Ace of spies, a 12part dramatization of the british agents life, does make a case in his favor. Provided to youtube by the orchard enterprises reilly. Jan 19, 1984 sidney reilly may or may not have been the greatest spy in history, although reilly. Covers the exploits of the reallife superspy and womanizer sydney reilly who uncovers russian secrets in 1901, allowing the japanese to sink the russian fleet and invade china. Sam neill jurassic park, peaky blinders stars as the suave reilly, who spied for britain against his native russia in the early 1900s, even plotting to. Based on a true story, reilly ace of spies tells of russianborn sidney reilly, who became one of the greatest spies ever to work for the british.
But reilly is betrayed by eugenie, his secretary, and kills her. Dec 01, 2002 sidney reilly is one of the most fascinating spies of the 20th century, yet he remains one of the most he was a master spy, a brilliant con man, a charmer, and a cad who lived on his wits and thrived on danger, using women shamelessly and killing where necessaryand unnecessary. Elizabeth waller background todays throwback tuesday installment throws us all the way back to february 1904 on the. Reilly goes to paris to try and find his estranged wife and convince an oil developer to sign with britain. Sidney reilly is one of the most fascinating spies of the 20th century, yet he remains one of the most he was a master spy, a brilliant con man, a charmer, and a cad who lived on his wits and thrived on danger, using women shamelessly and killing where necessaryand unnecessary.
Made in 1983, the 12episode series tells the story of reallife spy sidney reilly the purported model for ian flemings james bond, who infiltrated the germans in 1917 during world war i, then plotted to overthrow lenin, and was later captured by the russians. With sam neill, norman rodway, tom bell, laura davenport. Stali presses a reluctant dzerzhinsky to execute reilly as the cheka chief resists stalins efforts to dismantle the trust. He is alleged to have spied for at least four different. He narrated from the third to sixteenth series for the uk. But this was the young sam neils star turn, playing the first professional english spy.
A man of many talents, sidney reilly, was perhaps the first wellknown spy figure of the 20th century whose incredible exploits were always on the borderline of truth or fiction. The name sidney reilly is associated with world war i, british intelligence, and the bolshevik uprising in 1917. On its second time around in public televisions mystery. The series, in fact, would make an excellent teaching tool for a high school or college world history class, when annotated by a.
Elizabeth waller background todays throwback tuesday installment throws us all the way back to february 1904 on. A dramatization of the missions and adventures of the greatest spy in british history. A description of tropes appearing in reilly, ace of spies. How fate, and stalin, finally dealt the ace of spies a. Estranged from his british intelligence contacts, reilly, now back in russia.
Reilly, ace of spies episode 01 1901 an affair with a married woman. From 1983 sam neill stars as sidney reilly, who lived from 1873 to 1925. Ace of spies 1987covers the exploits of the reallife superspy and womanizer sydney reilly who uncovers russian secrets in 1901, allowing the japanese to sink the russian fleet and invade china. From stealing topsecret russian oil information to. Originally broadcast in 1983, the series provided a notable early lead role for sam neill.
Its new york, in the year 1924, and reilly persuades henry ford to put up the money for an invasion of russia. Vitals sam neill as sidney reilly, shrewd russianborn british government triple agent port arthur, china then manchuria, february 1904 series. It was nominated for three bafta awards in 1984, and in 1985 sam neill received a. I was also appreciative of the fact that, whilst the story line through the series was continuous, each episode could be viewed without the. The programme is based on books by robin bruce lockhart, the son of reillys fellow agent sir robert bruce lockhart. Recommendation engine sorted out realistic, serious, suspenseful and tense films and tv series with plots about undercover, espionage, spy, secret agents, cold war, state affairs and working undercover mostly in drama, thriller and mystery genres. Sep 07, 2002 how fate, and stalin, finally dealt the ace of spies a losing hand. While reilly is in paris, he meets his longlost halfsister, anna, and we learn more. But reilly, ace of spies, premiering today on acorn tv, has nothing to do with current international relations or even the cold war. Sidney reillys corduroy suit in manchuria bamf style. Rather than execute them, reilly intended to debag the bolshevik hierarchy and with lenin and trotsky in. A guide listing the titles and air dates for episodes of the tv series reilly. Reilly, ace of spies originally ran in the us on pbs mystery. This three dvd set contains all twelve episodes of the series.
