JOHN LE CARRE EVENTS

Event alert: Novelist John le Carre will be speaking this week about his career, his new novel, and about the long literary life of his character George Smiley. "An Evening With George Smiley" will be held on September 7th at the Royal Festival Hall in London. More information at the John le Carre website. He also spoke with Terry Gross this evening on the interview program, Fresh Air, where he discussed his upbringing, career in MI5 and MI6, his mystery con-man father (and his Stasi file), and what it meant to discover the writing life. Listen on NPR. John le Carre had a massive hit with his 1963 novel The Spy Who Came In From the Cold, which was adapted into a feature film in 1965 starring Richard Burton (Look Back in Anger, Where Eagles Dare), Oskar Werner (Jules and Jim, Fahrenheit 451), and Claire Bloom (Look Back in Anger). The character George Smiley has appeared in many film and television adaptations of le Carre novels, most notably portrayed by Alec Guinness (Tinker Tailar Soldier Spy/1979, Smiley's People/1982, James Mason (The Deadly Affair/1966), and most recently by Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy/2011). Check out the Fresh Air interview, and do make it to the live event in London if you are in town. In other news, check out my episodes of the Cocktail Nation radio show, where I introduce classic spy films/TV series and play soundtracks and rare cuts: Episode #1 (Danger Man) and Episode #2 (The 10th Victim), Epsiode #3 (On Her Majesty's Secret Service), Episode #4 (Roger Moore/The Saint), and Episode #5 (The Avengers). Episode #6 (The Prisoner).
Enjoy!

Selected Spy Vibe Posts: Billy Bragg Skiffle, Elvis 68, Jack Kirby The Prisoner, Casino Royale Concert, Review: The Prisoner Vol 2, Interview: The Prisoner Essential Guide, Maud Russell Mottisfont, Spy Vibe Radio 4, Batman Gallants, Adam West R.I.P., Village Triangle, Roger Moore R.I.P., Spy Vibe Radio 3, Sgt Pepper 50th, Satanik Kriminal OST, 60s Overdrive, Make Love in London, Spy Vibe Radio 2, Spy Vibe Radio 1, James Bond Strips, Propaganda Mabuse, Interview: Police Surgeon, XTC Avengers, 1966 Pep Spies, Batman Book Interview, Exclusive Fleming Interview, Avengers Comic Strips, Robert Vaughn RIP, UNCLE Fashions, Thunderbirds Are Pop!, Interview:Spy Film Guide, Lost Avengers Found, The Callan File, Mission Impossible 50th, Green Hornet 50th, Star Trek 50th, Portmeirion Photography 1, Filming the Prisoner, Gaiman McGinnins Project, Ian Fleming Grave, Revolver at 50, Karen Romanko Interview, Mod Tales 2, Umbrella Man: Patrick Macnee, New Beatles Film, The Curious Camera, Esterel Fashion 1966, Exclusive Ian Ogilvy Interview, 007 Tribute Covers, The Phantom Avon novels return, Ian Fleming Festival, Argoman Design, Sylvia Anderson R.I.P., Ken Adam R.I.P., George Martin R.I.P., The New Avengers Comics, Trina Robbins Interview, The Phantom at 80, 007 Manga, Avengerworld Book, Diana Rigg Auto Show, The Prisoner Audio Drama Review.

PRADA VILLAINS

Prada's Fall 2012 show featured a diabolical collection of East German-inspired fashions. Donning the guise of villains, a number of A-list stars stopped the show with a maniacal catwalk strut worthy of the best 007 baddies. In the world of 007 movies, of course, evil masterminds have traditionally worn Nehru suits (see Spy Vibe's spotlight HERE), but these long frocks, reminiscent of military topcoats and trench coats, gave the collection a great vintage, formal vibe. Apparently many of the fabrics were not traditional (like denim), mixing the contemporary and past into what Miuccia Prada intended as a "parody of male power". Between the dramatic piano soundtrack chosen by Prada, the fur-like collars, and thick round glasses, the designs harkened back to the early part of the 20th Century. These brooding dudes would have been perfect in a Feuillade serial like Fantomas or Judex, on the set of a gothic horror, or hatching fiendish plots in a steampunk thriller. Gary Oldman, Willem Dafoe, Adrien Brodie and other stars appear around 7:50 in the video below. Enjoy!

