Original subtitles

- You're officially absent without leave...

on the wanted list.

- I think I'm safe now.

I've got a story to tell you.

It's all about spies.

And if it's true, which I think it is,

you boys are gonna need a whole new organization.

Right?

Shall I start with the day you sent me to Lisbon?

Changed my life.

You might find it's gonna change all your lives.

Hmm.

[intense instrumental music]

II

- Our resident buffoon,

old galloping major called Tufty Thesinger,

wanted a helping hand.

My boss says you've got your eyes

on a likely piece of merchandise for us.

Well, what's his style then, this Boris?

- He's a real Flash Harry.

Exactly.

Not your common in-the-garden Russian granite face at all.

During the day, he fulfills his norm

like the rest of his mob.

There's a whole mixed bag of technical advisors here.

Boris is with silver engineers.

Come nightfall, he makes his own arrangements.

[horn honks]

Crashes the bars, the clubs,

as if there's never gonna be another tomorrow.

The man hasn't slept for a week,

and my boys are folding at the knees.

A young Muscovite with official connections

and that kind of appetite for the fleshpots?

Seems ripe for the picking.

[foghorn sounds]

Always use another defector, can't we?

- Absolutely.

Got to keep in stock.

Nothing else on him apart from the booze?

- If I'd got something to blackmail him on,

I would have hardly needed London to come and fix it,

would I?

- Temper, temper, Tufty.

[indistinct conversation]

[light Portuguese music playing]

- How are you?

You're looking very lovely.

You think we Russians disapprove of comfort?

You're wrong. That's the Chinese.

Old miserable boil of soups

and the smallest comfort for the biggest number.

Not for me.

Boris looks after number one

like any real person the wide world over.

You know it's nice talking to you like this.

Some people when I see from Moscow,

I see this look in their faces.

It's so funny.

I know what they are thinking.

"Russia, oh, my God- He's going to indoctrinate us,

"to put our names in his little black book,

"and then the awful men with the black hats

"and the black overcoats

" will come tap-tap-tapping at the door.

"And he'll say, "Boris is your good friend Russia.

You're going to tell us all about his secret sex life..."

[conversation grows indistinct]

Let me get you all another drink.

Oh, yes, yes, yes, please, be my guest.

Waiter.

[all shushing]

[woman singing in Portuguese]

II

[horn honks]

- And I am telling you

we're definitely in the wrong ballgame with this, chummy.

That's a professional,

a Moscow Center trained hood.

The way he sets himself-

that alone.

- Well...

if you're right...

Okay.

You know.

Still, he'd be quite a catch, wouldn't he?

- We scalp hunters are expressly forbidden

to trawl for double agents.

New orders from above.

At the first smell of the opposition,

abandon and drop hot potato

into ample lap of London Station.

No, I'm cabling Guillam "no sale"

and booking myself a flight home.

- Okey-dokey, Ricki.

And since the job is finished,

let us seal it, so to speak.

- Nags me a bit, though, this Boris.

Makes his rounds every night, does he?

- Never missed yet.

I told you,

my boys.

- Well, before I go,

I might just take a peep inside Boris' kennel,

see what's under the mattress.

Can't be any harm in that, can there?

- Orders is orders.

- I like keeping my hand in.

It's been quiet lately.

You can get rusty.

- Well, enjoy yourself, my son.

But don't break any eggs, Ricki, please.

I have to live here.

Remember?

[tense instrumental music]

II

- Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed are they that mourn,

for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness,

for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they shall obtain...

Boris?

- Good question, lady.

Where is Boris?

This is his room, right?

And believe me, lady, I wish you no harm.

I'm sorry if I frightened you.

You caught me by surprise, I can tell you.

I wasn't expecting a lady, just Boris.

- I'm his wife.

What are you doing here?

- Now, look, I don't want to upset you.

- Does my husband know you?

- No point is pussyfooting, lady.

Well, it's this way.

Your Boris walked off with my girl tonight,

and that's one diabolical liberty.

And to add insult to injury,

he'd been drinking all my white.

So I thought I'd come up here and have a word with Boris.

Sorry, but that's the way it is.

Thanks for not screaming the place down.

- You should be careful what you say about my husband.

