Funeral In Berlin (1966)

A British secret agent (Michael Caine) is sent to Berlin to meet with a high ranking Russian official (Oscar Homolka) who wants to defect to England. What at first seems a simple case of a Russian defecting to the West turns into a complicated cat and mouse game of deceit and double crosses. The second of the three Harry Palmer films starring Michael Caine and based on the Len Deighton novels, FUNERAL IN BERLIN is a worthy follow up to THE IPCRESS FILE (BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN would follow the next year) and in some ways, more enjoyable. Like its predecessor, it's a stripped down spy movie without any of the glamour or action set pieces of the Bond films. Caine perfectly encapsulates the cynicism and weariness of a man who has long lost his illusions about Her Majesty's Secret Service. If it lacks the memorability of a SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD, it still provides an alternative look to the spy spoofs and flashy espionage thrillers that saturated the 1960s. Directed by Guy Hamilton (GOLDFINGER). With Paul Hubschmid (BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS), Guy Doleman and Eva Renzi as the film's femme fatale.