- Source: The Spy with a Cold Nose
The Spy with a Cold Nose is a 1966 British comedy film directed by Daniel Petrie and starring Laurence Harvey, Daliah Lavi, Lionel Jeffries, Denholm Elliott, and Colin Blakely. It was written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Plot
A dog has a covert listening device implanted before being presented as a gift to the Russian leader. Spies recruit a veterinarian, to retrieve the transmitter before the Russians find it.
Cast
Critical reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Broad, thoroughly British farce, developed along totally predictable lines but partly saved by a script which at least has the virtue of keeping things on the move, and by a zany and superbly timed performance from Lionel Jeffries. There is good support from Colin Blakely as the dog-loving Russian Premier and from Eric Portman as the British Ambassador who holds private meetings in a sound-proof glass bowl. The dogs have thankfully little to say for themselves."
The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "Ace sitcom writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson here offer their contribution to the spy boom that was dominating popular cinema in the 1960s. Their sub-Bondian farce stars Laurence Harvey and fine comedy actor Lionel Jeffries in a story of Cold War espionage which features a bulldog with a listening bug grafted to its insides for spying on the Russians. The script was held up as a model of its type but the genius of the words lost a little something in translation, but much mirth remains."
Film critic Leslie Halliwell said: "Rather painful, overacted and overwritten farce full of obvious jokes masquarading as satire."
Accolades
The film was nominated for the 1967 Golden Globe Awards in the Best English-Language Foreign Film category, and Lionel Jeffries in the Best Performance in a Comedy or Musical category.
References
External links
The Spy with a Cold Nose at IMDb
The Spy with a Cold Nose at the TCM Movie Database