''Bullet to Beijing'' is a 1995 made-for-television film that continues the adventures of the fictional spy
Harry Palmer
Harry Palmer is the anti-hero protagonist of a number of films based on the unnamed main character, a secret agent, in the spy novels written by Len Deighton. Michael Caine played Harry Palmer in three of the four films based on the four pub ...
, who appeared in the 1960s films ''
The Ipcress File
''The IPCRESS File'' is Len Deighton's first spy novel, published in 1962. The story involves Cold War brainwashing, includes scenes in Lebanon and on an atoll for a United States atomic weapon test, as well as information about Joe One, the ...
'', ''
Funeral in Berlin
''Funeral in Berlin'' is a 1964 spy novel by Len Deighton set between Saturday 5 October and Sunday 10 November 1963. It was the third of Deighton's novels about an unnamed British agent. It was preceded by ''The IPCRESS File'' (1962) and '' ...
'' and ''
Billion Dollar Brain
''Billion Dollar Brain'' is a 1967 British espionage film directed by Ken Russell and based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Len Deighton. The film features Michael Caine as secret agent Harry Palmer, the anti-hero protagonist. The "b ...
'', based on books by author
Len Deighton
Leonard Cyril Deighton (; born 18 February 1929) is a British author. His publications have included cookery books, history and military history, but he is best known for his spy novels.
After completing his national service in the Royal Air ...
. Though an alternative title is ''Len Deighton's Bullet to Beijing'', Deighton was not associated with the film.
The 1996 sequel '' Midnight in Saint Petersburg'' was filmed back-to-back with this film.
Plot
Harry Palmer (
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...
MI5
The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), G ...
. He receives a telephone call offering a mysterious job opportunity.
Harry flies to
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
, where he is met by Nikolai ( Jason Connery). They are followed and shot at by
Chechens
The Chechens (; ce, Нохчий, , Old Chechen: Нахчой, ''Naxçoy''), historically also known as ''Kisti'' and ''Durdzuks'', are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus in Eastern Europe. "Eu ...
, before Nick (as Harry insists on calling him) and Natasha ( Mia Sara) can deliver Harry to his potential employer, Alex (
Michael Gambon
Sir Michael John Gambon (; born 19 October 1940) is an Irish-English actor. Regarded as one of Ireland and Britain's most distinguished actors, he is known for his work on stage and screen. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivi ...
). Alex tells Harry that a deadly binary biological weapon called Alorex has been stolen; he wants Harry to find it. Harry cannot turn down the pay: $250,000.
Louis (
John Dunn-Hill
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
), one of his old contacts, tells him that the Alorex will be on a train, the Bullet to
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
Lev Prygunov
Lev Georgievich Prygunov (russian: Лев Гео́ргиевич Прыгуно́в; born 23 April 1939, Alma-Ata, Kazakh SSR) is a Russian actor, painter, People's Artist of Russia (2013). His son is a Russian film director .
After graduation, ...
) and his men are also passengers, as are Nick, Natasha and Craig Warner (
Michael Sarrazin
Michael Sarrazin (May 22, 1940 – April 17, 2011)
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
. When Harry and Nick try to find out what is in the crate Gradsky is transporting to the
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
n embassy, Gradsky (as a professional courtesy) merely has them thrown off the train. Conveniently, though they are in
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part ...
, there is an airport nearby, and they are able to board a crowded, ramshackle
Aeroflot
PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...
Antonov An-30
The Antonov An-30 (NATO reporting name: Clank), is a development of the An-24 designed for aerial cartography.
Development
The first aerial survey version of the Antonov An-24 was designed by the Beriev OKB and designated An-24FK. The FK sto ...
aircraft. Though the plane runs out of fuel and has to set down 300 miles from the train's next stop, Harry and Nick just barely manage to get back aboard the Bullet.
When they go to confront Gradsky, they receive several surprises. Natasha, whom they find in the colonel's compartment, turns out to be Gradsky's daughter. Then, they learn that Gradsky also works for Alex. Finally, Harry guesses that Alex is selling the Alorex to the North Koreans for
heroin
Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and bro ...
