiley about the mole?
Tarr tells Smiley that in Istanbul, Soviet agent Irina wanted to exchange the identity of the mole in return for asylum. After he notified London, the local station chief was murdered and Irina abducted. Fearing for his life, Tarr went into hiding. Smiley sends Guillam to steal the logbook for the night Tarr contacted London. Guillam is unexpectedly brought before Circus leadership and told that Tarr is a traitor. Smiley finds that the logbook pages for the relevant night have been removed, supporting Tarr's story.
What did Smiley tell Guillam about his wife?
Smiley tells Guillam that in 1955, he had urged Moscow's spymaster Karla to defect, begging him to "think of his wife" and realized too late that he had revealed his own weak spot: his love for his wife. Former duty officer Jerry Westerby tells Smiley of how Prideaux's shooting sent Control into shock. Westerby left a message with Ann Smiley - Haydon then arrived and took charge. Guillam wonders how Haydon could have learned of the emergency, but Smiley tells him he was having an affair with Ann.
How long did it take to edit the movie MI6?
The film took six months to edit. The final song in the film, Julio Iglesias ' rendition of the French song " La Mer ", set against a visual montage of various characters and subplots being resolved as Smiley strides into Circus headquarters to assume command, was chosen because it was something the team thought George Smiley would listen to when he was alone; Alfredson described the song as "everything that the world of MI6 isn't". A scene where Smiley listens to the song was filmed, but eventually cut to avoid giving it too much significance.
Why did Jared Harris drop out of Sherlock Holmes?
Jared Harris was cast but had to drop out because of scheduling conflicts with Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows; he was replaced by Toby Jones. John le Carré appears in a cameo as a guest in a party scene. The Párizsi Udvar ("Paris Court") in Budapest, setting for the Hungarian café scene.
Who played George Smiley in the movie?
The film stars Gary Oldman as George Smiley, with Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ciarán Hinds, David Dencik and Kathy Burke supporting. It is set in London in the early 1970s and follows the hunt for a Soviet double agent at the top of the British secret service.
What is the purpose of Tinker Tailor?
In Tinker Tailor, le Carre manages to both strip away some of the mystique surrounding spying - to reveal the human frailties and petty bureaucracies - but also to envelop British intelligence in a new shroud of mythology which it still has not entirely shaken off.
Who played Smiley in Tinker Tailor?
But this is more a result of the 1979 TV adaptation of Tinker Tailor. Alec Guinness , who played Smiley, was introduced by le Carre to Oldfield over lunch and adopted some of his mannerisms. "I still don't recognise myself," the spy chief wrote to the actor after seeing the programme. Many others did though.
Where is the training school for British spies?
Sarratt, the fictional training school for British spies, is actually a village near Watford in which le Carre worked as a teenager in a department store, says Sisman. The real training establishment is known as "The Fort". Control - used to refer to the head of MI6 - bears only a little relationship to reality.
Who was the MI5 officer who wrote fiction?
Another is John Bingham (later Lord Clanmorris), an MI5 officer who worked with le Carre and who wrote fiction himself. "Bingham was the physical inspiration for Smiley and Vivian Green the spiritual inspiration," reckons Sisman.
Did all former spies like John Le Carre's depiction of their world?
Not all former spies liked le Carre's depiction of their world. "John le Carre I would gladly hang draw and quarter," Baroness Daphne Park, a former MI6 officer, told me shortly before she died. Others were less sure that his fiction was such a problem.
Who were the two diplomats in Amalgam?
Amalgam characters. Their treachery was being exposed just as le Carre was coming of age as a writer. Burgess and Maclean, two diplomats, fled to Moscow in 1951. By the early 60s, the rot had been found within British intelligence itself, with George Blake and Kim Philby exposed as traitors. image caption.
Who is the main influence of Smiley?
But the TV series came several years after the written version of Smiley. There are two other more likely influences. One is the Reverend Vivian Green whom le Carre knew as a schoolboy and then at Lincoln College, Oxford.
What is the greatest spy novel ever written?
Amazon. Independent Booksellers. His masterpiece was 1974's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy — not merely the greatest spy novel ever written, but the source of a 1979 BBC adaptation that's the greatest spy show ever made.
Does Smiley catch a mole?
