Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily Entertainment GuideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsPride MonthAmerican Black Film FestivalSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
8 suggestions available
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
Episode guide
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

  • TV Mini Series
  • 1979
  • TV-14
  • 45m
IMDb RATING
8.4/10
10K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,341
361
Alec Guinness, Ian Richardson, Bernard Hepton, and Terence Rigby in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Tinker Tailor
Play trailer1:17
10 Videos
99+ Photos
SpyDramaMysteryThriller

In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced out of semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6's echelons.In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced out of semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6's echelons.In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced out of semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6's echelons.

  • Stars
    • Alec Guinness
    • Michael Jayston
    • Anthony Bate
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    8.4/10
    10K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    3,341
    361
    • Stars
      • Alec Guinness
      • Michael Jayston
      • Anthony Bate
    • 113User reviews
    • 21Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy
      • 4 wins & 8 nominations total

    Episodes7

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated1 season1979

    Videos10

    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
    Clip 0:52
    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Tinker Tailor
    Trailer 1:17
    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Tinker Tailor
    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Tinker Tailor
    Trailer 1:17
    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Tinker Tailor
    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: How It All Fits Together
    Trailer 1:05
    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: How It All Fits Together
    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Smiley Sets A Trap
    Trailer 1:10
    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Smiley Sets A Trap
    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Smiley Tracks The Mole
    Trailer 1:06
    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Smiley Tracks The Mole
    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy-Disc 2
    Trailer 0:48
    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy-Disc 2

    Photos104

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 97
    View Poster

    Top cast46

    Edit
    Alec Guinness
    Alec Guinness
    • George Smiley
    • 1979
    Michael Jayston
    Michael Jayston
    • Peter Guillam
    • 1979
    Anthony Bate
    Anthony Bate
    • Sir Oliver Lacon…
    • 1979
    George Sewell
    George Sewell
    • Mendel
    • 1979
    Bernard Hepton
    Bernard Hepton
    • Toby Esterhase
    • 1979
    Ian Richardson
    Ian Richardson
    • Bill Haydon
    • 1979
    Hywel Bennett
    Hywel Bennett
    • Ricki Tarr
    • 1979
    Michael Aldridge
    Michael Aldridge
    • Percy Alleline
    • 1979
    Terence Rigby
    Terence Rigby
    • Roy Bland
    • 1979
    Ian Bannen
    Ian Bannen
    • Jim Prideaux
    • 1979
    Alec Sabin
    • Fawn
    • 1979
    Alexander Knox
    Alexander Knox
    • Control
    • 1979
    Duncan Jones
    • Roach
    • 1979
    Daniel Beecher
    • Spikely
    • 1979
    Beryl Reid
    Beryl Reid
    • Connie Sachs
    • 1979
    John Wells
    • Headmaster
    • 1979
    Frank Compton
    • Bryant
    • 1979
    Frank Moorey
    • Lauda Strickland
    • 1979
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews113

    8.410.2K
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    pekinman

    If only...

    The BBC is to be commended for making 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' (as well as 'Smiley's People') into fine adaptations for television.

    Being very familiar with all three of the 'Karla' novels I have a few, very minor, quibbles as to casting and editing, but nothing that gets in the way of great enjoyment of the finished product.

    Guinness was born to play Smiley, as others have already noted. I can't get enough of his laconic humor and monk-like habits. Simply with subtle, hardly discernible facial expressions, Guinness intimates vividly the mysterious, dangerous past Smiley has endured... and all the vile things he's had to do in the cause of, as he would put it, what is Right. Alexander Knox is fabulous as the "little serpent" Control, "No man's child" as Smiley's says of him. There are other "perfectly" cast parts in this adaptation. Anthony Bate's smarmy, infuriating Lacon is absolutely hateful at his every appearance, just as he is supposed to be; a sign of the masterful nuance of Mr Bate's performance. I also like Bernard Hepton's Toby Esterhase, though he exhibits more humor than the character actually possesses in the book.. but what a fine actor he is.

