- Telefon
Infobox Film | name = Telefon
caption =
director =Don Siegel
producer =James B. Harris
writer =Walter Wager (novel )Peter Hyams Stirling Silliphant
starring =Charles Bronson Lee Remick Donald Pleasence
music =Lalo Schifrin
cinematography =
editing =
distributor =MGM
released =December 16 1977 U.S. release
runtime = 102 min.
language = English
budget =
imdb_id = 0076804"Telefon" is a 1977
spy film , starringCharles Bronson ,Donald Pleasence andLee Remick . It was directed byDon Siegel (of "Dirty Harry " fame). It is based on a 1975 novel with amind control theme byWalter Wager .Plot summary
During the
Cold War of the 1950s, theSoviet Union planted a number of long-term, deep-coversleeper agent s all over the United States, spies so thoroughly brainwashed that even they didn't know they were agents; they could only be activated by a special code phrase (a line fromRobert Frost 's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening " followed by their real given names). Their mission was to sabotage crucial parts of the civil and military infrastructure in the event of nuclear war.Over twenty years pass, and the Cold War gradually gives way to
détente . Nikolai Dalchimsky (Donald Pleasence), a rogueKGB officer, travels to America, taking with him the "Telefon Book", which contains the names, addresses and telephone numbers of all the agents. He starts activating them one by one. Americancounterintelligence is thrown into confusion when seemingly-ordinary citizens (even a clergyman) start blowing up what are, in some cases, long-abandoned facilities and commitsuicide right afterwards.The KGB dares not tell its political leaders, much less the Americans, about its negligence in not deactivating the spy network. Major Grigori Borizov (Charles Bronson), who is selected for his
photographic memory , memorizes the contents of the only other copy of the "Telefon Book" and is sent to find and stop Nikolai Dalchimsky quickly and quietly, before the politicians on either side learn what is going on and either embarrass the KGB or start a full scale nuclear war. He is given the assistance of only a single agent planted in America, Barbara (Lee Remick).Eventually, Major Grigori Borizov discovers the method behind Dalchimsky's madness: he chooses the agents by the initials of their names, "writing" his own name in sabotage across America. Using this information, Borizov is finally able to track Dalchimsky down and kill him.
However, there are a number of twists. Barbara has orders from the KGB to assassinate Borizov once he succeeds in his mission, in order to get rid of a dangerous loose end. She is a
double agent , but when she informs her American superiors, they also tell her to kill Borizov; they want her to gain the confidence of the KGB. However, she has fallen in love with her would-be target. She informs Borizov, and together they blackmail both sides into leaving them alone, holding the threat of the remaining "Telefon" agents over their heads.Production
As parts of the film were shot in
Finland , there are severalcameo appearance s by Finnish movie stars, most notablyAnsa Ikonen , arguably the most popular leading lady in the history of the country's cinema.The city
skyline depictingHouston, Texas in the film is actuallyGreat Falls, Montana , where the majority of the film was shot. The exploding building in one scene is actually the controlled demolition of the oldParis Gibson Junior High School in Great Falls.The Houston scenes were shot on a
Hollywood backlot , while the interior of the HoustonHyatt Regency was portrayed by 5 Embarcadero Center inSan Francisco, California .ee also
* "
The Manchurian Candidate "
* "The Simultaneous Man "
* "The Naked Gun "External links
*imdb title| id=0076804 | title=Telefon
*amg title | id=1:48953 | title=Telefon
*tcmdb title | id=2068 | title=Telefon
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