A British espionage drama; A story about a former head of the British Secret Service, a defector who is given plastic surgery and sent back to UK by the KGB to retrieve some vital documents. A gritty thriller but poorly produced which traded on a well-worn formula of spies, moles, double agents, defections, betrayed lovers and the long, cold war. The story dodders along after some flabby story exposition, convoluted plot, with an overly garrulous dialogue running alongside. The pace is so brisk that it gives it an almost farcical feel. The story is clear enough to follow, but truncation of several of the subplots give the impression that the director was trying to preserve too much of the source material. Michael Caine's Russian accent is risible and Laurence Olivier occasionally chews up the scenery to give it some pulse.
Review of The Jigsaw Man