Selected Spy Vibe Posts: 1966 Pep Spies, Batman Book Interview, Exclusive Fleming Interview, Avengers Comic Strips, Robert Vaughn RIP, UNCLE Fashions, Thunderbirds Are Pop!, Interview:Spy Film Guide, Lost Avengers Found, The Callan File, Mission Impossible 50th, Green Hornet 50th, Star Trek 50th, Portmeirion Photography 1, Filming the Prisoner, Gaiman McGinnins Project, Ian Fleming Grave, Revolver at 50, Karen Romanko Interview, Mod Tales 2, Umbrella Man: Patrick Macnee, New Beatles Film, The Curious Camera, Esterel Fashion 1966, Exclusive Ian Ogilvy Interview, 007 Tribute Covers, The Phantom Avon novels return, Ian Fleming Festival, Argoman Design, Sylvia Anderson R.I.P., Ken Adam R.I.P., George Martin R.I.P., The New Avengers Comics, Trina Robbins Interview, The Phantom at 80, 007 Manga, Avengerworld Book, Diana Rigg Auto Show, The Prisoner Audio Drama Review, David McCallum novel, Andre Courreges R.I.P., Who's Talking on Spy Vibe, UFO Blu-ray, Avengers Pop Art Interview, Fergus Fleming Interview, Avengers: Alan Hayes Interview, Jaz Wiseman Interview, Diana Rigg BFI Interview, Casino Royale Interview: Mike Richardson, Lost Diana Rigg Interview, Honor Blackman at 90, UNCLE School.

BIRTHDAY PRIZES

Spy Vibe recently turned four years old, and as a thank you to readers, I'm giving away presents! Anyone can enter to win. I only have one copy of each prize, and you can only win once. All you have to is send an email to me at spyvibe[at]gmail.com with 1) your prize choice "subject" in the subject heading and 2) your name and mailing address in the body of the email. You can enter to win more than one prize, but each entry must be a separate e-mail with the prize "subject" listed. I will pick winners in a random drawing on Monday February 3rd. That gives you two weeks to enter. Good luck! 

Scroll down to see my Top Ten Countdown of favorite topics from last year. You'll find old friends like James Bond, Diabolik, The Beatles, Spy Vibe collectors, Ian Fleming scholars, a Playboy Bunny, industrial designers, and the master of the macabre mystery-adventure comic!

By the way, if you would like to support Spy Vibe in other ways, please consider making a small donation through our Paypal tip link. The costs of maintaining the domain name, URL forwarding, and mailing costs have put the squeeze on me! Any help you can manage will be greatly appreciated. Now, here are the prizes (book descriptions from Amazon unless stated otherwise).

New Prizes just added!

Prize subject #7: "SAINT". The Saint Sees it Though by Leslie Charteris. Early 1960s pb edition with Roger Moore cover. good reading copy. The final full-length Saint novel to be solely written by Charteris, the Saint investigates Opium smuggling by a syndicate in New York. 

Prize subject #8: "UFO". UFO 2 Sporting Blood. excellent 1971 pb edition. The second novel based on Gerry Anderson's live-action Sci-Spy classic. 

Prize subject #1: "SMUGGLERS". The Diamond Smugglers by Ian Fleming. 1964 1st US pb edition. clean reading copy. crease and lean on spine. Ian Fleming’s world travels, interests, as well as his journalism and wartime experiences, lent authority to everything he wrote. Originally published in 1957, this edition restores the original observations, photos, maps, and language used at that time. In 1957, as the Cold War raged, Ian Fleming took a respite from writing James Bond to craft a work of nonfiction every bit as tense as a Bond adventure. Aided by an ex-MI5 agent and International Diamond Security Organization operative going by the alias “John Blaize,” Fleming chronicled the IDSO’s infiltration of the “million-carat network”—the world’s most notorious diamond smuggling ring. Every year, a shadowy band of racketeers pirated a fortune in diamonds out of Africa, and the majority of the stolen gems wound up in the hands of Communist nations. In response, the IDSO commissioned a private army, led by legendary British spymaster Sir Percy Sillitoe, to penetrate and topple the ring. And when the operation was complete, the Sunday Times gave the story to Fleming, who had impressed Sillitoe with his 1956 Bond adventure Diamonds Are Forever. A remarkable feat of investigative journalism, The Diamond Smugglers is the thrilling true story behind one of the greatest spy operations in history.

Prize subject #2: "SUN". Colonel Sun 1969 pb edition. nice reading copy. creases to spine and cover. British novelist Kingsley Amis picks up where legendary author Ian Fleming left off with this Bond novel of political conspiracy, elegant espionage, international intrigue, and, of course, beautiful alliances. 007 must rescue the kidnapped M and save the Free World from evil Colonel Sun Liang-tan of the People's Liberation Army of China. After Ian Fleming's death in 1964, Glidrose Publishing decided to continue the Bond franchise with a series of well-known authors each writing a book under the pen-name Robert Markham, but only Kingsley Amis took up the offer and in 1968 Colonel Sun was published.

