Eye of the Needle (film)
Encyclopedia
Eye of the Needle is a 1981 film
directed by Richard Marquand
, based on the novel of the same title
by Ken Follett
, and starring Donald Sutherland
. The Storm Island scenes were shot over eight weeks on the Isle of Mull
in the Inner Hebrides
.
bearing critical information on Allied
invasion plans that he must deliver personally to the Führer. He's so named because of his preferred method of assassination, the stiletto. He is a coldly calculating psychopath, emotionlessly focused on the task at hand, whether the task is to signal a U-boat
or to gut a witness to avoid exposure.
On his way back to Germany
, a fierce storm strands him on Storm Island, occupied only by a woman named Lucy (Kate Nelligan
), her disabled husband, their son, and their shepherd, Tom. A romance develops between the woman and the spy, due to an estrangement of affections between Lucy her husband, whose accident has rendered him emotionally crippled as well.
The love affair suggests there's a sympathetic personality buried somewhere inside the Nazi spy, though he remains enigmatic. Early on, we discover that he may not enjoy the hand life has dealt him. When a courier asks him about the way he lives, and "What else can one do?" the Needle answers, "One can just stop."
Lucy realizes that her lover has been lying after she discovers her husband's dead body. "The Needle" must get to Tom's radio in time to report to his superiors the exact location of the D-Day invasion. Lucy is the Allies' last chance. He is reluctant to harm her, but she has no such qualms and shoots him as he tries to escape in a boat.
1981 in film
-Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....
directed by Richard Marquand
Richard Marquand
Richard Marquand was a Welsh film director best known for directing the 1983 blockbuster Star Wars film, Return of the Jedi.-Early life:...
, based on the novel of the same title
Eye of the Needle
Eye of the Needle is a spy thriller novel written by British author Ken Follett. It was originally published in 1978 by the Penguin Group titled Storm Island. This novel was Follett's first successful, bestselling effort as a novelist, and it earned him the 1979 Edgar Award for Best Novel from the...
by Ken Follett
Ken Follett
Ken Follett is a Welsh author of thrillers and historical novels. He has sold more than 100 million copies of his works. Four of his books have reached the number 1 ranking on the New York Times best-seller list: The Key to Rebecca, Lie Down with Lions, Triple, and World Without End.-Early...
, and starring Donald Sutherland
Donald Sutherland
Donald McNichol Sutherland, OC is a Canadian actor with a film career spanning nearly 50 years. Some of Sutherland's more notable movie roles included offbeat warriors in such war movies as The Dirty Dozen, , MASH , and Kelly's Heroes , as well as in such popular films as Klute, Invasion of the...
. The Storm Island scenes were shot over eight weeks on the Isle of Mull
Isle of Mull
The Isle of Mull or simply Mull is the second largest island of the Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland in the council area of Argyll and Bute....
in the Inner Hebrides
Inner Hebrides
The Inner Hebrides is an archipelago off the west coast of Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, which enjoy a mild oceanic climate. There are 36 inhabited islands and a further 43 uninhabited Inner Hebrides with an area greater than...
.
Plot
A man calling himself Henry Faber is actually "the Needle," a German spy in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
bearing critical information on Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
invasion plans that he must deliver personally to the Führer. He's so named because of his preferred method of assassination, the stiletto. He is a coldly calculating psychopath, emotionlessly focused on the task at hand, whether the task is to signal a U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
or to gut a witness to avoid exposure.
On his way back to Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, a fierce storm strands him on Storm Island, occupied only by a woman named Lucy (Kate Nelligan
Kate Nelligan
Patricia Colleen "Kate" Nelligan is a Canadian BAFTA award winning stage, film and television actress.-Early life:Nelligan, the fourth of six children, was born in London, Ontario, the daughter of Josephine Alice , a schoolteacher, and Patrick Joseph Nelligan, a factory repairman and municipal...
), her disabled husband, their son, and their shepherd, Tom. A romance develops between the woman and the spy, due to an estrangement of affections between Lucy her husband, whose accident has rendered him emotionally crippled as well.
The love affair suggests there's a sympathetic personality buried somewhere inside the Nazi spy, though he remains enigmatic. Early on, we discover that he may not enjoy the hand life has dealt him. When a courier asks him about the way he lives, and "What else can one do?" the Needle answers, "One can just stop."