He's an important man.

He has influential friends.

- You frightening me off, Mrs. Boris?

I've got quite a name for looking after myself.

I'm your original Australian self-made success story.

Rags to riches and punching all the way.

Bureaucrats don't scare me, not even the bloody Russian kind.

- Don't call me Mrs. Boris.

My name's Irina.

- I'm Tony Lawrence.

" Are you?

- Yeah, Tony Lawrence.

You just mention that name in Adelaide.

I'm in car sales, property, frozen foods.

You know, if I was Boris,

I wouldn't be out at night chasing other blokes' women.

I wouldn't feel the need.

- Boris is Boris.

And Lawrence...

someone else.

I don't know anything about Australia.

Perhaps somewhere tomorrow?

The evening?

[bus roaring]

[dog barking]

[baby crying]

- Are you sure you don't want something stronger?

You look as if it might help.

Oh, don't misunderstand me, Irina.

You look great.

Really lovely.

I just meant it might relax you.

[chuckles]

You know, you seem more scared now than you were last night.

That can't be me.

- I'm not supposed to do this,

meet people.

Talk without official approval.

I'm not free to do that.

- Where's the harm?

Just two strangers in a foreign land

getting to like each other.

It's normal behavior.

- I do special work.

I travel as a trade delegate in my own right.

Textiles.

I'm highly trained, experienced.

Tired of it.

Hate it.

I want to escape from it.

- Textiles?

- It's like a prison.

I need someone to help me.

Can be quite brave, Lawrence.

- Tor“!-

- I shall call you Lawrence.

Colonel Lawrence.

Like Lawrence of Arabia.

- He was English.

- I know.

[horn honking repeatedly]

There's an English expression:

it takes one to spot one.

You wouldn't have fooled me for long,

even without putting those wedges in the door.

It's the way we look for things, isn't it?

We don't stare.

We don't seem to be looking.

We are not like tourists...

Or prostitutes.

Or pick-pocket.

We just know how to see.

Boris isn't as good as he ought to be.

He enjoys showing off too much, so he misses things.

He missed you, didn't he?

But you didn't miss him, did you, colonel?

Are you very good?

- The best.

God gave me all the talents.

Try me.

[emotive string music]

II

- I like being in the presence of Christianity.

I understand why some women become nuns.

[birds chirping]

Give themselves.

Their whole lives given willingly.

There's freedom in that.

I've met Christians I've envied very deeply.

Envy's a sin I know well,

but I confess it here in this holy place.

Their Christians were being interrogated.

The worst time to see people.

And the best sometimes.

I'm studying the bible.

Secretly, of course.

That isn't freedom.

"Come unto me,

all you who are heavy laden."

Is that it?

Do you know how it goes on?

- There's a village below here,

right by the sea, very quiet.

We could take a room.

Would you like that?

How long have you worked with Boris?

- They made us a team a long time ago.

He's a specialist in picking up foreign businessmen

for Moscow Center.

I look after communications for him,

special calls.

Couldn't we be a team?

You could take me to England.

That's what I want, Lawrence.

You could.

I know something.

Something so important,

it's one of the biggest secrets ever.

It will make you so famous.

But it's so secret.

- Tell me.

Tell me, Irina.

- I'm frightened.

- I can look after you.

You'll be safe.

- I can only speak to your chief.

I mean Alleline, nobody else.

It's too dangerous.

I can only speak to Alleline.

- Tell me.

- Only the head of the Circus.

I have to go back now.

They'll be looking for me.

It's too much to tell now.

Maybe tomorrow,

I can.

Cemetery.

Come on, Lawrence.

- We can talk in the car.

- Tomorrow.

There's too much.

I have to be calm,

or tonight, they'll notice.

I drink too much sometimes.

They are used to that.

Some of the priests are drunkards.

They told me that at school.

[tense instrumental music]

II

When I was still in Moscow,

before I started traveling with Boris,

I had a relationship with a filing clerk at the Center

in Dzerzhinsky Square.

We went against regulations. We used to meet outside.

He was very sweet.

Your looks remind me of him.

His name was lvlov,

and he told me a story.

He was frightened to,

but sometimes if you know something

that's so big, so secret,

you have to tell it to someone.

