The Deadly Affair

Director Sidney Lumet tackles this cold war spy thriller based on a novel by master of the genre, John Le Carré. James Mason plays British secret agent Charles Dobbs, who’s puzzled by the sudden suicide of a man he’s recently investigated. The suicide seems contrary to his own findings, and Dobbs questions the recent widow (Simone Signoret) in an effort to understand the man’s state of mind. When the Foreign Office tells Dobbs to drop the inquiry, he persists, even enlisting a retired investigator when he turns up further disturbing evidence. All of this takes place while Dobbs is dealing with the news that his frequently unfaithful wife (Harriet Andersson) has been carrying on an affair with his friend and protégé (Maximilian Schell).