The Kremlin Letter (1970) on Netflix
An unauthorized letter promising American help to the Soviets against Chinese atomic plants reaches Moscow. Naval intelligence officer Charles Rone joins a spy ring sent to retrieve it.
- Netflix3.1/5
- IMDb6.2/102,579 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
In late 1969, The Highwayman, a veteran of an independent spy outfit that trades secrets to the highest bidder, recruits U.S. Naval Intelligence officer Charles Rone. Their task is to recover a letter sent to Moscow without approval, holding out American support for a Soviet strike on Chinese atomic weapons sites. A man named Dmitri Polyakov had sought the letter for a senior Soviet official. To reach Moscow, the group blackmails Captain Potkin, who leads Soviet counterintelligence in the United States, and threatens his family to get the use of his empty apartment. Janis, a drug dealer called The Whore, The Warlock, and the thief B.A. round out the party.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Kremlin Letter (1970)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- John Huston wanted to shoot on location in Moscow, but Cold War politics discouraged him from seeking filming permits, which also scuttled plans to film in communist Romania. Many Moscow-set scenes were shot instead in Helsinki, whose neoclassical architecture was similar.
- The film has its characters speak Russian without English subtitles, using simultaneous voiced-over English translation or starting scenes in Russian and then segueing into English.
