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Funeral in Berlin (film)
Encyclopedia
Funeral in Berlin is a 1966 British spy film based on the novel Funeral in Berlin
by Len Deighton
. It is the second of three 1960s films starring Michael Caine
that followed the characters from the initial film, The Ipcress File
(1965). The third film, made in 1967 was Billion Dollar Brain
.
Caine would reprise the role of Harry Palmer three decades later for Bullet to Beijing
and Midnight in Saint Petersburg
.
in the 1960s is a city divided between Cold War
lines with inhabitants of the Communist East
trying to escape to the West
. Even with the infamous Berlin Wall
these escapes are common and successful.
Colonel Stok (Oskar Homolka), the head of intelligence in the Soviet Union
's Berlin section and the one responsible for preventing escapes over the Wall, contacts British Intelligence
and informs them that he wants to defect to the West. Secret agent Harry Palmer
(Michael Caine
) is sent to West Berlin to find out if Stok's offer is genuine and arrange his escape. Palmer was once involved in black market dealings in Berlin and was given the choice of joining British Intelligence or going to jail. Returning to the city, he is re-united with his old associate, German national Johnny Vulkan (Paul Hubschmid
), who also works for Palmer's superior Colonel Ross (Guy Doleman
).
Vulkan arranges for Palmer to go to East Berlin
to meet Colonel Stok. In exchange for his co-operation with the British, Stok requests a meagre stipend, a house in the country and his escape must be carried out by Kreutzmann (Günter Meisner
), a Berlin gangster responsible for the most successful escapes. Stok claims that Kreutzmann's escapes have lead his department to be investigated and that he must get out before things turn nasty.
Returning to West Berlin, Palmer is picked up by a beautiful young woman called Samantha Steel (Eva Renzi
), who invites him to a party but instead takes him to her flat for drinks, dinner and presumably more as Palmer is next seen leaving her place in the morning. Not taken in by Samantha's charms, Palmer hires a burglar to search her apartment to figure out who she really is. The thief discovers a number of passports of various nationalities under different variations of her name and a little black book in her safe which lists names of men next to million-dollar figures. Returning to his hotel room, Palmer finds that it too has been ransacked.
Palmer negotiates an arrangement with Kreutzmann without revealing the details of the one whom the British want to get across the Wall. As part of his payment, Kreutzmann demands a set of travel documents but refuses to say why.
Palmer tests Stok in order to determine how sincere he is about defecting. The test seems conclusive and Palmer returns to London. From Hallam (Hugh Burden
), the documents manager back at MI5
, Palmer receives documents in the name of Paul Louis Broum. As he places the envelope in his briefcase for return to Berlin, he notices the same name on a photograph of the pages of Samantha's little black book, with next to it the figure of $2,000,000 (a very large sum at the time).
Palmer returns to Samantha and makes a point of letting her see the envelope with Broum's name. Dropping all pretence, she admits that she is an Israel
i agent
. Broum is a Nazi war criminal who stole millions from the Jews during the war and hid it in a Swiss bank
account. The Israelis need the papers in order to reclaim the money. Although she threatens to kill him, Palmer refuses to give her the documents since he needs them to pay Kreutzmann.
Kreutzmann and his men murder an elderly East Berliner whose body is claimed by a relative in the West — actually a woman employed by Kreutzmann. A body transfer is arranged but as the hearse makes its way from the morgue to the checkpoint, it is hijacked by Kreutzmann's men and replaced with another which contains a different coffin.
The coffin is taken to West Berlin and delivered to an abandoned warehouse where Palmer and his associate Vulkan are waiting. But when the coffin in opened it is found to contain the dead body of Kreutzmann! Stok's whole defection was simply a bluff to lure Kreutzmann out and put an end to the escapes he so brilliantly organised. Although well informed, he and his men never knew in advance that Stok was the intended client.
Before Palmer can get away from Kreutzmann's outraged accomplices, he is knocked unconscious by Vulkan who gets hold of the Broum documents only to be held up by Samantha and two other Israeli agents who take away the papers.
Vulkan tells Palmer that he was knocked out by another of Kreutzmann's men. They then go to a safe house where they report on the fiasco surrounding Stok's so-called defection. Palmer tells his boss, Colonel Ross, about the Broum documents. Ross was unaware that they were being used as part of the deal with Kreutzmann. He then reveals to Palmer that towards the end of World War II
, Paul Louis Broum, a guard at a concentration camp
, murdered a resistance fighter called Johnny Vulkan and assumed his identity. Ross got hold of the documents and used them to blackmail Broum into working for him.