It has to be someone you love.

Like I'm telling you now.

- It's all right, darling.

It's all right.

- Have you heard of Karla?

He's an old fox,

the most cunning of them all at the Center,

and he works so secretly

that some people don't even know he exists.

The story lvlov told me concerns one

of Karla's greatest conspiracies,

and it is happening in England.

Do you know what is meant by the word "mole"?

Yes.

Moles burrow very deep into the fabric of Western imperialism.

They are very deaf to Moscow Center

because it may take 15 or even 20 years

before they are used.

Well, my friend lvlov told me he had worked in London.

His cover was as a driver at the embassy.

- Do you have a name to give me?

- Ivlov's work name in London was Lapin.

[chuckling]

He didn't know it meant "rabbit" in French.

It fit him, because at the embassy

he was supposed to be just a nobody,

serving drinks with women at receptions.

But all the time, he was the secret right-hand man

to colonel Gregor Viktorov,

and Viktorov is the agent who briefs and debriefs the mob.

- His name, Irina.

- In London,

Viktorov's cover is cultural attaché,

known as Polyakov.

[sighs]

I'm so frightened.

So tired.

You must take me home with you.

We could be happy.

- Finish the story.

Who's the mole?

Where is he?

- I can only speak to Alleline.

We are in danger.

You must get me to him,

face-to-face with the head of the Circus.

Nothing else is safe.

- You trust me, don't you?

- I want you.

- Alleline will take some persuading.

- Tell him I have information crucial

to the well-being of the Circus.

Use those words.

[thunder rumbling]

[horn honks]

- Morning, Tufty.

Can I come and play with your toys?

- I thought you'd finish your hauls, Ricki.

What must they be thinking back home?

- It'll be all right.

Got a postcard to send them.

They're gonna love me for it.

[phone ringing]

- How much are you gonna tell me?

- The message is graded "flash" to London Station,

and by hand of duty officer only.

- Drastic stuff, eh?

That's maximum security limit.

What did you get on Boris?

It's your show, my son.

[horn honks]

[foghorn sounding]

[telegraph machine clacking]

- Nothing for you, Ricki.

[paper rips]

Again.

[smacks wall]

[machine whirring]

[telegraph machine clacking]

- "Supply date of intake into Moscow Center.

"Name her present head of section.

"Also name previous sections employing her.

Also...

Someone's stalling.

But if that's what they want...

[indistinct conversation]

[birds chirping]

- "Lawrence, listen.

"I'm talking to you.

"This is my gift for you in case they take me away

"before I can speak to Alleline.

"I would prefer to give you my life, Lawrence,

"but I think it more likely that this wretched secret

"will be all I have to make you happy.

"Use it well.

"I started to tell you about lvlov,

"who's known in London, or used to be, as Lapin,

"and about Viktorov,

who's really Polyakov."

[flower stem snaps]

"The mole in London is known by the code name of 'Gerald.'

"There are many remarkable measures

"to preserve his security- the most secret imaginable.

'Written reports from Gerald to Karla in Moscow Center

"are cut in two and sent by separate couriers,

"even after coding.

"And Gerald's output has sometimes been almost too much

"for Polyakov to handle.

"Some of it is spoken onto tape at secret meetings

"and can only be played back on special machines.

"And there is also undeveloped film,

"and anyone opening the reels the wrong way

destroys it immediately."

[flower stem snaps]

"Lawrence, this is the secret I'm giving you

"with all my love.

"The mole Gerald is a high functionary

"in British intelligence,

"very close to the head of the Circus.

"Lawrence, I fear for the safety

of anyone employed by the Circus."

[flowers rustling]

"Take care with this knowledge.

"I'm telling you this because I'm afraid

"it's all finished for me.

"The guards have started watching me like animals.

"Have you been indiscreet, Lawrence?

"Did you tell them in London more than you let me think?

"Now you understand why only Alleline would do.

But do not blame yourself."

[woman singing in foreign language]

II

'Will they let us live in Scotland, Lawrence?

"I've read everything about Scotland.

It's the Garden of Eden, isn't it?"

[seagulls crying]

- Well, there's a bit at the end-

- Read it.

- "In my heart, I am free.

