Espionage films have been popular throughout cinematic history, with deep roots dating back to the silent era. Most films were based on popular novels, much like the James Bond series that gained international popularity in the early ’60s. Movie patrons were drawn to the gadgets and stunts of the Bond films, but it was the tongue in cheek comic relief that I really appreciated. Bond was the king of the catchphrase, often times the titles of the films themselves reflected this. You might find yourself eating popcorn and bouncing back and forth on the edge of your seat with a belly laugh.
In the 1980s we saw a surge of these types of films, much like what we are seeing now with ‘Comic Universe’ films. Was it the Cold War? Or possibly everyone was “Spy Crazy” due to the 007 films’ popularity in the previous two decades? I didn’t see every spy film in the ’80s, but I did see plenty of them that were not 007 films. They seemed to walk the line between an action movie and a comedy…and I noticed that line was more like a vast grey area. Some films leaned more towards comedy than an action/thriller, and others were full blown dramas.
In 1981 United Artists released The Eye of the Needle, based on a popular book and starring Donald Sutherland. Sutherland plays a cold, calculated, stiletto-wielding German spy during World War II. He becomes stranded in England and needs to catch a U-boat to deliver vital information directly to Hitler himself. All the while, he is staying with a family who takes him in, and starts an affair with the lady of the house. Of course, tensions ignite, and he stabs anyone who may blow his cover along the way. This film is a drama, and a very well made film for the time.
The same year, Disney released Condorman. This movie was also based on a popular book, about a cartoon animator who gets roped into the CIA espionage circuit. Now … this film was more of an action-comedy … and it took things too far … we are talking Hudson Hawk-style comedy with poor production. Most critics at the time found it silly, even making Siskle and Ebert’s Worst Movies of the Year List. But this was a Disney film, and although it was a failure at the box office, it did received a cult following.
I was unaware of this at the time, but these two movies represented the fork in the road when it came to spy films and the ’80s. Throughout the rest of the decade, any spy film made, outside the 007 camp, can be gauged against what these two films did for the genre in 1981. Looking closer at this phenomenon, there seemed to be a surge of notable films pumped out in 1985. These movies danced back and forth, waltzing the vast grey area between drama and silly comedy. Below are some of the most notable examples of how the spy genre films of the ’80s marched to two different drums, and sometimes both at once.
Gotcha! starred a young Anthony Edwards. He portrays a well-to-do college student playing a very organized ’80s version of Laser Tag throughout his college campus. While on a trip to Europe, he gets tangled in a world of espionage after being seduced by a lady spy (Linda Florentino) in East and West Germany. This film leans more towards thriller, but there is slight comedic banter as well, and the trailer below certainly plays up the comedic elements.
Spies Like Us, starring Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd, was released in ’85 as well. Aykroyd and Chase portray flailing CIA employees who are bucking for a promotion. They are both undeservedly recruited as agents and sent to Pakistan as decoys. With a cast including these two SNL icons, you can guess this movie was more of a comedy.
The Falcon and the Snowman, starring Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn, was based on true events. This film is more of a drama with very few comedic moments, and a lack of spy gadgets or undercover work. Hutton plays a civilian government contractor during the 1970s, with access to U.S. secrets. Due to his ethical view of the U.S. government, he utilizes his small time drug dealing friend (Penn) to sell U.S. Secrets to the Soviets through Mexico.
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins was a 1985 movie that was based on The Destroyer novel series which started in 1971. The story is based around a cop, Remo Williams (Fred Ward), who’s death is faked by a secret U.S. organization called CURE. Remo is then sent to train with his master Chuin (Joel Grey). This adaptation is a comedic-action movie, and based more on Remo’s recruitment, training and first mission. The film’s flop ensured that The Adventure Begins is also where Remo Williams ended.
The Fourth Protocol starring Michael Caine, Pierce Brosnan and Ned Beaty, is a very detailed thriller about a KGB agent (Brosnan), who has a mission to detonate a nuclear bomb near a British miltary base. This movie is full of twists and turns and back stabbing moments … it will really keep you on your toes.
Real Men (1987) starring Jim Belushi and John Ritter was written and directed by Dennis Feldman, the screenwriter for the The Golden Child. John Ritter plays a reluctant participant in a plot — spear-headed by Belushi’s character — to use him as a look-alike for a dead government spy. This movie reaches outstanding levels of silly humor through a science fiction plot, and is worth a watch if you haven’t seen it.
Little Nikita is a Cold War-based film starring River Phoenix and Sidney Poitier. Phoenix plays a teenager living in suburban USA, with typical middle class parents. He discovers, with the help of Poitier, that his parents are sleeper spies for the USSR, and have been inactive moles for over 20 years. Not much comedy here, but a pretty decent film at the time. This film was one young people in the ’80s could connect with, as it was told mostly by the point of view of a teenager.