This british series is a dramatization of the fantastic reallife adventures, from 1903 until the mid1920s, of the russianborn british agent sidney reilly, who worked for mi6 as agent st1. Ace of spies dreadnoughts and crosses tv episode 1983. Ace of spies has reached that point on wnet channel tonight at 9 at which viewers inevitably. Reilly ace of spies 1983 season 1 episode 2 by fofo fege. Based on dmitri shostakovich romance gadfly suite addeddate 20110619 16. By far the most ambitious project undertaken by euston films, the epic twelvepart miniseries reilly, ace of spies itv was an astonishing success when first shown in 1983, turning new zealand actor sam neill into a household name. Ace of spies is the thrilling, suspenseful dramatization of the reallife adventures of agent st1, aka sidney reilly, the inspiration behind ian flemings james bond. After a lively spying career for the british, reilly eventually plots against the bolsheviks and comes close to overthrowing lenin and installing himself as the new leader of the. Part 007 for the educated, and part upstairsdownstairs in spirit, this series follows the adventures of the ace of spies, against the backdrop of history, from 1900 until 1925. While reilly is in paris, he meets his longlost halfsister, anna, and we learn more about their beginnings in a. While the showrunners must have been cognizant of the need to place their suave british secret agent in a tuxedo, the series narrative also coincided with the rise of the dinner jacket over the. A 1983 itv 12episode mini series, exec produced by verity lambert, written by troy kennedymartin. Reilly must aid the japanese fleet invade port arthur beginning the russojapanese war. He has been called the ace of spies, though the facts of his life are difficult to find and shrouded in mystery largely by his own design.
Sidney reilly influenced world history through acts of extraordinary courage and sheer audacity. Leo mckern, playing zaharoff, steals every episode in which he appears. Sam neill sidney reilly 12 episodes, 1983, michael bryant narrator 11 episodes, 1983, norman rodway cummings 10 episodes, 1983. We suspect it might also prove eminently bingeable. Ace of spies the list contains related movies ordered by similarity. The spy film genre began in the silent era, with the paranoia of invasion literature and the onset of the great war. How fate, and stalin, finally dealt the ace of spies a losing hand.
Michael angelis thomas the tank engine wikia fandom. This is the main title sequence from reilly, ace of spies, the 1983 itvthames television miniseries starring sam neill as sidney reilly, a russian jew who became one of the greatest spies ever. Jul 12, 2014 this is the main title sequence from reilly, ace of spies, the 1983 itvthames television miniseries starring sam neill as sidney reilly, a russian jew who became one of the greatest spies ever. Among his exploits, in the early 20th century, were the infiltration of the german general staff in 1917 and a nearoverthrow of the bolsheviks in 1918. Sidney reilly may or may not have been the greatest spy in history, although reilly. Reilly, ace of spies is a 1983 television miniseries dramatizing the life of sidney reilly, a russianborn adventurer who became one of the greatest spies ever to work for the british. I saw reilly, ace of spies, on tv some time ago and have been looking forward to reading the book. Ace of spies dvd, 2005 at the best online prices at ebay. In the fifth episode, for example, reilly is in st. Reilly s exploits make fascinating reading, but bruce lockhart has packed them together as though he was filling a small suitcase for a long journey.
From the gentlemens clubs of edwardian england to the forbidding gates of the kremlin, reilly played country against country with levels of skill and audacity that have rarely been seen since. Reilly, ace of spies is a 1983 television miniseries dramatizing the life of sidney reilly, a russianborn adventurer who became one of the greatest spies to work for the british. In the opener, reilly sam neill is on a mission to smuggle stolen oil. The real story of his origins is unknown and was inflated by misinformation during his lifetime. Happily, the adaptation of reilly ace of spies was put into the safe.
