A Dandy in Aspic

United Kingdom

1968

107 Min

Color

2.35:1

English

Currently 2.8/5 Stars.
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DIR Anthony Mann, Laurence Harvey

PROD Anthony Mann, Leslie Gilliat

DP Christopher Challis, Austin Dempster

CAST Laurence Harvey, Tom Courtenay, Miao Liu, Peter Cook, Lionel Stander, Mia Farrow, Harry Andrews, Per Oscarsson, Barbara Murray, John Bird, Norman Bird, Geoffrey Bayldon, Calvin Lockhart, James Cossins, Michael Trubshawe, Lockwood West, Geoffrey Lumsden, Elspeth March, Richard O'Sullivan, Mike Pratt, Monika Dietrich, George Murcell, Vernon Dobtcheff, Stefan Gryff

PROD DES Carmen Dillon, Patrick McLoughlin

Director Anthony Mann’s final film (Mann died during the filming, and the production was completed by the film’s star, Laurence Harvey) is a kitchen-sink espionage drama with Harvey as Eberlin, a Russian spy and double-agent, homesick and pining for the Russian steppes. It is in this risky mood that Eberlin falls in love with the emaciated Caroline (Mia Farrow). Complications arise when he is directed to kill a Russian spy — but the Russian spy happens to be himself.

Director

Anthony Mann

Anthony Mann (June 30, 1906 – April 29, 1967) was an American actor and film director.

Born Emil Anton Bundsmann in the Point Loma area of San Diego, Mann was the son of an Austrian immigrant, Emile Theodore Bundsmann, and Bertha Waxelbaum of Macon, Georgia.

Mann started out as an actor, appearing in plays off-Broadway in New York City. In 1938, he moved to Hollywood, where he joined the Selznick International Pictures.

Mann became an assistant director in 1942, directing low-budget assignments for RKO and Republic Pictures.

Mann was respected for his acute visual sensitivity toward the American Western landscape, effortlessly blending natural vistas with human drama. Mann’s dramas verged on classical tragedy, often showing anguished heroes attempting to resolve personal pain and confusion.

In 1967, Mann died from a heart attack in Berlin, Germany while filming the spy thriller A Dandy in Aspic. The film was completed by the film’s star, Laurence Harvey… read more

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Christopher Smith

10Aug10

The last film from director Anthony Mann (he died during production) is a stylish Cold War spy thriller. Strong performances, nice European locales, and an effective atmosphere of tension; but a murky plot full of muddled intrigue keeps it from being consistently compelling. Great score by Quincy Jones.