Prize subject #3: "INFERNO". Doctor Who Inferno. 1984 1st edition Target Books. excellent. In this exciting Doctor Who novelization, published by Target in England, the Doctor is trapped in a parallel world, unable to act as the Earth is threatened by a poisonous liquid leaking from top-secret drilling project Inferno. Story stars Pertwee's Doctor and the members of UNIT.

Prize subject #4: "HONEY". This Girl For Hire 2005 pb edition. very fine. Honey West is the nerviest, curviest P.I. in Los Angeles-or anywhere else for that matter. She's a cross between James Bond and The Avengers' Emma Peel-a girl detective with the sleuthmanship of Mike Hammer and the measurements of Marilyn Monroe. This Girl for Hire is the first in a series of darkly funny and innuendo-laden crime novels originally published in the 1950s and 1960s. In this one, Honey finds herself playing strip poker with four murder suspects...and a deck that's as stacked as she is!

Prize subject #5: "007". 007 James Bond A Report. 1965 1st US pb edition. very fine. Description from James Bond First Editions: "A more serious critique on the life and times of suave secret agent James Bond, which, unlike Kingsley Amis' 'The James Bond Dossier', was not a particularly commercial book when released and is now a rather elusive piece of Bondiana." 

Prize subject #6: "TINKER". I saw an Academy Members' sneak preview of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The director and Gary Oldman were there for a Q&A afterwards, and it was interesting to hear their perspective on making this new film based on John Le Carre's classic novel. One amusing anecdote was that Oldman deliberated at length over which glasses to use for the role. He narrowed down his search once he found a vintage eyeglass specialist in Pasadena. So much of the film deals with his character's ability to make observations and to analyze the minutia- without projecting his own interior thoughts and emotions. In a film where visibility becomes theme, there are some beautifully shot moments that use the transparent and reflective nature of eyeglasses to echo what is happening in the narrative. The prize is this very cool large fold-out brochure about the story, the characters, and vocab from the world of espionage! Images below show the cover and two (of three) pages.

HOLIDAY CONTEST 3: TINKER TAILOR

Happy Holidays to all Spy Vibers out there in the field. I hope that you get a break from your current missions to enjoy some time with friends and family. And because gifts are fun, too, we're giving away presents! Prizes will be listed each day this week and winners will be chosen at random on December 24th. All you have to do is send an email to jason[at]spyvibe.com with the prize name (Tinker, etc) listed as subject and your mailing address as content. Also, check out the Spy Vibe auction this week to see our listings of a Sean Connery 007 autograph and some vintage 007 and U.N.C.L.E. collectibles.

Prize #3: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
I recently saw a sneak preview of the new Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The director and Gary Oldman were there for a Q&A afterwards, and it was interesting to hear their perspective on making this new film based on John Le Carre's classic novel. One amusing anecdote was that Oldman deliberated at length over which glasses to use for the role. He narrowed down his search once he found a vintage eyeglass specialist in Pasadena. So much of the film deals with his character's ability to make observations and to analyze the minutia- without projecting his own interior thoughts and emotions. In a film where visibility becomes theme, there are some beautifully shot moments that use the transparent and reflective nature of eyeglasses to echo what is happening in the narrative.


I was welcomed into the theater by a stylish usher who greeted me with, "For your consideration," as she handed me a film brochure. As I looked for a seat, I noted that most of the room was reserved for members of the Academy. The brochure is a well-designed piece that is broken down into various sections to celebrate and explain the various elements of the complicated espionage plot. I have two brochures to give away to Spy Vibers as today's holiday prize.

TINKER TAILOR PREVIEW Q&A

Special Event: A preview screening of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy will be held at the San Rafael Film Center on November 15th- with Gary Oldman and director Tomas Alfredson on hand for a Q&A! Tickets just went on sale today at the center's box office at on-line here. I hope that Spy Vibers in the Bay Area can attend.


From the San Rafael Film Center: "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is the long-awaited feature-film version of John Le Carré's classic bestseller set in 1973 during the Cold War. Gary Oldman, who stars as career-spy George Smiley, and director Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In) will answer questions at this special advance screening. George Smiley works for British intelligence, nicknamed "The Circus," and when an Eastern European mission goes awry, he sets out to uncover a possible double-agent in the agency. Oldman has support from a terrific cast, including John Hurt, Colin Firth, Ciarán Hinds, Mark Strong, Toby Jones, Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Simon McBurney and Svetlana Khodchenkova. Already a hit in its current British theatrical release, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy has earned high praise from John Le Carré himself, who calls it "to my eye a work of art in its own right." (UK 2011) 127 min."

The superb mini-series adaptations of Tinker Tailor and Smiley's People starring Alec Guinness have been re-released on DVD (old prints, new package) and are available for rent to Spy Vibers in the States from Netflix.