Hugh fraser poirot and leo mckern rumpole of the bailey also star. Andrew cooks startling biography cuts through the myths to tell the full story of the greatest spy the world has ever know. Ace of spies is framed by large events the russojapanese war, the lust for petroleum of the royal navy circa 1909, the european arms race that paved the way for the first world war, and, most importantly for the series, the russian revolution of 1917 and subsequent civil war and yearslong struggle for power. Reilly s plan to overthrow the bolshevik government and install himself as head of state hits a bump in the road when lenins intelligence chief dzerzhinsky convinces him to postpone a strategic event where it is planned that lenins loyal latvian guard will turn on him. His methods were so ruthless, and sexual conquests so frequent and a matter of indifference or a plot device that reilly was said to be ian flemmings model. Petersburg, ostensibly in the employ of the germans, actually doing work for the british. Reilly, ace of spies is reilly, ace of spies on netflix. In new york, reilly finds nadia massino and he makes a hit with pepita. Ace of spies, an agent born sigmund rosenblum whose career covered two decades. Reillys plan to overthrow the bolshevik government and install himself as head of state hits a bump in the road when lenins intelligence chief dzerzhinsky convinces him to postpone a strategic event where it is planned that lenins loyal latvian guard will turn on him. Reillys grand plan was to arrest all the red leaders in one swoop on august 28th when a meeting of the soviet central executive committee was due to be held.
With sam neill, leo mckern, norman rodway, peter egan. Among his exploits, in the early 20th century, were the infiltration of the german general staff in. Ace of spies revaels for the first time the true story of sidney reilly, the reallife inspiration behind fictional hero james bond. These fears produced the british 1914 the german spy peril, centred on a plot to blow up the houses of parliament, and 19s o. Feb 21, 2015 provided to youtube by the orchard enterprises reilly.
Multi media arts supporting acts what we do mike warrington interview for ch 4 production. A 1983 itv 12episode mini series, exec produced by verity lambert, written by troy kennedymartin and based on a book about sidney reillys life by the son of one of the main characters. Reilly, ace of spies is a 1983 television miniseries dramatizing the life of sidney reilly, a russian jew who became one. Ace of spies you are looking for tense, serious and captivating movies or tv shows about with espionage, double agent, spy, heroes, betrayal, secret agents and working undercover themes of crime, drama and mystery genre shot in uk. Reilly s plan to overthrow the bolshevik government and install himself as head of state hits a bump in the road when lenins intelligence chief dzerzhinsky convinces him to postpone a strategic event where it is. Shot in glorious period detail, one heartpulsing mission after another captures the arc of reillys brilliant career. In addition to spying and violence, reilly includes a lot of womanizing and even bigamy the first episode is even titled an affair with a married woman.
New research reveals details of sidney reillys death in moscow. Ace of spies fictionalizes the exploits of russianborn spy sidney reilly, often cited as a reallife basis for ian flemings james bond. Reilly, ace of spies is a 1983 television miniseries dramatizing the life of sidney reilly, a russianborn adventurer who became one of the greatest spies ever to. Bbc east tv news series a to z of anglia, y is for yarwell. David suchet is a great actor, but hes unmistakably european, and it bothers me to see him play a chinese character in the second episode. Nominated for an emmy and a golden globe, this epic miniseries tells the true story of sidney reilly, the legendary superspy who inspired james bond. He also narrated six american episodes on the new friends for thomas and other adventures dvd, the first six the railway stories cds. Reilly, ace of spies episode 01 1901 an affair with a married woman episode 01 of 12.
190 880 437 1075 681 326 124 1181 1465 940 803 386 1397 1383 528 567 1289 332 921 1131 344 566 562 1218 21 1404 1152 915 696 235 110 1052 1031 1497 1219 1281 544 187 730 31 673