Director: Guy Hamilton. Cast: Michael Caine. Oscar Homolka. Eva Renzi. Paul Hubschmid. Gunter Meisner.
By 1966, Len Deighton had published his fourth spy thriller, The Billion Dollar Brain, with the same nameless hero. However, his second book, Horse Under Water, involving sunken U Boats, exotic locations and heroin trafficking, somehow wasn’t developed for the screen. That’s why Funeral in Berlin, the third book with “Harry Palmer”, was released in 1966.
Caine was a superstar by this time, and whatever he touched was a hit. Alfie (1966), about a no-good womaniser, who predictably finds love, was a huge hit. Then came a caper movie with Shirley MacLaine, Gambit. His final 1966 release was Funeral in Berlin, where Caine reprised his cheeky anti-hero to the audience’s delight and also sort of cocking a snook at the Bond wagon whose Thunderball (1965) had furthered the worldwide Bond-mania.
Funeral in Berlin was extensively shot in then divided Berlin. The Berlin Wall was only four years old then, and the extensive multiple layers of “death stripes” were still being built. Escapes to West Berlin continued though getting progressively reduced due to the increasingly complex barriers laced with mines, barbed wire, concrete and machine guns.
The film starts with a view of West Berlin. Happy. Alive. Vibrant. Immediately the titles come on, and our view switches to East Berlin’s forbidden and forbidding Walls. Apartments are bricked over.
The Wall – technically speaking, The Anti-Fascist Barrier – cuts through buildings, plots and families. A famous concert pianist successfully escapes from the East to the West. His escape is executed with the help of professional “transporters” who transport people from the East to the West. The Pianist’s escape is watched over by one such transporter Kreutzman (Gunter Meisner).
Palmer (Caine) is summoned on a Sunday by his boss Colonel Ross (Guy Doleman) to fly to Berlin and take charge of Colonel Stok’s defection. Palmer takes a bus to Ross’s home. Palmer is sceptical and says the information is highly suspect, except that Ross says “our man in Berlin” Johny Vulkan (Paul Hubschmid) is the source.
Palmer flies to Berlin, and Vulkan soon lets him in on the score; Palmer has to go to East Berlin and meet Stok.
When Palmer goes to East Berlin, he is immediately arrested and brought to Colonel Stok (Oscar Homolka) , who is amused that “English” was scared by his arrest.
Soon Stok puts forward his demands: A colonel’s pay for life and a small garden. His reason for defecting is that all the escapes to the West have made him a laughing stock, and he has many enemies who want him to fail and he is a tired old Bolshevik with no place in the modern world. Palmer thinks otherwise and tells Stok who banters that “English is not really stupid as he looks”
Back in West Berlin, Palmer is soon in touch with Kreutzman. He is accosted by a mysterious woman Hanna. Palmer has her apartment burglarised by a friendly burglar and discovers that she has multiple passports. The plot gets more curious as Hanna (Eva Renzi) reveals herself as an Israeli agent from Mossad chasing a war criminal with access to Nazi funds.
Palmer knows everyone is suspect, but he is determined to get to the bottom of the puzzle.He agrees to play the game : help Stok to defect through Kruetzman
The film stays true to the book, with minimum variations. The somewhat complex plotting of the book is also onscreen. Soon the wheels within wheels are revealed as Palmer unpeels one layer of lies and disinformation to get to the next one. Each level leads him deeper and deeper into the quiz.
The film’s greatest strength lies in its actual life location – West Berlin. There is no way it would have been successful if it had not been filmed in West Berlin. The contrast between the vibrant West and the dull East is clearly highlighted. Some random shots show the still war-damaged landscape of Berlin. The night locations add to the overall atmosphere of dread that we share with Palmer.
As for Caine, he is well settled in the role and goes through it like a hot knife through butter. Palmer is still insolent, undisciplined, and disobedient and cooks for himself and his girlfriends. In the UK he travels by bus while in Berlin the expenses allow him to use various cars. His insolence makes him an effective agent compared to the “by the book” unseen agents of the department.
The film and the book more or less established both Deighton and Caine as the icons of the 1960s hep and “swinging London”. Unfortunately, it’s unavailable on any Indian platform but is available on Amazon USA. Here’s Michael Caine promoting the film
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZNms9Ngxgo
Guy Hamilton shows perfect mettle in both worlds – be it Bond (Goldfinger, Thuderball) or Palmer (Funeral in Berlin). A seasoned director who rose to his peak in the 1960s and 1970s, Hamilton gives it the deft humorous touch that is a must for any Deighton/Palmer book
Script – 4 out of 5
Story – 5 out of 5
Direction – 5 out of 5
Photography – 4 out of 5
Total – 4.5 out of 5
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!