But once it becomes clear that there's a mole, or double agent, high up in The Circus, Smiley is brought back to catch him. He does this in the old school, pre-Google way, by sifting through papers and questioning anyone who might be involved, all in a style that's unsettlingly calm. Bluntness isn't Smiley's thing.
What is the book Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy about?
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, le Carré's masterpiece, is about the hunt for a double agent "at the very top" of SIS. Tomas Alfredson's film of the book, visually beautiful and often marvellously acted, allows for that cold war element of silence. Stuff has to happen in movies, and Alfredson includes memorable flashes of gunplay, torment and flight.
Who plays Smiley in Tinker Tailor?
The TV series of Tinker Tailor …, with Alec Guinness as Smiley, allowed itself all the space and time required to let bureaucratic logic swell slowly into unbearable, unmissable suspense.
When was Tinker Tailor first published?
Tinker Tailor was originally published in 1974. Both novel and film are firmly placed against that "decline" background, which came to a climax of national pessimism in the late 1970s and which Margaret Thatcher attempted to reverse.
Who was in MI6?
John le Carré served in MI6 in Germany; he knows what he is writing about. And MI6 (aka SIS or the Special Intelligence Service) in his time was tortured by the search for "moles". The "diplomats" Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean had already fled to Moscow. But the full depth of Soviet penetration into British intelligence – the identities of the Cambridge Five (the other three were Kim Philby, Anthony Blunt and John Cairncross), recruited as double agents before the war, and the damage they had done – was only beginning to become clear in the early 1960s.
Does Karla's Moscow Centre shoot its defectors?
He was, but nobody else in the story does so. In the rest of the novel, Karla's Moscow Centre shoots its defectors. The Circus, in contrast, discreetly exports its own traitors to Moscow in exchange for western "assets" in communist prisons. No moral equilateralism there.
Was Smiley talking about equilateralism?
The Circus, in contrast, discreetly exports its own traitors to Moscow in exchange for western "assets" in communist prisons. No moral equilateralism there.
Audience Reception
The movie has received great critical acclaim from the time of its release. It boasts 35 award wins and 100 nominations for the well-written plot and superb casting. Despite being shot in 2011, the scenes perfectly replicate the setting in London in 1974. This classic is not your typical action movie with fancy cars, expensive suits, and gunfights.
About the Movie
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is about hunting for a double agent at the top of British intelligence during the Cold War. The movie starts with the head of the unit, Control, expressing his concerns about a ‘mole’ in the Circus. He sends out agent Jim Prideaux to investigate this in Budapest, but the mission fails once he is abducted and tortured.
Real-life Inspired Characters
It was released not long after the presence of KGB moles in Britain’s intelligence was revealed to the public. These infamous agents came to be known as the Cambridge Five; Guy Burgess, George Blake, John Cairncross, Donald McClean, and Kim Philby. Kim Philby was among the top British intelligence agents.
It Highlights the Green Ink C
At the beginning of the movie, Control signs a document with just the letter C using green ink. It is a continuing practice among the intelligence service’s directors to date. They are referred to the C to mean ‘Chief’ rather than Control. The name C originated from Mansfield Cumming, the first director of MI6.
Overview
Background
When Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy came out in 1974, revelations exposing the presence of Soviet double agents in Britain were still fresh in public memory. Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean, and Kim Philby, later known as members of the Cambridge Five, had been exposed as KGB moles. The five had risen to very senior positions in branches of the British government. The book, based on the premise of uncovering a Soviet double agent in the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), offers a nov…
Plot Summary
As the tension of the Cold War is peaking in 1973, George Smiley, former senior official in Britain's Secret Intelligence Service (known as "the Circus" because its London office is at Cambridge Circus), is living unhappily in forced retirement, following the failure of an operation codenamed Testify in Czechoslovakia which ended in the capture and torture of agent Jim Prideaux. Control, chief of the Circus, had suspected that one of the five senior intelligence officers at the Circus w…
Characters
• George Smiley: Educated at Oxford, he was a senior officer in the Circus, before being eased out upon Operation Testify's failure. He is called upon to investigate the presence of a Soviet mole in the Circus.
