Based on John Trenhaile's A Man Called Kyril, this byzantine-plotted spy melodrama stars Ian Charleson in the title role. Kyril is a supposed Soviet defector who relocates in London. In fact, his defection is a smoke-screen: Kyril has been sent by the KGB to seek out a British mole in Moscow Centre. At four hours, Codename: Kyril affords plenty of breathing space for the various plots and counterplots, but its excess of espionage verbiage may prove confusing to the average viewer. Filmed for British television in locales ranging from Norway to Holland, Codename: Kyril was first telecast in the US on the Showtime cable network on April 27, 1988; a videocassette version running 115 minutes was made available in 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Cast
Joss Ackland - 'C'; Ian Charleson - Kyril; Denholm Elliott - Povin; Richard E. Grant - Sculby; Terence Harvey - Chairman; James Laurenson - Sikarov; John McEnery - Loshkevoi; Catherine Neilson - Emma; Hugh Ross - Detective Fitzgerald; Espen Skjønberg - Michaelov; Sven-Bertil Taube - Stolynovitch; Peter Vaughan - Stanov; Edward Woodward - Michael Royston; Hugh Fraser - Peter Jackson; Jason White - KGB Man; Dermot Crowley - Carter; James Cosmo - Bonham; Antony Carrick - Head of Staff; Peter Wight - Evans; David Lyon - Burrows; Charles Simon - Trumper
Credit
Frode Krohg - Art Director, Debbie McWilliams - Casting, Robin Fraser-Paye - Costume Designer, Ian Sharp - Director, Terry Maisey - Editor, Patrick Dromgoole - Executive Producer, Anders Enger - Production Manager, Michael Guest - Producer, Beryl Vertue - Producer, John Trenhaile - Book Author