Now that the documents are missing, Ross has nothing with which to keep a hold on Broum/Vulkan and cannot risk him defecting. He therefore orders Palmer to kill Broum. Palmer won't kill anyone in cold blood and allows Broum/Vulkan to get away.
Back in West Berlin, Palmer meets Stok who is over for a routine meeting with his Western counterparts. The affable Russian confirms that his supposed defection was just a trap to get rid of Kreutzmann. He and Palmer even joke about the latter himself defecting to the East; Stok advises: "If you need to get out in a hurry, ask Vulkan. He knows the way."
Meanwhile, Broum/Vulkan goes to Samantha's flat, murders an Israeli agent and gets the documents back. He then meets Hallam, the Intelligence official who gave Palmer the Broum documents in London. However, the documents that they now have are in fact forgeries made by one of Palmer's underworld Berlin contacts. Hallam goes to Palmer, saying that he has been sent by Ross to get the real documents back. Palmer never believed Hallam's claim that he selected the Broum documents at random and forces him to admit that he is in league with Broum: with Kreutzmann's co-operation, they took advantage of the situation to get the documents out of London and now intend to use them in order to claim the Nazi loot that Broum deposited in the Swiss banks.
Palmer and Hallam go to a quiet part of the Berlin wall through which Broum and Hallam intend to slip into the East and thus to Switzerland, but Broum kills Hallam and makes away with the documents. However he is subsequently killed by the Israeli agents who were tailing Palmer. Palmer lets them take the genuine Broum documents.
When Vulkan's body is discovered, Ross is satisfied that he will just be another martyr shot while escaping to the West. Palmer however turns down Ross's offer of a bonus for his work and leaves.
By the time of the next film, Billion Dollar Brain
, Palmer has resigned from British Intelligence.
Funeral in Berlin
Funeral in Berlin is a spy novel by Len Deighton.- Plot :The protagonist, who is unnamed, travels to Berlin to arrange the defection of a Soviet scientist named Semitsa, this being brokered by Johnny Vulkan of the Berlin intelligence community...
by Len Deighton
Len Deighton
Leonard Cyril Deighton is a British military historian, cookery writer, and novelist. He is perhaps most famous for his spy novel The IPCRESS File, which was made into a film starring Michael Caine....
. It is the second of three 1960s films starring Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
that followed the characters from the initial film, The Ipcress File
The Ipcress File (film)
The Ipcress File is a 1965 British espionage film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Michael Caine, Guy Doleman, and Nigel Green. The screenplay by Bill Canaway and James Doran was based on Len Deighton's 1962 novel, The IPCRESS File. It has won critical acclaim and a BAFTA award for best...
(1965). The third film, made in 1967 was Billion Dollar Brain
Billion Dollar Brain
Billion Dollar Brain is a 1967 British espionage film directed by Ken Russell and based on the novel Billion-Dollar Brain by Len Deighton. The film features Michael Caine as secret agent Harry Palmer, the anti-hero protagonist of the film versions of The IPCRESS File and Funeral in Berlin...
.
Caine would reprise the role of Harry Palmer three decades later for Bullet to Beijing
Bullet to Beijing
Bullet to Beijing is a 1995 made-for-television film that continues the adventures of the fictional spy Harry Palmer, who appeared in the 1960s films The Ipcress File, Funeral in Berlin, and Billion Dollar Brain, based on books by author Len Deighton...
and Midnight in Saint Petersburg
Midnight in Saint Petersburg
Midnight in Saint Petersburg is a 1996 thriller film starring Michael Caine for the fifth time as British secret agent Harry Palmer.It served as semi-sequel to Bullet to Beijing which had been released the year before, the two films having been shot back-to-back...
.
Plot
BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in the 1960s is a city divided between Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
lines with inhabitants of the Communist East
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
trying to escape to the West
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
. Even with the infamous Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
these escapes are common and successful.
Colonel Stok (Oskar Homolka), the head of intelligence in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
's Berlin section and the one responsible for preventing escapes over the Wall, contacts British Intelligence
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
and informs them that he wants to defect to the West. Secret agent Harry Palmer
Harry Palmer
Harry Palmer is the name of the protagonist of a number of films based on the main character from the spy novels written by Len Deighton. Michael Caine played Harry Palmer in the films based on three of the first four of the published novels featuring this character, and also later in two films not...
(Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
) is sent to West Berlin to find out if Stok's offer is genuine and arrange his escape. Palmer was once involved in black market dealings in Berlin and was given the choice of joining British Intelligence or going to jail. Returning to the city, he is re-united with his old associate, German national Johnny Vulkan (Paul Hubschmid
Paul Hubschmid
Paul Hubschmid was a Swiss actor. He appeared as Henry Higgins in a production of My Fair Lady. In some Hollywood films he used the name Paul Christian...
), who also works for Palmer's superior Colonel Ross (Guy Doleman
Guy Doleman
Guy Doleman was a New Zealand actor.He is perhaps best known for his role as "Count Lippe" in the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball, and as "Colonel Ross" in the three film adaptations of Len Deighton's "Harry Palmer" novels, starring Michael Caine, in the 1960s...
).
Vulkan arranges for Palmer to go to East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
to meet Colonel Stok. In exchange for his co-operation with the British, Stok requests a meagre stipend, a house in the country and his escape must be carried out by Kreutzmann (Günter Meisner
Günter Meisner
Günter Meisner was a German actor. He is best remembered for his several cinematic portrayals of Adolf Hitler....
), a Berlin gangster responsible for the most successful escapes. Stok claims that Kreutzmann's escapes have lead his department to be investigated and that he must get out before things turn nasty.
Returning to West Berlin, Palmer is picked up by a beautiful young woman called Samantha Steel (Eva Renzi
Eva Renzi
Eva Renzi was a German actress and the mother of Anouschka Renzi. Her father was from Denmark and her mother was French...
), who invites him to a party but instead takes him to her flat for drinks, dinner and presumably more as Palmer is next seen leaving her place in the morning. Not taken in by Samantha's charms, Palmer hires a burglar to search her apartment to figure out who she really is. The thief discovers a number of passports of various nationalities under different variations of her name and a little black book in her safe which lists names of men next to million-dollar figures. Returning to his hotel room, Palmer finds that it too has been ransacked.
Palmer negotiates an arrangement with Kreutzmann without revealing the details of the one whom the British want to get across the Wall. As part of his payment, Kreutzmann demands a set of travel documents but refuses to say why.
Palmer tests Stok in order to determine how sincere he is about defecting. The test seems conclusive and Palmer returns to London. From Hallam (Hugh Burden
Hugh Burden
Hugh Burden was an English actor and playwright.He was the son of a colonial official and was educated at Beaumont College and trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and RADA...
), the documents manager back at MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
, Palmer receives documents in the name of Paul Louis Broum. As he places the envelope in his briefcase for return to Berlin, he notices the same name on a photograph of the pages of Samantha's little black book, with next to it the figure of $2,000,000 (a very large sum at the time).
Palmer returns to Samantha and makes a point of letting her see the envelope with Broum's name. Dropping all pretence, she admits that she is an Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i agent
Mossad
The Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
. Broum is a Nazi war criminal who stole millions from the Jews during the war and hid it in a Swiss bank
Banking in Switzerland
All banks in Switzerland are regulated by Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority , which derives its authority from a series of federal statutes...
account. The Israelis need the papers in order to reclaim the money. Although she threatens to kill him, Palmer refuses to give her the documents since he needs them to pay Kreutzmann.
Kreutzmann and his men murder an elderly East Berliner whose body is claimed by a relative in the West — actually a woman employed by Kreutzmann. A body transfer is arranged but as the hearse makes its way from the morgue to the checkpoint, it is hijacked by Kreutzmann's men and replaced with another which contains a different coffin.
The coffin is taken to West Berlin and delivered to an abandoned warehouse where Palmer and his associate Vulkan are waiting. But when the coffin in opened it is found to contain the dead body of Kreutzmann! Stok's whole defection was simply a bluff to lure Kreutzmann out and put an end to the escapes he so brilliantly organised. Although well informed, he and his men never knew in advance that Stok was the intended client.
Before Palmer can get away from Kreutzmann's outraged accomplices, he is knocked unconscious by Vulkan who gets hold of the Broum documents only to be held up by Samantha and two other Israeli agents who take away the papers.
Vulkan tells Palmer that he was knocked out by another of Kreutzmann's men. They then go to a safe house where they report on the fiasco surrounding Stok's so-called defection. Palmer tells his boss, Colonel Ross, about the Broum documents. Ross was unaware that they were being used as part of the deal with Kreutzmann. He then reveals to Palmer that towards the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Paul Louis Broum, a guard at a concentration camp
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
, murdered a resistance fighter called Johnny Vulkan and assumed his identity. Ross got hold of the documents and used them to blackmail Broum into working for him.