    Michael Aldridge plays Percy Alleline as an exquisite, bureaucratic boob who will do anything, in the modern political way, to get to the top, purely for ego reasons. I also found Ian Richardson's Bill Hayden to be a fine fit between actor and character. Some of the smaller roles are done very well too. Fawn, played by one Alec Sabin, is the spitting (mental) image of the character as described in the book. A quiet, diminutive killer.

    All of the acting is first rate but the actors are often a far cry from the physical descriptions in the books. Beryl Reid is wonderful as Connie Sachs, though not LARGE enough. Her scene is so fore-shortened in the film script that it hardly matters anyway. The same can be said of Ian Bannen who turns in perhaps my favorite performance in the whole thing, after Guinness's Smiley. But Bannen does not fit the description of Jim Prideaux very closely. However he is fully inside the character of the poor man he's portraying that it hardly matters if his hair is the wrong color.

    The only bit of miscasting (in my opinion) was that of Michael Jayston as Peter Guillam. Jayston is too po-faced and humorless, overplaying the underlying traumatic neurosis Guillam has endured in his career. Jayston's limitations stand out slightly next to his co- horts but he's good enough to hold his own, up to a point. And he does rise to the occasion when the part demands something more substantial from his character, but Michael Byrne, the Peter Guillam in 'Smiley's People', seems much more in line with LeCarré's character from the books.

    The great disappointment of the 'Smiley' series is that the BBC balked at filming in Hong Kong, choosing instead Lisbon. It works but it would have been so much better as LeCarré originally envisioned the story. By the same token it is a great loss to our lives that they skipped 'The Honourable Schoolboy' altogether, choosing to jump ahead to 'Smiley's People'. I assume that filming in Hong Kong (primarily), Vientiene, Bangkok, Phnom Pehn and Saigon was financially too daunting. A great shame all the same, especially when they had such a fine Jerry Westerby as Joss Ackland in 'Tinker, Tailor...'

    In sum... the Smiley mini-series is a keeper to watch again and again.
    JonSturgess

    An outstanding dramatization of a brilliant book

    It is rare that an adaptation of a complex novel translates well to the small screen. Often detail is eliminated for sake of time and the plot loses aspects that are key to the real story.

    The team of John Le Carre and John Irvin has created what may go down as the benchmark for the Spy story mini series. In six hours of television they lay out piece by piece the background of each of the characters in a slow and gentle manner enabling the viewer to capture a sense of both the person and the time in which they are placed.

    Irvin permits the story to move in a 'typical English manner', with George Smiley, the principal character almost rolling along from one event to another. Alec Guinness is outstanding in this role and it seems the it was either written with him in mind or he was born for it. I suspect the later is more likely. Smiley and his quirks are key to unravelling what is a complex plot with the usual twists and turns of they spy genre.

    The casting of the rest of the players is equally superb with an ensemble performance by the who's who of the English stage. The goodies are all flawed people while the badies, many of who are within the British Secret Intelligence Service, are bad in the way that only the English can truly be to each other.

    If you enjoy Le Carre and are prepared to put in 6 hours to view the entire series you you will be richly rewarded.
    9Tom-447

    Just about as good as it gets

    Sir Alec Guinness is so good at being George Smiley that John LeCarre claims he can no longer write the character about without seeing Guinness' face. The supporting cast is uniformly excellent, and the script captures the novel almost flawlessly. It takes six hours because the story is complex and ranges over many years and many characters, but it is so well-written and acted that the any viewer with an attention span longer than that of a gnat can easily keep track of who did what and when, so that the ultimate unmasking of the traitor may be a surprise, but it is not a shock.
    rrichr

