I saw this twice in the early 1980s on ITV in the UK. It had a similar atmosphere to the superb Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, mostly talk rather than action. This is not a criticism as it meant that there was a lot of depth to the story.
The story is simple. A soviet defector arrives in the UK with a list of spies embedded in the establishment, from low level officials to the very top. Many of them are already known to the secret service, but some names are new and have the power to destroy British politics and the civil service. They then discover that the defector has terminal cancer and therefore has nothing to lose. Doubts are expressed about the list, and the film finishes with difficult decisions having to be made.
From what I recall there was no satisfactory ending, no closure, which made it all the more interesting to watch and made it stay in at least one viewers mind for a long time.
I was also struck by the music, simple but powerful electric guitar picking.
I would really love to see this again some day.
The story is simple. A soviet defector arrives in the UK with a list of spies embedded in the establishment, from low level officials to the very top. Many of them are already known to the secret service, but some names are new and have the power to destroy British politics and the civil service. They then discover that the defector has terminal cancer and therefore has nothing to lose. Doubts are expressed about the list, and the film finishes with difficult decisions having to be made.
From what I recall there was no satisfactory ending, no closure, which made it all the more interesting to watch and made it stay in at least one viewers mind for a long time.
I was also struck by the music, simple but powerful electric guitar picking.
I would really love to see this again some day.