Ring of Spies (1964) on Netflix
NR19641h 30mCrimeDramaThriller
A disgruntled embassy attaché, Houghton, is posted from Warsaw to a secret Royal Navy research station at Portland. Soviet intelligence asks him to hand over documents, and he agrees for pay.
- Netflix3.3/5
- IMDb6.5/10572 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
Houghton is an embassy attaché in Warsaw who disgraces himself at an official garden party, and knows he faces discipline the next day. His girlfriend passes word to the Russian embassy that he will be going back to England. Despite a poor report from earlier superiors, he is posted to the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment at Portland, a Royal Navy testing facility. Soviet intelligence approaches him there about passing over documents, as he apparently had done in Warsaw, and hints at blackmail. Houghton agrees, on the condition that he is paid. He begins an affair with Gee, a fellow records clerk whose work gives her access to more sensitive papers, and his handler Alex helps bring her into the operation.
Cast
- Gillian Lewisas Marjorie Shaw
- Newton Blickas P.O. Meadows
- Justine Lordas Christina
Show all 20 cast
- André Mikhelsonas Russian Embassy Official (uncredited)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Ring of Spies (1964)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The film was made just after the 1961 trial, but its release was held up for legal reasons; Sidney Gilliat said it got only a limited release for fear of prosecution. It was re-released in 1970 after Harry Houghton and Ethel Gee left prison.
- The screenplay draws on the real-life Portland spy ring case, whose activities prompted "Reds under the bed" scare stories in the British popular press in the early 1960s.
