When a Foreign Office civil servant (Robert Flemyng) commits suicide (officially) after Smiley (we'll stick to the book name) has security cleared him Smiley begins to investigate exactly what is going on. How exactly is his wife (Simone Signoret) involved?
The investigation leaves Smiley himself in serious danger as he tracks the assassin... or is it himself who is being tracked?
London is grim and grey, as murky as the world of spies. An interesting and rich film with a terrific cast supporting Mason including Maximillian Schnell, Harry Andrews (making a brilliant Mendel), David Warner, Roy Kinnear and Kenneth Haigh.
The tempestuous relationship between Smiley and Ann (Harriet Andersson) is an interesting sub-plot throughout.