"Deep inside me burns a new and blessed light.

"I used to think that the secret world

"was a separate place

"and I was banished forever to an island of half people.

"But God has shown me we have only

"to open the door and step outside to be free.

"Lawrence, you must always long

"for the light which I have found.

"It is called love.

"Now I shall take this to our secret place

while there is still time."

And that's it.

- I take it that's not the original notebook.

- No, sir.

- Where is it?

- Well, I put it straight back

in the dead letter box once I'd copied it.

- And then?

- I had this idea I'd try the airport,

you know, just on the off chance.

Well, put it this way, sir:

I had to know.

I got hold of a little Italian air hostess,

and she liked the look of me, see.

She told me an unscheduled Soviet plane

had taken off two or three hours before.

The center of attraction was a woman invalid,

lady in a coma.

They had to cart her to the plane on a stretcher,

and her face was wrapped in bandages.

The rest of the party was made up

of two male nurses and a doctor.

Now, I didn't let it go at that, Mr. Smiley.

No, I checked the hotel.

No Irina. No Boris.

[serene cello music playing]

II

- My musical daughters.

[birds cawing]

- Perhaps she really was ill.

Not much more than 24 hours

between your first telegram and lrina's departure.

You can hardly lay it at London's door on that timing.

- Well, you can, just,

if someone in London had very good footwork,

and in Moscow, too, of course.

- That's what I told myself, sir.

I mean, what you said- my very words, Mr. Smiley.

Well, I figured the Russians could have tumbled to it

about her having it off with me,

or she'd started blabbing to Boris

just to pay him off for boozing and whoring all the time.

But then I thought, "No, come on, Ricki.

"That was gold she was giving you.

Remember how she had to sweat it out of herself."

I figured they'd give her another going over on the plane,

and the big boys would pile in first thing after touchdown.

I figured not more than a day or two

before Moscow Center had a footpad around to the cemetery.

- So you made yourself scarce.

- He panicked and went native-

Istanbul, so he says-

playing the loving father with a daughter called Danny.

- That's right. Danny's my little kid.

- The mother seems to be leader of the pack

as far as his numerous wives are concerned just now.

- You've been away for three months.

Why choose this particular moment to come to us?

- Goon

- Did something frighten you?

- Someone looking for me.

- Who?

- I didn't stop to find out.

That's why I came.

- Now, Ricki, passports.

Who are you at the moment?

- Poole, British.

Well, I reckon Lawrence

wasn't exactly the flavor of the month in Moscow,

so I had that run up.

It's not bad for the money.

- When he went to Lisbon, he had two Swiss escapes,

one for him and one for Boris.

- What did you do with them?

How did you get rid of them?

- Burned them.

- And how did you get back to England?

- Soft route via Dublin.

I've given Mr. Guillam the details.

- I'm doing what I can to check.

- Well, you be damn careful, baby,

because I don't want the wrong people on my back.

Took my gun away too.

Now, he shouldn't have done that, should he, Mr. Smiley?

- Why did you go to Mr. Guillam?

Didn't it cross your mind

he might turn you straight over to Alleline?

- Mr. Guillam's my boss.

Besides, I don't figure he's got any more liking

for the new arrangements at the Circus than you have,

Mr. Smiley.

- We don't need that, Tarr.

He kept well out of sight.

As soon as he gave me a story,

I rang Sir Oliver from a call box.

I rang him here, not London.

Well, damn it,

there was no reason to suppose the phone was tapped.

- There was every reason.

It's very unusual for Moscow Center

to use a husband-and-wife team.

Hard to believe.

Unless of course they had children in Moscow.

Hostages.

- They have.

- It's true.

Common-law marriage.

Unofficial, but permanent.

- There's a lot the other way around these days,

believe it or not, Mr. Smiley.

- Fit, George?

Natter, garden?

- Super.

[knocking on door]

- Dawn.

- When you came to me six months ago

talking about a mole in the Circus,

I'm afraid I threw you out.

I was remiss.

- You instructed me to abandon my inquiries

because they were unconstitutional.

- Oh, was that the word I used?

How very pompous of me.

You never had any, did you?

- What?

- Children.

You and Ann.

- No.

