The Deadly Affair

The Deadly Affair
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySidney Lumet
Written byPaul Dehn
Produced bySidney Lumet
StarringJames Mason
CinematographyFreddie Young
Edited byThelma Connell
Music byQuincy Jones
Production
company
Sidney Lumet Film Productions
Distributed byBritish Lion-Columbia (UK)
Columbia Pictures (US)
Release dates
  • 26 January 1967 (1967-01-26) (New York City)
  • 2 February 1967 (1967-02-02) (London-premiere)
  • 7 April 1967 (1967-04-07) (United Kingdom)
Running time
115 minutes (UK)
107 minutes (US)
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.4 million[1]

The Deadly Affair is a 1967 British spy film based on John le Carré's first novel, Call for the Dead (1961). The film stars James Mason and was directed by Sidney Lumet from a script by Paul Dehn.[2]

As it is a Columbia Pictures production and Paramount owned the film rights to the name George Smiley, the central character is renamed Charles Dobbs; however, his police liaison Mendel and wife Ann's names are retained. Paramount had acquired the film rights to the Smiley character name when filming The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965).[3]

The soundtrack was composed by Quincy Jones, and the bossa nova theme song, "Who Needs Forever", was performed by Astrud Gilberto.

  1. ^ On Three War Fronts By A. H. WEILER. New York Times 9 Jan 1966: 69.
  2. ^ "The Deadly Affair". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  3. ^ Wootton, Adrian (5 October 2002). "John le Carré at the NFT (1)". the Guardian. Retrieved 2 September 2021.