''To Trap a Spy'' is the feature-length film version of the 70-minute

television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distr ...

of ''

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a secret ...

'' starring

Robert Vaughn Robert Francis Vaughn (November 22, 1932 – November 11, 2016) was an American actor noted for his stage, film and television work. His television roles include the spy Napoleon Solo in the 1960s series '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E.''; th ...

. It also features

Patricia Crowley Patricia Crowley (born September 17, 1933) is an American actress. She was also frequently billed as Pat Crowley. Early life Crowley was born in Olyphant, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Helen (''née'' Swartz) and coal mining foreman Vincent Cr ...

, William Marshall,

Fritz Weaver Fritz William Weaver (January 19, 1926 − November 26, 2016) was an American actor in television, stage, and motion pictures. He portrayed Dr. Josef Weiss in the 1978 epic television drama, ''Holocaust'' for which he was nominated for a Primetime ...

and

David McCallum David Keith McCallum Jr. (born 19 September 1933) is a Scottish actor and musician. He first gained recognition in the 1960s for playing secret agent Illya Kuryakin in the television series '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E''. In recent years, McCall ...

. The film was directed by

Don Medford Donald Muller (November 26, 1917 – December 12, 2012), known professionally as Don Medford, was an American television director who directed over 75 TV series between 1951 and 1989, and who also directed three movies. Medford directed the fin ...

Plot

U.N.C.L.E. suspects that the U.S. industrialist and tycoon Andrew Vulcan, an officer of WASP (an international criminal organization), plans to kill Prime Minister Ashumen of the newly independent African nation of Western Natumba. Solo is assigned by Mr. Allison, the head of U.N.C.L.E., to thwart the assassination and find out why it was planned. Solo thereafter recruits Elaine May Donaldson, a college girlfriend of Vulcan's and who is now a suburban housewife, to help get information from Vulcan on his plans. Solo's thought is that only a personal connection can obtain the information, and Vulcan has neither wife nor close friends. Elaine is given the cover story of being a wealthy widow and is able to not only get Solo the details of the assassination plot, but drugs Ashumen so he is unable to take the tour of Vulcan’s factory which Solo believes will result in Ashumen’s death. Vulcan’s target, though, turns out to be two of Ashumen’s ministers who do not agree with his plans for having Vulcan set up factories in his country. With Ashumen as Premier and Vulcan running the primary industry there, Western Natumba would become a puppet nation of WASP. After a run-in (and brief romantic tryst) with WASP agent Angela, Solo finds out the truth, is captured along with Elaine, and left to die in what is supposed to look like an industrial accident. Solo and Elaine escape, rescue the ministers, and Ashumen and Vulcan die instead in the “accident” they themselves set up. Elaine is returned to her normal life, which she appreciates all the more after the excitement and danger of an U.N.C.L.E. adventure.

Cast

Napoleon Solo Napoleon Solo is a fictional character from the 1960s TV spy series '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' The series format was notable for pairing the American Solo, played by Robert Vaughn, and the Russian Illya Kuryakin, played by David McCallum, as t ...

Luciana Paluzzi Luciana Paluzzi (born 10 June 1937) is an Italian actress. She is perhaps best known for playing SPECTRE assassin Fiona Volpe in the fourth James Bond film, '' Thunderball'', but she had important roles in notable films of the 1960s and 1970s in ...

as Angela * Pat Crowley as Elaine May Donaldson *

as Andrew Vulcan * William Marshall as Sekue Ashumen * Will Kuluva as Mr. Allison *

Illya Kuryakin Illya Kuryakin is a fictional character from the 1960s TV spy series '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' He is a secret agent with a range of weapons and explosives skills, and is described in the series as holding a Master's degree from the Sorbonne ...

Ivan Dixon Ivan Nathaniel Dixon III (April 6, 1931 – March 16, 2008) was an American actor, director, and producer best known for his series role in the 1960s sitcom '' Hogan's Heroes'', and for his starring roles in the 1964 independent drama '' No ...

as Jean Francis Soumarin * Victoria Shaw as Gracie Ladovan * Eric Berry as Alfred Ghist * Rupert Crosse as Nobuk *Billy Corcoran as Ronny *

Richard Kiel Richard Dawson Kiel (September 13, 1939 – September 10, 2014) was an American actor. Standing tall, he was known for portraying Jaws in '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977) and '' Moonraker'' (1979). Kiel's next-most-recognized role is the t ...

as Guard (Uncredited)

Production

''To Trap a Spy'' is the third and longest version of the same story, in this case, the pilot known as '' The Vulcan Affair''. The original pilot ''

Solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

'' was filmed in color and, as was standard at the time for U.S. network television shows, shown primarily to network executives to gain their approval for a series, and if not picked up for filming, released as a

second feature A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

. After the series was ordered the pilot episode was edited down to fit a one-hour timeslot, modified somewhat to – among other minor changes – substitute

Leo G. Carroll Leo Gratten Carroll (25 October 1886 – 16 October 1972) was an English actor. In a career of more than forty years, he appeared in six Hitchcock films including ''Spellbound'', '' Strangers on a Train'' and ''North by Northwest'' and in thre ...

's character Alexander Waverley for that of Mr. Allison (played by Will Kuluva), and broadcast in black and white (as was the rest of the first season of the show). The film version started with the color pilot footage, added in additional footage and subplots (also in color, and including a new subplot featuring the actress

), and was first released in Hong Kong in late 1964 and later shown in the U.S. as a double feature with '' The Spy with My Face'' in early 1966. In the UK it was originally released as a support feature to the

James Garner James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including ''The Great Escape (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy ...

/ Julie Andrews comedy '' The Americanization of Emily'' in 1965, but its release coincided with the broadcast of the series. However, episodes of the series edited into feature films were not shown on non American television screenings. It later appeared as a top billed feature in many cinemas.

References

External links

* http://www.for-your-eyes-only.com/Site/UNCLEtline64.html * * {{DEFAULTSORT:To Trap A Spy 1964 films 1960s spy films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American spy films Films directed by Don Medford Films scored by Jerry Goldsmith Films edited from television programs The Man from U.N.C.L.E. 1960s English-language films 1960s American films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links