''Man on a String'' is a 1960 American

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating s ...

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combi ...

directed by

Andre DeToth Endre Antal Miksa DeToth, better known as Andre de Toth (born Endre Antal Mihály Tóth; May 15, 1913 – October 27, 2002), was a Hungarian-American film director, born and raised in Makó, Austria-Hungary. He directed the 3D film ''House of ...

and starring

Ernest Borgnine Ernest Borgnine (; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perfor ...

and

Kerwin Mathews Kerwin Mathews (January 8, 1926 – July 5, 2007) was an American actor best known for playing the titular heroes in '' The 7th Voyage of Sinbad'' (1958), ''The Three Worlds of Gulliver'' (1960) and ''Jack the Giant Killer'' (1962). Early lif ...

. It was the last film that DeToth directed in the United States.

Plot

A government intelligence agency in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

wants agent Frank Sanford to follow Boris Mitrov, a film producer who appears to also be a Russian spy. Helen and Adrian Benson, a wealthy American couple with a home in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

and a film studio, are communist sympathizers as well, in league with Colonel Vadja Kubelov, the top

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

man in the U.S. Boris's office is bugged by his assistant, Bob Avery, a plant who is working for the Americans. Now that he has been caught red-handed, Boris is willing to turn double agent, going to Berlin under the pretense of making a documentary film there. Helen is having an affair with Kubelov, but the Bensons' home has been bugged and they try to flee to

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

. In the meantime, Boris is sent to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

to be entrusted with a new assignment, so Avery gives him a code word ("cinerama") to use should he find himself in danger. Upon learning that Adrian intends to publicly expose Boris and Kubelov, Avery is able to alert Boris to return to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

as soon as possible. A checkpoint is closed, but Boris shoots a police officer and escapes safely to

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under m ...

, only to end up in a fight for his life with a Russian assassin.

Cast

as Boris Mitrov *

as Bob Avery *

Colleen Dewhurst Colleen Rose Dewhurst (3 June 1924 – 22 August 1991) was a Canadian-American actress mostly known for theatre roles. She was a renowned interpreter of the works of Eugene O'Neill on the stage, and her career also encompassed film, early drama ...

as Helen Benson *

Alexander Scourby Alexander Scourby (; November 13, 1913 – February 22, 1985) was an American film actor, film, television actor, television, and voice actor known for his deep and resonant voice and Mid-Atlantic accent. He is best known for his film role a ...

as Vadja Kubelov *

Glenn Corbett Glenn Corbett (born Glenn Edwin Rothenburg; August 17, 1933 – January 16, 1993)"CORBETT Obituary — Corbett, 59, starred in 'Route 66,' Wayne films." ''San Antonio Express-News'' January 18, 1993. Web. May 29, 2012. Document #0F22314D ...

as Frank Sanford *

Vladimir Sokoloff Vladimir Aleksandrovich Sokoloff (russian: Влади́мир Алекса́ндрович Соколо́в; December 26, 1889 – February 15, 1962) was a Russian-American character actor of stage and screen. After studying theatre in Moscow, ...

as Papa * Friedrich Joloff as Nikolai Chapayev * Richard Kendrick as Inspector Jenkins * Ed Prentiss as Adrian Benson *

Clete Roberts Clete Roberts (February 1, 1912 – September 30, 1984) was an American broadcast journalist. He began his career in radio news, then transitioned to television, working for stations in California. In later years, he portrayed himself and ...

as Narrator

Home media

''Man on a String'' was released on DVD by

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures l ...

on March 4, 2011 via its DVD-on-demand system available through

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

References

External links

* * {{André de Toth 1960 films 1960s crime thriller films American black-and-white films American crime thriller films American spy thriller films Cold War spy films Columbia Pictures films 1960s English-language films Film noir Films scored by George Duning Films based on non-fiction books Films directed by Andre DeToth Films set in East Germany Films set in West Germany 1960s American films

Plot

Cast

Home media

See also

References

External links