The Jigsaw Man * (1983, Michael Caine, Laurence Olivier, Susan George, Robert Powell, Charles Gray) – Classic Movie Review 8494

Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier, the stars of the 1972 Sleuth, reunited for director Terence Young’s disastrously disappointing 1984 British double agent spy thriller The Jigsaw Man, which was afflicted by money problems and halted during shooting, and then had to be completed on a reduced scale. When it was finally finished, The Jigsaw Man turned out to be a time-waster that deservedly went straight to video in the UK.

Caine plays a Kim Philby style British MI6 defector traitor called Philip Kimberley whose looks are reconstructed by the Russians. The KGB send him back to England to retrieve top-secret documents, but who is he actually working for? Not a lot of people know that. Olivier plays Admiral Sir Gerald Scaith.

There is a depressingly dour, downbeat mood, and all the talent seems down in the dumps, down-at-heel and embarrassed, struggling and far from their best form, which we can put down to the production problems. Also in the good cast are Robert Powell, Susan George, Charles Gray, Michael Medwin, Vladek Sheybal, David Kelly, Peter Burton, Morteza Kazerouni, Sabine Sun, Jennifer Jayne, Bill Shine and Anthony Dawson.

The Jigsaw Man is directed by Terence Young, runs 94 minutes, is made by Evangrove and Nitemeg, is released by United Film Distribution Company (1984) (US) and Warner Home Video (1986) (UK), is written by Jo Eisinger, based on the novel by Dorothea Bennett, is shot by Freddie Francis, is produced by Mahmud Sipra (executive producer) and Benjamin Fisz, is scored by John Cameron and is designed by Michael Stringer.

The production ran out of money and filming shut down in Ireland, where producer Mahmud Sipra had recently purchased Ardmore Studios outside Dublin, but later the money was raised to finish the movie on a reduced scale. Sipra’s production of The Bengal Lancers!, with Michael York, Miles O’Keeffe and Christopher Lee, was also shut through lack of funds, but not finished.

Mike Hodges was to have directed it in 1976 with Michael Caine in their third film after Pulp (1972). Double agent Philby disliked the casting of Caine, and wanted to be played by Trevor Howard.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8494

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