
The Deadly Affair
Seen it?1967 | 115 min | Thriller, Mystery, Drama
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