John le Carré’s breakthrough novel became one of the bleakest of all Cold War thrillers in the hands of director Martin Ritt. Richard Burton stars as Alec Leamas, a demoted British agent who finds himself courted by East German intelligence. When the limits of his own knowledge are brought to light in a trial stemming from his accusations against a German officer, he must face consequences that are as stark as Ritt’s black-and-white photography.