    Gerald's World

    Although more schematic than its marvelous sequel, Smiley's People, and carrying less emotional weight, the BBC adaptation of John LeCarre's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, which aired in the colonies on PBS, is still superb. As purely a suspense piece, Tinker, Tailor actually wins by a nose. Although hints are dropped throughout, and are fun to see after the initial viewing, the outcome remains up in the air until the climax. This was never quite the case in Smiley's People. There, the suspense was delivered by other means and played a lesser role in the overall plot. One requirement for really appreciating Tinker,Tailor might be having lived through at least some of the Cold War. This will allow one to read more between the lines as it is there that the story really lives and breathes. Barring that, even post-Cold War mystery fans will relate well to Tinker,Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

    As in Smiley's People, George Smiley, now and forever in the minds of most John Le Carre aficionados Sir Alec Guiness, is no longer with British Intelligence, termed by Le Carre `The Circus', although the plot periodically flashes back to times when he was still active. Smiley did not actually retire but was sacked from his post as head of personnel, despite his long and meritorious service. Smiley's dismissal had nothing to do with the performance of his duties but was the result of a manipulation of truly remarkable elegance, orchestrated by the Dracula of espionage, the Soviet spy master, Karla. The Soviets may have failed to produce a viable nation but could they ever spy. They punched so many holes in the American nuclear weapons program that it ended up looking like a screen door. In this vein, Le Carre fashioned an espionage that almost takes the breath away with its beauty and scope.

    Spying is, apparently, like playing the stock market. To profit, one must usually be in for the long term. On the eve of WW II, while still a junior intelligence officer, Karla recruited an Oxford student who eventually became one of the half-dozen senior officers in the Cold War-era Circus. Once in place, Karla's recruit, Soviet code-name Gerald, proceeded to eat the organization alive from the inside out. The head of the Circus, known only by the designation `Control' (played wonderfully by Alexander Knox) was subjected to a particularly cruel manipulation; a ploy driven by a profoundly cynical understanding of human nature. Even more sphinx-like than Smiley himself, Control had been detecting markers of Karla's intricate scheme for months and had narrowed the mole's identity to five senior officers. To stop him, Karla fashioned a set-up in the form of an offer that Control could simply not refuse. Control's necessarily unsanctioned operation to exploit the offer failed catastrophically. Of course, it never had a chance. Control, disgraced, was forced out, taking with him Smiley who, as Control's most trusted ally, was found guilty by association and also banished.

    When the dust settled, Karla had the West's two most effective intelligence services, The British, and through them, the American, working for him. Anyone who might have put the pieces together is either out or dead. The Circus is gutted but does not really know what has hit it. Control is replaced by a politcally astute but otherwise incompetent functionary whom Karla had been priming as a superstar by providing him with bogus intelligence lightly salted with just enough real value to make it stick. But when a resourceful, low-level field agent (Hywel Bennet), thought to have defected, turns up in Britain with solid evidence pointing to the existence of the mole, thereby validating Control's long-term suspicions, Smiley, the sole remanent of the old order who can be trusted, is called in to `spy on the spies'.

    Here, the incomparable, dialog-driven, Le Carre plot engine begins its juggernaut roll as Smiley goes to work. Like Smiley's People, the story proceeds as a series of superbly written and acted one-on-one encounters. Included in these is a fascinating flashback in which Karla (Patrick Stewart, yes the Jean-Luc Picard guy) and Smiley actually meet. Tinker, Tailor doesn't wear its heart as much on its sleeve as does Smiley's People and has an almost clinical quality, at least on the surface. Once Smiley understands that the mole is real, he seems to know that he will eventually unmask him. Smiley simply connects the dots, moving ahead like a snowplow. The beauty resides in his meticulous process. For Smiley, the truth is absolutely out there, just out of sequence. The acting, set against the production's shadowy, gray-scale backgrounds, is flawless. The two tragic figures, Control, and the agent Jim Prideaux, the other pawn in Karla's game (Ian Bannen; his final role was the leprous Scottish nobleman in Braveheart) are especially good and provide this very cool production with its beating heart. Tinker, Tailor is not a Whodunit but rather a Whoisit; a classic mystery with the added cachet of espionage and is one of the very best things to have ever appeared on television. It's bloody good stuff, old chap, like the best single-malt you ever sipped.
    10henry-girling

    Masterpiece

    The book by John Le Carre is intricate and multi layered and to attempt to film it was brave of the BBC. One wishes they had such courage these days, but that is another story. It is a television masterpiece.

