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Smiley's People

1982-09-20 Drama 12

Called out of retirement to settle the affairs of a friend, Smiley finds his old organization, the Circus, so overwhelmed by political considerations that it doesn't want to know what happened. He begins to follow up the clues of his friends past days, discovering that the clues lead to a high person in the Russian Secret service, and a secret important enough to kill for.

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Smiley's People

Storyline

Called out of retirement to settle the affairs of a friend, Smiley finds his old organization, the Circus, so overwhelmed by political considerations that it doesn't want to know what happened. He begins to follow up the clues of his friends past days, discovering that the clues lead to a high person in the Russian Secret service, and a secret important enough to kill for.

  • First Aired
    1982-09-20
  • Last Aired
    1982-10-25
  • Creator
    John le Carré
  • Genre
    Drama, Mystery
  • Seasons
    1
  • Episodes
    6
  • Status
    Ended
  • Language
    English
  • Network
    BBC Two
Keywords:
spy based on novel or book miniseries intelligence agent

Stream and watch Smiley's People

  • Season 1
A Mother's Assistance

1. A Mother's Assistance

Once more, George Smiley is brought out of retirement to look into the murder of an old colleague.
Once more, George Smiley is brought out of retirement to look into the murder of an old colleague.Less
50mins 1982-09-20
The General's Big Fish

2. The General's Big Fish

Smiley takes a trip to investigate his friend's flat for clues. After finding a series of clues that l...More
Smiley takes a trip to investigate his friend's flat for clues. After finding a series of clues that lead to something bigger, Smiley interrogates a man about Vladimir's whereabouts. And lastly, a picture of two men in bed with a woman stirs things up.Less
50mins 1982-09-27
Gathering Friends

3. Gathering Friends

The investigation of Vladimir's murder leads Smiley to interrogate his latest suspect. Smiley is told ...More
The investigation of Vladimir's murder leads Smiley to interrogate his latest suspect. Smiley is told to stop investigating the case by a man on a motorcycle, and he just blows him off. Smiley's next stop is Oxfordshire, soeaking to a mother and a daughter about the case.Less
50mins 1982-10-04
The Rogue Elephant

4. The Rogue Elephant

Smiley continues his investigation, now looking for a man named Otto in a small fishing community, onl...More
Smiley continues his investigation, now looking for a man named Otto in a small fishing community, only to find his decaying body in his boat, and a mysterious chalk mark he's seen before. Smiley talks to the now-perpetually afraid woman.Less
50mins 1982-10-11
Alexandra Tatjana

5. Alexandra Tatjana

Smiley and his co-workers read through an extremely long deathbed confession. Using an undercover name...More
Smiley and his co-workers read through an extremely long deathbed confession. Using an undercover name, Smiley travels to Berne to attempt to find the missing pieces of the murder mystery. Meanwhile, we are introduced to a woman in an asylum.Less
50mins 1982-10-18
Smiley's Lighter

6. Smiley's Lighter

Smiley interrogates a diplomat by showing him a series of photographs, and in turn, closes in on the p...More
Smiley interrogates a diplomat by showing him a series of photographs, and in turn, closes in on the person who killed Vladimir. He is lead to the asylum, and ironically, things eventually become clearer.Less
50mins 1982-10-25

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Cast

Alec Guinness

Alec Guinness
George Smiley
Anthony Bate

Anthony Bate
Oliver Lacon
Beryl Reid

Beryl Reid
Connie Sachs
Andy Bradford

Andy Bradford
Ferguson
Tusse Silberg

Tusse Silberg
Alexandra Ostrakova
Germaine Delbat

Germaine Delbat
Madame La Pierre
Mario Adorf

Mario Adorf
Claus Kretzschmar
Michael Lonsdale

Michael Lonsdale
Anton Grigoriev
Michael Gough

Michael Gough
Mikhel
Alan Rickman

Alan Rickman
Mr. Brownlow

Videos and Photos

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Movie Reviews

Reviews for Smiley's People
reviewer avatar

A Review by Geronimo1967 7

Written by Geronimo1967 on 2024-10-27

When "Madame Ostrakova" (Eileen Atkins) is accosted by a man as she tries to board a bus, we discover that she has a secret Soviet past that... read more

When "Madame Ostrakova" (Eileen Atkins) is accosted by a man as she tries to board a bus, we discover that she has a secret Soviet past that saw her flee, leaving her daughter in Moscow. Faced with a difficult choice, she contacts the one man who might be able to help. That's "Gen. Vladimir" (Curd Jürgens) who just happens to have some links with the once again retired "Smiley" (Sir Alec Guinness) who is drafted out of his intellectual slumbers to piece together a mystery that involves his own wife "Lady Ann" (Siân Phillips), his arch nemesis "Karla", this woman and her abandoned daughter. John Le Carré had an hand in adapting his own story here, and again there is a very strong and considered effort from a Sir Alec who has very much moulded his own characterisation of this patient and wily spy-master. Sadly, though, unlike "Tinker Tailor...", this one lacks that sense of the enigmatic. To be honest, it is pretty clear who is whom and the dots are far easier for us to join with this story. The supporting cast deliver well with starring contributions from both Beryl Reid and the always reliable Michael Lonsdale; Jürgens brings a gravitas to his role and Michael Byrne (the new iteration of "Guillam") and Anthony Bate's "Lacon" also contribute well as the story shines a different light on the ways in which the Soviet manipulation machine menacingly controlled it's foreign operatives. It's well paced if you like your drama more cerebral, there's an effective paucity of dialogue and plenty of opportunity for audience participation in doing some deducing of our own. It's not quite so good a sequel - that's really because it's not so good a follow-up story, but it's still a compellingly photographed six-parter that allows some of Britain's best character actors to do their stuff with a script that teases the riddle from the plot nicely.

Read Full Review (The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the reviewer.)
A Review by CinemaSerf

When "Madame Ostrakova" (Eileen Atkins) is accosted by a man as she tries to board a bus, we discover that she has a secret Soviet past that saw her flee, leaving her daughter in Moscow. Faced with a difficult choice, she contacts the one m...

reviewer avatar

A Review by Geronimo1967 7

Written by Geronimo1967 on 2024-10-27

When "Madame Ostrakova" (Eileen Atkins) is accosted by a man as she tries to board a bus, we discover that she has a secret Soviet past that saw her flee, leaving her daughter in Moscow. Faced with a ...

read more