Funeral In Berlin (1966)

FUNERAL IN BERLIN  (1966)  ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
    D: Guy Hamilton
    Michael Caine, Eva Renzi, Paul Hubschmid,
    Oscar Homolka, Guy Doleman, Hugh Burden
The second entry in the Michael Caine/Harry Palmer trilogy starts out with Harry being dispatched to Berlin to help a Russian army commander defect to the West. Following two years after "The Ipcress File", the movie again works the territory where Ian Fleming and John LeCarré intersect, or at least knock elbows a little. Palmer retains a working-class insolence and a working-class grudge, and the story's concerned mainly with the dirty business of spy work. Nazis, corrupt double agents, smugglers, forgers, safe crackers and Israeli intelligence all end up with a hand in the plot. There's a running gag in which Palmer, who gets around mostly in taxicabs, tries to talk his boss (Guy Doleman) into an £800 car loan. James Bond never had to do that, and £800 wouldn't even cover his budget for martinis and cigarettes.