DB7

Tinker, tailor, soldier, film star


Francesca Martin
Wednesday June 4, 2008
The Guardian

John le Carré's hit thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is to hit the big screen. The author, whose real name is David Cornwall, is at work with the scriptwriter Peter Morgan on a film adaptation of the novel, first published in 1974 as the first instalment in a trilogy about cold war spies. To be produced by Working Title - the production company behind most of the British film industry's biggest hits - it will be the first feature-film version of the novel, which was made into a television series starring Alec Guinness in 1979. According to Morgan - whose other recent credits include the forthcoming films State of Play, Frost/Nixon and The Damned United - le Carré is full of sage advice: "'When you return to earlier work,' he cautioned, 'you feel two rather unpleasant emotions. One is God, this is awful, and the other is how can I ever write something as good ever again?'"

Chevyman

I don't really see the point.......artistically.

The original was such a perfect union. We'll see?

If I wasn't meant to drive that fast, the pedal would stop half way!!

Third Man

If it creates interest in the original series again then that's a good thing and who knows we might actually get the adaptation of The Honourable Schoolboy now.

But the big question is who the hell is going to play Smiley - what a tuff character to take on after Guiness made it his own.

Simon

Windthrop

James Mason was superb in The Deadly Affair

George Cole did Smiley very well in Radio

That's the joke that killed the Music Hall

CaptainWaggett

Peter Morgan is a brilliant scriptwriter. I think he could do something very interesting with this.

Lord Brett

I watched The Spy Who Came in From The Cold yesterday, and Rupert Davies is a very good physical approximation of Le Carre's description of Smiley, but the part is too small for him to make much of an impression.

Chevyman

A complete trilogy?

If I wasn't meant to drive that fast, the pedal would stop half way!!

Third Man

Unfortunately there both dead

Simon

Steve Crook

George Cole didn't look very dead last time I saw him

Steve

batman

Tom Wilkinson would make a good Smiley.

Don't miss out on a chance to win a rare film in Bat-Quiz 13 closing date - 31/8/8.

Third Man

How embarrasiing is that!! My sincerest apologies

I was sure I read a part of the duo of Minder past away.

Simon

Steve Crook

Nope, Arthur Daley, Terry McCann, Ray Daley, Dave the barman, Det. Sgt. Chisholm, all still alive.

Steve

Marky B

Might have been thinking of Peter Childs.
Ta Ta
Marky B

I once shot an elephant in my pyjamas - how he got in my pyjamas,I'll never know

batman

I have been watching him in Public Eye recently .... so sad that the died at such a young age, Ray Smith from that series also went too soon.

Don't miss out on a chance to win a rare film in Bat-Quiz 13 closing date - 31/8/8.

samkydd

I've got the radio play of TTSS from the 1980s with Bernard Hepton playing Smiley, and it seemed better that the TV series because it was condensed to just a couple of hours, which would be about the same length as a film version.

My only criticism of the TV series is that watching it now, the quality of the picture and sound is a bit low budget almost like playing a 78rpm record on a state of the art hi-fi system.

"...the chairman of Littlewoods stores made a Keynote speech!"