1970 - THE KREMLIN LETTER, complex spy vs spy stuff

In this movie watching era of short attention spans you better be on your game sorting through the very intricate plot of The Kremlin Letter.

This is cold war spy vs spy stuff made during the spy movie craze of the 1960's.  Occasionally a major league director in this case John Huston would take a shot at this genre.  Huston had been one of the five directors who was mixed up in the goofy first version of Casino Royale.  But this time Huston was trying for something different, a complex cynical film about the espionage business.

Cynical can't really describe how bleak this film is.  There isn't one character that the audience can even remotely identify with and it's amazing what Huston gets away with in this film, homosexuality, drug abuse, rape and murder.

The film has a good cast, everyone in it is a first rate professional and gives an excellent performance.  The Kremlin Letter probably ranks up there with some of Billy Wilder's films like, Double Indemnity or Ace in the Hole.  But Huston certainly has one up on Wilder with this really grim film.

121 minutes, screenplay John Huston and Gladys Hill.