Funeral in Berlin (1966)

The Anti-James Bond Returns

In 1966's "Funeral in Berlin", his second outing as British anti-hero spy Harry Palmer, Michael Caine is in complete command of both his character and the movie. Len Deighton's novel of the Cold War in Berlin is brought to gritty life in a city newly divided by a wall and fought over by the Russians, the West, and the Germans themselves. The plot twists and turns, the dialogue is crisp, and the acting is understated but very solid.

Harry Palmer is asked to assess the proffered defection of a Russian KBG Colonel named Stok, who regards Palmer as both adversary and comrade-in-arms in the spy business. Their dialogue is a masterpiece of Cold War cynicism. Stok asks Palmer to use a German network with an unusually good record for spiriting people out of East Germany; this choice will have fateful consequences. Palmer also comes into contact with an old friend who owes his freedom to Harry but may have ulterior motives for a deal. Finally, Palmer becomes the object of desire for a beautiful woman who not surprisingly turns out to have an agenda of her own. The whole makes for a complicated plot and a cheerfully cynical but entertaining look at the spy business of the early 1960's.

This movie is highly recommended to fans of Michael Caine, who excells in his role as working class spy Harry Palmer. This movie will also appeal to fans of Len Deighton's novels; this is a better than average adaptation. April 21, 2007

Worth Digging For

"Funeral in Berlin" is second in a series of movies, made from Len Deighton's books, starring Michael Caine. Like the others, it's produced by Harry Saltsman, playing hookey from his better-known James Bond 007 series. It's directed by Guy Hamilton, also playing hookey from James Bond. The Scottish Sean Connery has said that Hamilton, also a Scot, was his favorite among the 007 directors: they shared that sly sense of humor, and, indeed, it's to be enjoyed in "Funeral in Berlin" as well.

The cold war plot concerns a powerful Russian Colonel, who's signaled London that he wishes to defect, and, has, as a theater of operations, divided, crawling-with-spies Berlin. So there Michael Caine's character, Harry Palmer, is sent, right back to the scene of his World War II crimes, where he had served in the Quartermasters' Corps. Right back to his former associates in those shady enterprises: they have all grown rich, while the British have forced him into spying to stay out of jail. Palmer, naturally, has had previous dealings with Colonel Stok, and does not believe for a moment that the shrewd Russian actually intends to defect; but he can't make London see his point of view. So off he goes, to call again on his former associates. He'll also find himself dealing with Mossad, the Israeli Secret Service; they too are interested in these proceedings. They will set one of their own as Samantha Steel, fashion model, to quickly find Palmer irresistible and then monitor his activities.

"Funeral" is well cast. As "Colonel Stok," Oskar Homulka is reliably Oskar Homulka. Paul Hubschmid does well as "Johnny Vulkan." Guy Doleman ably reprises his role as "Ross" from "Ipcress." Caine, of course, was at the height of his powers, and his looks. Eva Renzi, German-born, is qualified to play "Samantha," Palmer's love interest, although, as is typical of Saltsman's casting of females, she hadn't much of a career otherwise. (Nor did she have a long career, as she recently died, rather young, having been married to one of her co-stars from this movie.)

The movie is quite entertaining, and it moves fast. The plot has lots of surprises, the color photography's excellent, catching the ambiance of an anxious Berlin. Unfortunately, "Funeral" is out of print, and hard to find. If you want it, you'll have to dig for it.

January 23, 2007

Cold war driven Caine classic

Michael Caine playing ex-thief and reluctant operative for British intelligence, the Cockneyed Harry Palmer, once again becomes immersed in a convoluted caper in the 1966 production of "Funeral in Berlin". He's been ordered by his boss Colonel Ross played by Guy Doleman to orchestrate the defection of a high ranking Russian KGB Colonel Stok played by bushy browed Oscar Homolka from East Berlin.

Upon arrival in Berlin, Caine makes contact with an old criminal acquaintance Johnny Vulkan played by Paul Hubschmid. He is supposed to aid in the defection which will be accomplished in the guise of a funeral. Colonel Ross hasn't let on that Vulkan is actually a Nazi war criminal who had absconded with two million dollars stolen from Jews caught up in the Holocaust. Vulkan is being pursued by Israeli agents including an attractive spy Eva Renzi, playing Samantha Steel who seduces Caine as part of the scheme.

Palmer despite being in the dark manages to push all the right buttons in this intricate operation ultimately winning the approval of his demanding and uncompromising boss, Colonel Ross.

Director Guy Hamilton made excellent use of diverse German settings to shoot this fast paced thriller, focusing on the contrast of the chic, newly modernized rebuilt Berlin and sections still devastated by the horrors of the war. January 13, 2007

funeral in Berlin

This movie is available by Paramount in Italy. It's Region 2 and the price is very reasonable. Euros 24 English language and subtitles. Giuliano Fournier October 18, 2005

Harry Palmer: The Spy Who Went Into the Cold

Each of these films is a self-contained story but having seen the previous entries does give the central character more depth. "The Ipcress File" introduced Len Deighton's spy with no name as "Harry Palmer" -- a gritty, workaday operative for the British Secret Service -- the polar opposite from James Bond.

(This is even more interesting when you realize the producer of the two series is Harry Saltzman. And the director here is Guy Hamilton who helmed "Goldfinger".)

Michael Caine returns in this excellent second installment of the "Harry Palmer" series. The scene is Berlin in the early 1960s at the height of the Cold War. The Berlin Wall was a recent division. The tension between the US and the CCCP caused global anxiety. To see this film is to get something of a feel for the place and the time. The espionage here is thick and the tension is palpable. A series of double crosses lands Palmer in serious trouble. Whereas "Ipcress" had psychological underpinnings, "Funeral" is more personal and more down to earth. A story well told.

And yes, film makers once again take liberties with Deighton's fine books. The author's novel is richer in detail, movement across Europe and character development. Think of this as an abridgement -- a very good abridgement. Otherwise the film would be four hours long.

I wish the producers could have retained John Barry for the score but Konrad Elfers does a fine job and I'm happy to have a CD of his score. The visual framing favored by Sidney J. Furie for "Ipcress" was brilliant. Apparently the producer didn't care for it so Guy Hamilton's "Funeral" lacks those compositions but cinematographer Otto Heller, who worked on "Ipcress" as well, does a very good job here and manages to inject some visual flair now and then that ties the two films together.

The Paramount DVD is worlds better than the previously available VHS. Finally, the original widescreen aspect ratio -- 2:35:1 -- is retained and we no longer have to deal with truncated and/or pan & scan images that result in the dreaded "talking noses syndrome" or distracting cross cuts.

The original release was mono and that's what we have here. Although both "Ipcress" and "Funeral" would benefit from a 5.1 remix the mono sound here is quite good.

Extras? At the premium price Paramount set for this release you would have thought there would be extras. Sorry, no extras. Just be glad we have the film, which brings us to the next topic.

Available once more! Paramount had let this one go out of print ... in the US. This marked up the private seller price ripping off fans trying to find a copy. It was cheaper to buy a region-free player and order a copy from Amazon UK than it was to ferret out a used copy at that popular auction website. But relax, it's back in print.

"Funeral in Berlin" is a keeper.

Michael Caine as Harry Palmer returns in the next installment, Ken Russel's film: "The Billion Dollar Brain".

PS: If you want an even darker, noir-like film set in the same time and place, Richard Burton as "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" is depressing and absolutely brilliant.

PPS: "The Quiller Memorandum", a fine cold war spy film, is now available on DVD. September 1, 2005

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