    The acting is superb. Alec Guinness was made for the part of George Smiley. From his opening scene in a London bookshop to the last shot of his face he is mesmerising. The supporting cast are the cream of British actors at the time. Some of them only have one scene like John Standing, Beryl Reid, Joss Ackland and Nigel Stock but they become real people before your eyes. Ian Bannen as Jim Prideaux is particularly moving and Hewyl Bennett gives the performance of his life.Even the actors who don't say anything look just right.

    It is plainly filmed but that adds to the atmosphere. On the face of it life is normal and ordinary but beneath there is betrayal, anguish, danger and pain. The motif of Russian dolls in the opening credits is good. Dolls with faces, then one without and then an emptiness. In the end Smiley solves the mystery but the mystery of life is beyond him.

    The music is great,sparse but edgy. I can watch this time and again and still get something out of it.

    More like this

    Smiley's People
    8.5
    Smiley's People
    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
    7.0
    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
    The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
    7.5
    The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
    A Perfect Spy
    7.3
    A Perfect Spy
    Smiley's People
    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Deleted Scenes
    7.7
    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Deleted Scenes
    7.8
    Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
    A Murder of Quality
    6.3
    A Murder of Quality
    An Evening with George Smiley
    7.3
    An Evening with George Smiley
    To Play the King
    8.3
    To Play the King
    The Final Cut
    8.0
    The Final Cut
    House of Cards
    8.5
    House of Cards

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      John le Carré was so impressed by Alec Guinness's performance as George Smiley that, in later novels, he wrote Smiley's characterization to be in keeping with Guinness' performance.
    • Quotes

      Roy Bland: It isn't ordinary flight information, Peter. The source is very private.

      Toby Esterhase: Ultra, ultra sensitive in fact.

      Peter Guillam: In that case, Toby, I'll try and keep my mouth ultra, ultra shut.

      [Bill Haydon chuckles]

    • Crazy credits
      The opening titles show a set of Russian matryoshka dolls. One doll opens up to reveal a doll more irate than the other one, and the final doll is seen as being faceless. This was inspired by a line at the end of the "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" novel describing the mole: "Smiley settled on a picture of one of those little Russian dolls that open up to reveal one inside the other, and another inside him. Of all men living, only Karla had seen the last little doll inside..."
    • Alternate versions
      The American DVD edition is a syndicated edit comprised of six episodes instead of seven.
    • Connections
      Featured in The 33rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1981)
    • Soundtracks
      Nunc Dimittis
      Composed by Geoffrey Burgon

      Sung by Paul Phoenix and the Boys of the St Paul's Cathedral Choir

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ16

    • How many seasons does Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy have?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 29, 1980 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Languages
      • English
      • Czech
      • Russian
    • Also known as
      • Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
    • Filming locations
      • Bywater Street, Chelsea, London, England, UK(Smiley's house)
    • Production companies
      • British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
      • Paramount Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      45 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Alec Guinness, Ian Richardson, Bernard Hepton, and Terence Rigby in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979)
    Top Gap
    What is the Hindi language plot outline for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979)?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit pageAdd episode

    More to explore

    Production art
    Photos
    The Hottest Stars on IMDb
    See the gallery
    Production art
    Photos
    Streaming Stars, Then and Now
    See the gallery
    Production art
    Photos
    LGBTQIA+ Icons and Allies
    See the gallery

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb app
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb app
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb app
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.