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Feb 1

“

‘Mr Westerby, sir?’

‘Yes, old boy.’

Masters held out his hand. ‘Old boy, I want you to shake me by the hand.’

The hand stuck between them, thumb upward.

‘What for?’ said Jerry.

‘I want you to extend me the hand of welcome, sir. The United States of America has just applied to join the club of second-class powers, of which I understand your own fine nation to be chairman, president, and oldest member. Shake it’!

‘Proud to have you aboard,’ said Jerry and obligingly shook the Major’s hand.

”

John le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy

(This was written in 1977, by the way, and takes place in 1975; this scene occurs just after the Major has learned about the fall of Saigon.)

Jan 31

In which the scene where George Smiley tells the story of his only meeting with Karla is explicated.

A couple of things strike me here. One is the actors’ voices; obviously what one does with one’s voice is a big part of the performance craft, but it’s really worth noting what Gary Oldman did with his voice for Smiley—it’s lower, rougher, with a slower pace than his out-of-character manner. The other is the shots that show just how much light there actually was on the actors in that scene—a scene which comes across as dark and barely lit in the film. Ah, movie magic. I really do love it.

“

‘Meanwhile, you have my totally deniable blessing,’ said Enderby as they started back towards the house.

‘Thank you,’ said Smiley again.

‘Sorry you’ve become an instrument of the imperial hypocrisy but there’s rather a lot of it about.’

‘Not at all,’ said Smiley.

” John le Carré, Smiley’s People

Jan 30

“Against stupidity, the gods themselves fight in vain, thought Smiley; but Schiller had forgotten the bureaucrats.” John le Carré, Smiley’s People

Jan 24

sunnykindofwonderful:

Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy

Click on the photo for a whole batch of really terrific set and costume photography.

Jan 18

“

There is a letter George wrote to Ann Smiley—he says—in the heat of the crisis, presumably in one of the long waiting periods in the isolation ward. Guillam leans heavily on it for his theory. Ann showed it to him when he called on her in Wiltshire, in the hope of bringing about a reconciliation, and though the mission failed, she produced it from her handbag in the course of their talk. Guillam memorised a part, he claims, and wrote it down as soon as he got back to the car. Certainly the style flies a lot higher than anything Guillam would aspire to for himself:

I honestly do wonder, without wishing to be morbid, how I reached this present pass. So far as I can ever remember of my youth, I chose the secret road because it seemed to lead straightest and furthest toward my country’s goal. The enemy in those days was someone we could point at and read about in the papers. Today, all I know is that I have learned to interpret the whole of life in terms of conspiracy. That is the sword I have lived by, and as I look round me now I see it is the sword I shall die by as well. These people terrify me, but I am one of them. If they stab me in the back, then at least that is the judgement of my peers.

As Guillam points out, the letter was essentially from Smiley’s blue period.

”

John le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy

Probably one of the most emotionally devastating spy novels you’ll ever read, by which I mean I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Jan 13

The men of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Also known as “your period movie costume porn for the day”. I do not have enough words for how much I love Bill Haydon’s brown corduroy coat, or Peter Guillam’s ties.