, a specialty of Craig's. Nick, who sincerely thinks that Alex is the man to lead Russia in the troubled times ahead, refuses to believe it. Harry talks Gradsky into dumping his half of the Alorex and replacing it with vodka and urine. But where is the other component? Then, Harry remembers that Louis' grandson had given him a seemingly innocent gift, a
Matryoshka doll
Matryoshka dolls ( ; rus, матрёшка, p=mɐˈtrʲɵʂkə, a=Ru-матрёшка.ogg), also known as stacking dolls, nesting dolls, Russian tea dolls, or Russian dolls, are a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside ano ...
. Inside, he finds a vial.
Nevertheless, they have to pretend to deliver the Alorex. At the North Korean embassy, Palmer meets another old spy acquaintance, Kim Soo (
Burt Kwouk
Herbert Tsangtse Kwouk, (; ; 18 July 1930 – 24 May 2016) was a British actor, known for his role as Cato in the ''Pink Panther'' films. He made appearances in many television programmes, including a portrayal of Imperial Japanese Army Ma ...
). Kim Soo has orders to get rid of Harry because he knows too much. Nick rescues him by lying and saying Alex will deal with him later. Later, when Harry asks him why he did it, Nick tells him that he thinks Harry is his father. During the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
, the
Soviets
Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union.
Nationality policy in ...
had attempted to suborn a British spy by having a woman agent seduce him. Harry denies being that man, but Nick doesn't believe him.
On the way back to St. Petersburg, Harry explains to Nick that Alex planted the specifications for Alorex in his passport (which was confiscated by Kim Soo), but Harry was not fooled. He burns the valuable but deadly information and tips off both a rival gangster and the police about the incoming heroin shipment. Complications arise when there is an attempt on Harry's life by men working for Kim Soo, which Craig surprisingly foils. The American, it turns out, is working for the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...
. Harry and his friends emerge relatively unscathed from the chaotic final shootout.
Cast
*
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...
Michael Sarrazin
Michael Sarrazin (May 22, 1940 – April 17, 2011)
Michael Gambon
Sir Michael John Gambon (; born 19 October 1940) is an Irish-English actor. Regarded as one of Ireland and Britain's most distinguished actors, he is known for his work on stage and screen. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivi ...
as Alexei Alexeyevich
*
Burt Kwouk
Herbert Tsangtse Kwouk, (; ; 18 July 1930 – 24 May 2016) was a British actor, known for his role as Cato in the ''Pink Panther'' films. He made appearances in many television programmes, including a portrayal of Imperial Japanese Army Ma ...
as Kim Soo
*
Sue Lloyd
Sue or SUE may refer to:
Music
* Sue Records, an American record label
* ''Sue'' (album), an album by Frazier Chorus
* " Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", a song by David Bowie
Places
* Sue Islet (Queensland), one of the Torres Straits isla ...
as Jean Courtney
*
John Dunn-Hill
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
as Louis
*
Lev Prygunov
Lev Georgievich Prygunov (russian: Лев Гео́ргиевич Прыгуно́в; born 23 April 1939, Alma-Ata, Kazakh SSR) is a Russian actor, painter, People's Artist of Russia (2013). His son is a Russian film director .
After graduation, ...
as Colonel Gradsky
*
Gregory Hlady
Gregory Stepanovych Hlady (, Hryhoriy Stepanovych Hladiy; born 4 December 1954) is a Ukrainian actor. He has appeared in more than 80 films and television shows since 1973. He starred in '' Music for December'', which was screened in the Un Cer ...
as Police Captain
*
Patrick Allen
John Keith Patrick Allen (17 March 1927 – 28 July 2006) was a British actor.
Life and career
Allen was born in Nyasaland (now Malawi), where his father was a tobacco farmer. After his parents returned to Britain, he was evacuated to Canada ...
as Colonel Wilson
* Anatoli Davydov as Yuri Stephanovich
* Anatoly Kulbitsky as Prof. Kulbitsky