Themes: Assumed Identities, Double Life, Race Against Time
Main Cast: Donald Sutherland, Kate Nelligan, Ian Bannen, Christopher Cazenove
Release Year: 1981
Country: UK
Run Time: 111 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Having already been seen spying for the Nazis in 1979's The Eagle Has Landed, Donald Sutherland once more infiltrates wartime England on behalf of Der Fuhrer in Eye of the Needle. Willing to kill even the most innocent of bystanders to complete his task, Sutherland manages to remain in Britain until the eve of D-Day in 1944. Discovering that the invasion is to take place on Normandy, Sutherland scurries to rendezvous with a U-boat off the treacherous Isle of Storms. His mission is thwarted by Kate Nelligan, the frustrated wife of paralyzed RAF commander Christopher Cazenove. Though having fallen in love with Sutherland, Nelligan nonetheless prepares to turn the man in when he kills her husband. Tension mounts in the closing scene as Sutherland races against time to (a) make contact with the U-boat and (b) stop Nelligan before she blows the whistle on him. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Barbara Ewing - Mrs. Garden; David Hayman - Canter; Alex McCrindle - Tom; Philip Martin Brown - Billy Parkin; Rupert Frazer - Muller; David Ashton - Oban Radio Operator; George Belbin - Mr. Rose; John Bennett - Kleinmann; Faith Brook - Mrs. Rose; Patrick Connor - Inspector Harris; Ellis Dale - Station Master; Don Fellows - American Colonel; Bill Fraser - Mr. Porter; Jonathan Haley - Joe; Stewart Harwood; Michael Joseph; Sam Kydd - Lock Keeper; George Lee - Constable; Arthur Lovegrove - Peterson; Rik Mayall - Sailor; Michael Mellinger - Portuguese Man; Bill Nighy - Squadron Leader Blenkinsop; John Paul - Home Guard Captain; Stephen Phillips - Home Guard Corporal; John Rees - German Naval Operator; Colin Rix - Oliphant; Richard Graydon - Home Guard Private; Stephen MacKenna - Lieutenant; Chris Jenkinson - German SS Officer; Bruce White - Oban Policeman; Alan Surtees - Col. Terry
Credit
Bert Davey - Art Director, John Hoesli - Art Director, John Bloomfield - Costume Designer, Roger Simons - First Assistant Director, Richard Marquand - Director, Anthony Squire - Second Unit Director, Sean Barton - Editor, Miklos Rozsa - Composer (Music Score), Wally Schneiderman - Makeup, Wilfred Shingleton - Production Designer, Alan Hume - Cinematographer, Stephen Friedman - Producer, Hugh Scaife - Set Designer, Claude Hitchcock - Sound/Sound Designer, Stanley Mann - Screenwriter, Ken Follett - Book Author
