A Dandy in Aspic [DVD] [1968] [2007]

One of those films that is remembered simply as a footnote to its director's career, it's hard to tell if A Dandy in Aspic would have been much better had Anthony Mann not died during shooting in West Germany. On a purely visual level it's evident that he shot most of the picture, not least because star Laurence Harvey, who finished the film, doesn't hide his love of crash zooms or seem to make much effort to match Mann's style. Certainly scenes like the shooting range sequence, a hotel room conversation shown via twin mirrors or the many shots featuring Mann's favorite Scope setup of a character hiding in close-up in one third of the screen while another approaches in the extreme distance in the rest of the frame have the original director's fingerprints all over them. If anything, the film's biggest problems seem to have happened before and after shooting: Derek Marlowe's script seems a rewrite or two away from ready and it's hard to believe that Mann would have gone along with some of the more extreme post-production decisions, from the echoplex dialogue effects in moments of stress to some of the more ill-judged parts of Quincy Jones' generally quite good score.

On paper the slightly schizoid directorial approach should be quite appropriate for this low-key spy thriller variation on The Big Clock where Harvey's undercover Russian spy is ordered by MI5 to track down and kill... himself, and perhaps to a non-fan of Mann's work it wouldn't be quite so distracting. Yet even away from the visuals and some occasionally inconsistent performances, the film has plenty of flaws that can be traced to both the screenplay and casting. Like the title sequence of a puppet getting tied up in knots in its own strings it's full of good ideas that never quite work and certainly for the first third never makes as much of its premise as it could. More Le Carre than Bond, there are certainly some strong scenes, especially with Per Oscarsson's drug-addicted Russian contact or Harvey's attempt to defect back to the East only for the East Germans to shoot at him to drive him back because he's useless to them back home, while there's some entertaining banter in the exchanges between Tom Courtney and Lionel Stander. But while the plot ultimately works itself out more or less satisfactorily, the film never flows or grips as well as it should.

Delivering his dialogue with his customary cold aloof disdain, Harvey is at once perfect casting for the role of the sexless cold fish with no sense of self but at the same time he's a hollow center for the film: his character may long for a real identity and to belong somewhere, but you don't care for or about him. Similarly, Mia Farrow's mildly kooky romantic interest feels more irritation than illumination: rather than showing the life he has missed, she often feels grafted onto the picture because the front office think it needs a love story. The rest of the casting veers from the wilfully perverse - Tom Courtney as a cold-blooded assassin with a chip on his shoulder, blacklist victim Lionel Stander as a Commie spymaster - to the plain bizarre, with the supporting ranks populated by satirists - Peter Cook ("Welcome to the Funkturm. On a clear day you can see them jumping over the Wall"), John Bird - and UK sitcom players - Richard O'Sullivan, Mike Pratt and Norman Bird - though none cause quite as much damage as the astonishingly bad but thankfully brief performance from Calvin Lockhart.

Cinematographer Christopher Challis does actually manage to make Courtney look menacing in several scenes, though his Scope lensing is poorly served in Sony's dark 2.35:1 widescreen Region 2 PAL DVD transfer. No extras either, but the disc should come with a word of warning - don't read the synopsis on the back unless you want to know every twist in the picture before you see it!

So, a curate's egg: not quite the disaster most reviewers often paint it, but less than a success and perhaps more worth a look for Mann's admirers than the casual viewer.

A rarely seen film from the Sixties, when every other film was about spies, A Dandy In Aspic gets a surprising though not undeserved DVD release, looking very good but totally devoid of extras.

As an espionage caper, this one falls somewhere in between the fantasy world of Ian Fleming and the gritty reality of John Le Carre. The central character is a Russian double agent and occasional assassin who has had enough and wants to go home - just as British Intelligence seem to be on the brink of uncovering him. Of course, the Russians don't really want him back - he's too valuable where he is. At least, so they keep saying. But it's hard to see why. He seems rather amateurish and everyone appears to suspect him. Still, the thing about Sixties spy movies is that they didn't necessarily have to make sense, and this one seldom does. But it has a nice style and some interesting performances from an eclectic cast.

In the lead role, Laurence Harvey draws on his Baltic background to conviningly show both sides of his two-faced character - English dandy and Russian agent. A very under-rated actor, he holds the film together with his cool underplaying and world-weary expressions. Tom Courtenay plays a ruthless British agent in much the same way as he played Strelnikov in Dr Zhivago a few years earlier. Swedish actor Per Oscarson drops by for a nicely realised cameo and dependable character actors such as Harry Andrews and John Bird put in their usual solid performances. The one member of the cast who seems to be genuinely enjoying himself is Lionel Stander who easily steals every scene he's in as a Russian spy chief with a twisted sense of humour. To provide the obligatory love interest, Mia Farrow plays an English photographer who doesn't know how to hold a camera let alone use one. She is as much set decoration as leading lady although she redeems herself with a couple of quite amusing throwaway lines (she couldn't be a model, she says, because she's "too voluptuous").

The film is set and filmed in London and Berlin and it's certainly interesting to see Berlin as it was during the cold war. But the only hint we get of Swinging London is in the Twiggy-esque outfits worn by Miss Farrow and in the rather bizarre appearance and performance of Peter Cook as yet another British agent. The music by Quincy Jones also does little to set the scene but the camerawork is typically Sixties style, if a tad uneven.

The story seldom makes sense. For example, the Russians keep saying how valuable Laurence Harvey is to them. But, after 18 years, he doesn't seem to have advanced very far in British Intelligence. And why would the Russians risk him by having him carry out assassinations instead of bringing in a professional hitman? Nothing is really answered and the film finishes with a typical Sixties ending. All in all, it's rather stylish but don't think about it too much. It's intertesting to see A Dandy In Aspic again after all these years. We can only hope that more such seldom-seen films will soon be released on DVD to satisfy the cravings of dedicated film fans.

Other reviews highlight the minor shortcomings of this film,which are the main characters implausible role,and the resultant lack of real tension created. The mood falls between sixties stylishness and cold war grittiness,without ever convincing in either.
None of the characters are sympathetic (when has Harvey ever been likeable?),and more use could have been made of Tom Courtenay's excellent performance and his battle with Harvey.
Nevertheless,the film has an interesting premise for a plot,although the twists are underdeveloped,and it is wonderfully and stylishly photographed in crisp colour. The location shots,particularly of Berlin, are very atmospheric,and the sequence at AVUS is fascinating.
For spy-film fans,it is an extremely interesting example of the genre,and for lovers of Berlin it is especially rewarding.