- I have to admit,

I didn't absolutely trust your motives.

I rather thought Control had put you up to it, you see,

as a way of hanging on to the power,

keeping Percy Alleline out.

- There are three of them

and Alleline.

Control's words.

The composition of the now all-powerful London Station.

Bill Haydon, Roy Bland, Toby Esterhase-

three of them and Alleline.

- Yes, quite.

But at the time, George.

After all, we both held perfectly honorable positions.

You felt Jim Prideaux had been betrayed

in that shoot-up in Czechoslovakia,

and you wanted a witch hunt.

My minister and I felt there'd been gross incompetence

on the part of Control.

He wanted a new broom.

A view which the foreign office shared, to put it mildly.

- Oh, I quite understand your dilemma.

- Thank you.

It isn't every day the head of one's secret service

embarks on a private war against the Czechs.

And don't forget, George.

You were Control's man.

He preferred you to Haydon.

When he lost his grip

and launched that extraordinary misadventure,

it was you who fronted for him.

You were in the hot seat.

You had to go.

Wasn't as if you offered a suspect.

Remember the circumstances, George.

All in all, I'd say Percy Alleline

has done extremely well.

- With Bill Haydon to field for him, who wouldn't?

- He's produced intelligence instead of scandal,

and won the trust of his customers.

- That special source of Percy's-

it produced the Witchcraft material.

Is that still running?

- Since you ask, yes.

Source Merlin is our mainstay.

And, yes, the name of his product is Witchcraft.

The Circus hasn't produced such good material in living memory.

In mine, anyway.

- Does it still get the same special handling?

- Certainly.

And now precautions will have to be more rigorous

than ever, won't they?

- No, Gerald the mole would soon latch onto that.

- Of course he would.

We can't move, can we?

We can't investigate because we can't employ the Circus.

We can't eavesdrop or watch or open mail

because to do any of that,

we need the services of Esterhase's lamplighters...

And Esterhase is suspect like the others.

It's the oldest question of all, George.

Who can spy on the spies?

- Get the security mob in.

They'll do a job for you.

- You know the minister won't have that.

Rightly too.

A lot of ex-colonial bobbies plowing

through the Circus files?

It's a serious point, George.

We do have agents in the field,

and I wouldn't give much for their chances

once the security gentlemen come barging in.

- How many do we have?

- 600, give or take a few.

Plus 120 behind the iron curtain.

So I can tell the minister you'll do it, can I?

You'll take the job, clean the stables.

Go backwards, go forwards.

Do whatevefs necessary.

It's your generation, after all.

Your legacy.

- I never heard of anyone yet who had left the circus

without some unfinished business.

- There's no emotional or other reason

which you feel might debar you from the assignment?

You must speak up, George.

- The state of my marriage must be very common knowledge

if it's got as far down the line as Ricki Tarr.

For the record, the thing with Ann and Bill Haydon

is long over.

My wife's present infatuation

is with a young actor,

currently unemployed.

- There's always that part of us

that belongs to the public domain, isn't there?

You always knew that, I'm sure.

So did Jim Prideaux.

- What does that mean?

- Well, good lord, George,

a bullet in the back is held to be quite a sacrifice,

isn't it?

Even in your world.

- Two bullets, actually.

- They were at Oxford together, weren't they,

Bill and Jim?

And stable mates at the Circus,

the famous Haydon-Prideaux partnership.

"The iron fist and the iron glove"

somebody once called it.

Prideaux was far too old for that Czechoslovakian nonsense.

- It made no difference.

- Oh, quite.

- I shall need some help.

Remember Control's man, Mendel?

- Yes, of course.

If he's the chap you want.

[tense string music]

II

- Oh, Norman.

The table's Georgian,

so you will love it for me, won't you, Mr. Barraclough?

I shouldn't lend it to you, really.

It was the majofs.

- I'm very grateful, I'm sure.

- Everything all right, Mr. Barraclough?

- Yes, fine, thank you.

- We'll leave you in peace, then.

- She'll want every scrap.

And you've known me long enough.

Times of entry and exit, who comes, who goes,

and most of all,

more important than you can possibly imagine, this:

any suspicious characters taking an interest

or putting questions to your staff

under any pretext,

even if they say they're the Guards Armoured

and Sherlock Holmes rolled into one.