• Sir Percy Alleline: Chief of the Circus following Control's ousting. Alleline spent his early career in South America, northern Africa and India. He is seen to be vain and overambitious, and is despised by Control. Alleline is knighted in the course of the book in recognition of the q…
• George Smiley: Educated at Oxford, he was a senior officer in the Circus, before being eased out upon Operation Testify's failure. He is called upon to investigate the presence of a Soviet mole in the Circus.
• Sir Percy Alleline: Chief of the Circus following Control's ousting. Alleline spent his early career in South America, northern Africa and India. He is seen to be vain and overambitious, and is despised by Control. Alleline is knighted in the course of the book in recognition of the qu…
Jargon
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy employs spy jargon that is presented as the authentic insider-speak of British Intelligence. Le Carré has noted that with the exception of a few terms like mole and legend this jargon was his own invention. In some cases, terms used in the novel have subsequently entered espionage parlance. For example, the terms mole, implying a long-term spy, and honey trap, implying a ploy in which an attractive person lures another into revealing inform…
Critical response
In a review for The New York Times written upon the novel's release in 1974, critic Richard Locke called Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy "fluently written", noting that "it is full of vivid character sketches of secret agents and bureaucrats from all levels of British society, and the dialogue catches their voices well." He praised the novel's realism, calling the detailing of "the day to day activities of the intelligence service at home and abroad" convincing. He noted that the "scale and complexity of …
Allusions and references
In the book, Sarratt is a Circus facility, containing a training school for British spies and a holding centre for persons undergoing debriefing or interrogation or in quarantine. This is a reference to an actual village near Watford in which le Carré worked as a teenager in a department store. Other Circus locations mentioned are a converted laundry in Acton from which the Lamplighters section operates, and a disused school in Brixton, home of the Scalphunters section.
In other media
A TV adaptation of the Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was made by the BBC in 1979. It was a seven-part serial and was released in September of that year. The series was directed by John Irvin, produced by Jonathan Powell, and starred Alec Guinness as George Smiley, with Ian Richardson as Bill Haydon. Ricki Tarr was played by Hywel Bennett. In the US, syndicated broadcasts and DVD releases compressed the seven-part UK episodes into six, by shortening scenes and altering the …
Overview
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (French: La Taupe, lit. 'The Mole') is a 2011 Cold War spy thriller film directed by Tomas Alfredson. The screenplay was written by Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan, based on John le Carré's 1974 novel of the same name. The film stars Gary Oldman as George Smiley, with Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ciarán Hinds, Davi…
Plot
In 1973 "Control", head of British intelligence ("The Circus"), sends Jim Prideaux to Budapest to meet a Hungarian general who has the name of a mole at the top of British Intelligence. Prideaux, realising the meeting is a trap, is shot as he tries to flee. Control and his right-hand man George Smiley are forced to retire, and Control dies soon after. Percy Alleline becomes the new Chief, Bill Haydon his deputy, and Roy Bland and Toby Esterhase his lieutenants. They had already begun r…
Cast
• Gary Oldman as George Smiley ("Spy")
• Colin Firth as Bill Haydon ("Tailor")
• Tom Hardy as Ricki Tarr
• Mark Strong as Jim Prideaux
Production
The project was initiated by Peter Morgan when he wrote a draft of the screenplay, which he offered to Working Title Films to produce. Morgan dropped out as the writer for personal reasons but still served as an executive producer. Following Morgan's departure as writer, Working Title hired Peter Straughan and Bridget O'Connor to redraft the script. Park Chan-wook considered directing the …
Release
The film premiered in competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival on 5 September 2011. StudioCanal UK distributed the film in the United Kingdom, where it was released on 16 September 2011. The US rights were acquired by Universal Pictures, which owns Working Title, and they passed the rights to their subsidiary Focus Features. Focus planned to give the film a wide release in th…
Possible sequel
While doing press for Working Title's Les Misérables film adaptation, producer Eric Fellner stated that fellow producer Tim Bevan was working with writer Straughan and director Alfredson on developing a sequel to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Fellner did not specify whether or not the sequel would be based on The Honourable Schoolboy or Smiley's People, the two remaining Smiley novels in Le Carré's Karla trilogy. While doing press for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in 2014, Oldman s…
External links
• Official movie website at the Wayback Machine (archived 23 September 2011)
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy at AllMovie
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy at IMDb