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Poster for The Deadly Affair

The Deadly Affair

Seen it?

1967 | 115 min | Thriller, Mystery, Drama

Sunday Safe Betearly rating

Why it’s a Sunday Safe Bet

Solid across the board without standing out anywhere. A safe bet when you want something reliable.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it
Made for anyone who likes to be kept guessing.
The mood
Tense.
The pace
Takes its time with its characters, at 1 hr 55 min.
What might put you off
Made in 1967: an older pace and style.

Charles Dobbs is a British secret agent investigating the apparent suicide of Foreign Office official Samuel Fennan. Dobbs suspects that Fennan's wife, Elsa, a survivor of a Nazi Germany extermination camp, might have some clues, but other officials want Dobbs to drop the case. So Dobbs hires a retiring inspector, Mendel, to quietly make inquiries. Dobbs isn't at all sure as there are a number of anomalies that simply can't be explained away. Dobbs is also having trouble at home with his errant wife, whom he very much loves, having frequent affairs. He's also pleased to see an old friend, Dieter Frey, who he recruited after the war. With the assistance of a colleague and a retired policeman, Dobbs tries to piece together just who is the spy and who in fact assassinated Fennan.

How it earned its rating

  • CriticsNot counted

    Not enough reviews on record yet

  • AudiencesNot counted

    Not measured yet: not enough ratings

  • AwardsNot counted

    No major awards or nominations

  • Reach & staying powerSolid

    Streaming release that reached a small audience so far; still draws a steady audience long after release

  • Buzz & cultural impactSolid

    About 54K people sought it out in the past year

Trailer

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Cast & crew

Directed by Sidney Lumet

  • James MasonCharles Dobbs
  • Simone SignoretElsa Fennan
  • Maximilian SchellDieter Frey
  • Harriet AnderssonAnn Dobbs
  • Harry AndrewsInspector Mendel
  • Kenneth HaighBill Appleby
  • Roy KinnearAdam Scarr
  • Max AdrianMorton - Adviser
  • Lynn RedgraveVirgin Bumpus
  • Robert FlemyngSamuel Fennan