- There's only me and Norman, Inspector,

and they won't get far with Norman, will they, dear?

You're too sensitive.

- Now, Ricki Tarfs cables to the Circus

were detailed and specific.

He was required by London Station

to submit copious background on Irina-

names of former contacts,

acquaintances inside Moscow Center.

There should be a file of some size,

and we need to see it.

- That's Circus material, George.

I can deliver only from the minister.

- I know that look, George.

I'm breaking into the Circus, am I,

Playing Burglar Bill?

- If you wouldn't mind, Peter.

And while you're enjoying yourself, I shall visit Oxford

to look up an old and invaluable friend.

- Please,

don't take any unnecessary risks.

- You must assume, Peter,

the Circus has the dogs on you 24 hours a day.

Think of it as a foreign country.

- Hello, Bryant.

- Hello. Nice to see you again, sir.

Just a moment.

[rotary phone whirring]

Mr. Guillam, sir.

Mr. Lauder Strickland's expecting you.

He'll meet you by the barrier on the fifth floor.

- Right.

Thanks.

[buzzer buzzes]

- Well met, Peter.

Greetings.

A trifle late, but never mind.

- Sorry, Lauder.

You have to make allowances with country yokels.

- [chuckles]

- Good God, how long have you had that monster?

- You really are a stranger, aren't you?

It saves man hours.

Fantastic, quite fantastic.

50f“!-

- Hello, Bill.

- What the hell are you doing here, you pariah?

- He's got some French diplomatic courier

he wants to buy, and he needs to wash some dirty money.

That's a job for banking section, of course,

so we're sorting out the tangle for him.

He knows it has to be London Station cleared.

He told me the papers were already routed to you.

- They're probably in your in-tray now, Bill.

- They had better be, Peter.

Mind you lock up the spoons.

These scalp hunters will have the gold out of your teeth.

Lock up the girls as well.

If they'll let you.

There we go, Bert.

Keys to the city.

- London Station couldn't be in better hands.

Everything's locked tightly here these days, Guillam.

- Hey, Lauder, hold on.

Have you seen Bloody Bill anywhere?

- Indeed I have seen Bill.

We were having a brief word about a couple of things

back down the corridor.

- He's wanted urgently.

- Immediately, Lauder, actually.

We put out an alert for him.

- I suspect he may well be on his way to you at this moment.

- Peter.

Hello.

- Hi.

Thanks for the glad hand.

I did wipe the cow dung off my boots.

What's the joke, Roy'?

- No joke, Peter, old lad.

Just surprised to see you, that's all.

- We're used to having this floor to ourselves.

- Would you like to see my pass, Toby?

- [chuckles]

How are you keeping?

- Oh, I wintered very well, thanks.

You know what it's like living

in the Brixton Rest House these days.

Plenty of Ludo, ping-pong.

Normally I'd be having my afternoon Z's at this time.

- Off with you, Peter.

Don't waste Laudefs time.

- No, sir. Sorry, sir.

- All right, Lauder, I'll just have to wait

for the wheels to turn.

[phone ringing]

- I don't need a pass to use the gents, do I?

- [chuckles]

[phone ringing]

[knocking on door]

[safe lock clicking]

- Come on.

[woman singing indistinctly]

- Stop that moaning.

Who is that woman?

[lock clicks]

[door thuds shut]

- ♪ Lord, now lettest thou thy servant ♪

♪ Depart in peace ♪

[reverent orchestral music]

II

♪ According to ♪

♪ Thy word ♪

II

♪ For mine eyes have seen ♪

♪ Thy salvation ♪

II

♪ Which thou hast prepared before the face ♪

♪ fall ♪

♪ People ♪

II

♪ To be a light ♪

♪ To lighten ♪

♪ The Gentiles ♪

♪ And to be the glory ♪

♪ Of thy people ♪

♪ Israel ♪

II

♪ Glory be to the Father ♪

♪ And to the Son ♪

♪ And to the Holy Ghost ♪

♪ As it was in the beginning ♪

♪ ls now and ever shall be ♪

♪ World without end ♪

♪ Amen ♪