I have just finished reading the “Game, Set and Match” spy trilogy by Len Deighton. Deighton is also the author of “The Ipcress File“, the film of which starred an iconic Michael Caine as Harry Palmer.
I recently picked up the sequel on DVD, “Funeral in Berlin” . If you like spy films it’s worth 90 minutes of your time. However if you have any interest in cold war era Berlin, like I do, then you will be fascinated by many of the sequences depicting life on the east and west sides of the wall.
Filmed in 1966, 5 years after the wall was erected, it shows many famous landmarks including Checkpoint Charlie as well as the stark difference between the “glamorous” west and the “baron” east. Propaganda maybe?
I decided to see if the original trailer was available on YouTube. It is, and is below. It’s very different to the style we now associate with spy movies.
Would you ever hear a line like “Girls always make passes at spies who wear glasses” today?