Lucy realizes that her lover has been lying after she discovers her husband's dead body. "The Needle" must get to Tom's radio in time to report to his superiors the exact location of the D-Day invasion. Lucy is the Allies' last chance. He is reluctant to harm her, but she has no such qualms and shoots him as he tries to escape in a boat.
Cast
- Donald SutherlandDonald SutherlandDonald McNichol Sutherland, OC is a Canadian actor with a film career spanning nearly 50 years. Some of Sutherland's more notable movie roles included offbeat warriors in such war movies as The Dirty Dozen, , MASH , and Kelly's Heroes , as well as in such popular films as Klute, Invasion of the...
as Henry Faber - Kate NelliganKate NelliganPatricia Colleen "Kate" Nelligan is a Canadian BAFTA award winning stage, film and television actress.-Early life:Nelligan, the fourth of six children, was born in London, Ontario, the daughter of Josephine Alice , a schoolteacher, and Patrick Joseph Nelligan, a factory repairman and municipal...
as Lucy Rose - Stephen MacKennaStephen MacKenna (actor)Stephen MacKenna is an English actor.-Biography:He played the role of John Lennon on the film Birth of The Beatles directed by Richard Marquand. He also worked on another Marquand's film, Eye of the Needle...
as Lieutenant - Christopher CazenoveChristopher CazenoveChristopher Cazenove was an English cinema, television and stage actor.-Early life and career:He was born Christopher de Lerisson Cazenove, the son of Arnold de Lerisson Cazenove and Elizabeth Laura in Winchester, Hampshire, but was brought up in Bowlish, Somerset...
as David Rose - Philip Martin BrownPhilip Martin BrownPhilip Martin Brown is an English actor, born in Manchester. He has starred in many TV shows and movies in a career that has spanned nearly four decades...
as Billy Parkin - George Belbin as Lucy's Father
- Faith BrookFaith BrookFaith Brook is an English actress who has appeared on stage, in films and on television.Her father was the actor Clive Brook, and her brother Lyndon Brook was also an actor. Her first credited film appearance was The Jungle Book in 1942...
as Lucy's Mother - Barbara Graley as David's Mother
- George Lee as Constable
- Arthur Lovegrove as Peterson
- Colin RixColin Rix-Selected filmography:* Strongroom * Panic * The Body Stealers * The Triple Echo * Aces High * The Medusa Touch * Porridge * Eye of the Needle * Dance with a Stranger...
as Oliphant - Barbara EwingBarbara EwingBarbara Ewing is a UK-based actress, playwright and novelist. Born in New Zealand, she graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with a BA in English and Maori before coming to Britain in 1965 to train as an actress at RADA in London.She made her film debut in the horror film Torture...
as Mrs. Garden - Patrick Connor as Inspector Harris
- David HaymanDavid HaymanDavid Hayman is a Scottish film and television actor and director, best known for his role as DCS Mike Walker in ITV drama Trial and Retribution. He also a prominent supporter of the SNP's call for Scottish independence....
as Canter - Ian BannenIan BannenIan Bannen was a Scottish character actor and occasional leading man.-Early life and career:Bannen was born in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, the son of Clare and John James Bannen, a lawyer. Bannen served in the British Army after attending St Aloysius' College, Glasgow and Ratcliffe College,...
as Inspector Godliman - John BennettJohn Bennett (actor)John Bennett was an English actor. Born in Beckenham, Kent, he was educated at Bradfield College in Berkshire, then trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, followed by a wide Rep experience including Bromley, Bristol Old Vic, Dundee, Edinburgh Festival and Watford before going to...
as Kleinmann - Sam KyddSam KyddSam Kydd was an Ulster-born English actor. An army officer's son, he was born in Belfast, but moved to London, England when he was a child. He was educated at Dunstable Grammar School in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England....
as Lock Keeper - John PaulJohn Paul (actor)John Paul was a British actor.He is best known for his television roles, particularly as Dr Spencer Quist in Doomwatch and Marcus Agrippa in I, Claudius , both for BBC Television....
as Home Guard Captain - Bill NighyBill NighyWilliam Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
as Squadron Leader Blenkinsop - Jonathan and Nicholas Haley (twins) as Joe (David and Lucy's son)