No major American director has had a lower percentage of his films available on DVD than John Huston. Part of the reason is that Huston made a number of his films for smaller, newer companies that appeared after the collapse of the old studio system in the late 1960s. These companies quickly went bust leaving the question of who owns the rights to these films in limbo. Another is that Huston’s choice of material was eclectic and mostly downbeat in tone which is never a key to financial success on the big screen or off.
THE KREMLIN LETTER was innocent of the first charge having been made for 20th Century Fox but not of the second for its overall tone and outlook at international espionage makes THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD look like a comedy. Still there were films like it already out there so its failure came as a suprise to Huston and to Fox. The real surprise is that Fox has not allowed it to be on any form of home video until now. Be thankful for small favors but hurry as this is only a limited edition.
The complex plot involves a group of older spies outside the major agencies who are hired to retrieve an embarrasing letter that could cause an international incident. They recruit a young man with total recall (Patrick O’Neal in a role intended for James Coburn) to join them in their effort. The group is headed up by Richard Boone, an amiable Texas type who is more complex than he seems. The film features a dream cast of character actors (George Sanders, Nigel Green, Dean Jagger, Orson Welles) who add spice and a sense of fun to the proceedings. The main villian is a KGB department head played by Max von Sydow whose one weakness is his wife (Bibi Andersson).
The movie plays out against expectations with an ending that has real bite. If you enjoy intelligent spy thrillers than THE KREMLIN LETTER is one of the best so grab it while you can. It’s being released by a small outfit called Twilight Time who have done a first class job with this title. It’s been anamorphically enhanced for 16 by 9 screens and the picture looks great. Too bad there are no subtitles as they would help some to more easily understand the delicious dialogue the characters engage in.
The Capsule Critic 