Funeral in Berlin

Funeral in Berlin [Guy Hamilton, 1966]:

Director Guy Hamilton is both an underrated master and an underrated master of mise-en-scène, constantly enlivening every terse exchange or moment of surveillance with unique shot compositions and a remarkable use of location. The acerbic wit of Michael Caine's reluctant spy is a huge part of what makes the character so compelling here, as his “anti-Bond” Harry Palmer plays various sides off against one another, while seemingly doing nothing at all.

The Palmer films aren’t merely the “anti-Bond” because they present espionage without action or pyrotechnics, but because they have a greater cynicism about politics and the machinations and manipulations of world events. The titular setting here – grey Berlin, where the ravaged scars of the Second World War stand in contrast against the construction of concrete modernity – is a world away from Bond’s exotic islands and luxury manor houses, but it’s a fitting location for a story that pits the Israeli secret service against former Nazi war criminals, while agents from both sides of the Iron Curtain attempt to manipulate events to their own benefit.

The divided setting suggests the divided loyalty of characters and the people they work for, as interpersonal conflicts are given the same focus as political ones. The sequence where the coffin is transported across the border, and the play on perception and deceptions, seems a precursor to another of Hamilton's films, Live and Let Die (1971) and a reminder of an earlier one, The Party's Over (1964). A quietly complex espionage classic.

The Ringer

The Ringer [Guy Hamilton, 1952]:

Modern audiences will guess the identity of the titular "The Ringer" within the first ten minutes, but nonetheless, director Guy Hamilton's feature debut remains a great deal of fun. Based on a 1929 play by Edgar Wallace, this blend of country house mystery, Doctor Mabuse-inspired crime drama and wry comedy of manners ably establishes the visual style and thematic concerns of subsequent Hamilton films, such as An Inspector Calls (1954), A Touch of Larceny (1959) and Evil Under the Sun (1982).

Prior to this debut, Hamilton had previously worked as assistant director to Carol Reed [a bit of trivia, in The Third Man (1949), Hamilton was also the camera double for Orson Welles in many of the film's long shots] and the scene where Denholm Elliott's character is pursued across the rooftops of Piccadilly shows a definite influence from both The Fallen Idol (1949) and the aforementioned The Third Man respectively.

The cast is excellent here. As well as the then-fresh-faced Denholm Elliott there's also Herbert Lom, Mai Zetterling, Greta Gynt, and the original "Doctor Who" himself, William Hartnell. Already we're seeing Hamilton's propensity for large ensemble casts made up of  huge stars and well-known character actors.