Now that the documents are missing, Ross has nothing with which to keep a hold on Broum/Vulkan and cannot risk him defecting. He therefore orders Palmer to kill Broum. Palmer won't kill anyone in cold blood and allows Broum/Vulkan to get away.
Back in West Berlin, Palmer meets Stok who is over for a routine meeting with his Western counterparts. The affable Russian confirms that his supposed defection was just a trap to get rid of Kreutzmann. He and Palmer even joke about the latter himself defecting to the East; Stok advises: "If you need to get out in a hurry, ask Vulkan. He knows the way."
Meanwhile, Broum/Vulkan goes to Samantha's flat, murders an Israeli agent and gets the documents back. He then meets Hallam, the Intelligence official who gave Palmer the Broum documents in London. However, the documents that they now have are in fact forgeries made by one of Palmer's underworld Berlin contacts. Hallam goes to Palmer, saying that he has been sent by Ross to get the real documents back. Palmer never believed Hallam's claim that he selected the Broum documents at random and forces him to admit that he is in league with Broum: with Kreutzmann's co-operation, they took advantage of the situation to get the documents out of London and now intend to use them in order to claim the Nazi loot that Broum deposited in the Swiss banks.
Palmer and Hallam go to a quiet part of the Berlin wall through which Broum and Hallam intend to slip into the East and thus to Switzerland, but Broum kills Hallam and makes away with the documents. However he is subsequently killed by the Israeli agents who were tailing Palmer. Palmer lets them take the genuine Broum documents.
When Vulkan's body is discovered, Ross is satisfied that he will just be another martyr shot while escaping to the West. Palmer however turns down Ross's offer of a bonus for his work and leaves.
By the time of the next film, Billion Dollar Brain
Billion Dollar Brain
Billion Dollar Brain is a 1967 British espionage film directed by Ken Russell and based on the novel Billion-Dollar Brain by Len Deighton. The film features Michael Caine as secret agent Harry Palmer, the anti-hero protagonist of the film versions of The IPCRESS File and Funeral in Berlin...
, Palmer has resigned from British Intelligence.
Cast
- Michael CaineMichael CaineSir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
as Harry PalmerHarry PalmerHarry Palmer is the name of the protagonist of a number of films based on the main character from the spy novels written by Len Deighton. Michael Caine played Harry Palmer in the films based on three of the first four of the published novels featuring this character, and also later in two films not... - Paul HubschmidPaul HubschmidPaul Hubschmid was a Swiss actor. He appeared as Henry Higgins in a production of My Fair Lady. In some Hollywood films he used the name Paul Christian...
as Johnny Vulkan - Oskar Homolka as Colonel Stok
- Eva RenziEva RenziEva Renzi was a German actress and the mother of Anouschka Renzi. Her father was from Denmark and her mother was French...
as Samantha Steel. The role was originally assigned to Anjanette ComerAnjanette ComerAnjanette Comer is an American actress.Born in Dawson, Texas to Rufus Franklin and Nola Comer, her first major television credit was a guest appearance in a 1963 episode of Gunsmoke, followed by roles in several other dramatic series of the 1960s, such as Dr. Kildare and Bonanza...
, but she had to be replaced due to illness. Renzi's voice is not heard in the film, as her part is dubbed. - Guy DolemanGuy DolemanGuy Doleman was a New Zealand actor.He is perhaps best known for his role as "Count Lippe" in the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball, and as "Colonel Ross" in the three film adaptations of Len Deighton's "Harry Palmer" novels, starring Michael Caine, in the 1960s...
as Colonel RossColonel RossColonel Ross is a fictional character in the Harry Palmer series of novels by Len Deighton and the film adaptations of the books where he was portrayed by New Zealand actor Guy Doleman. A senior officer in British military intelligence Ross oversees a department whose activities are similar to... - Hugh BurdenHugh BurdenHugh Burden was an English actor and playwright.He was the son of a colonial official and was educated at Beaumont College and trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and RADA...
as Hallam - Heinz SchubertHeinz Schubert (actor)Heinz Schubert was a German actor, drama teacher and photographer, best known for playing the role of Alfred Tetzlaff in the German television comedy sitcom Ein Herz und eine Seele.- Life :...
as Aaron Levine - Wolfgang Völz as Werner
- Thomas Holtzmann as Reinhardt
- Günter MeisnerGünter MeisnerGünter Meisner was a German actor. He is best remembered for his several cinematic portrayals of Adolf Hitler....
as Kreutzman - Herbert FuxHerbert FuxHerbert Fux was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in over 140 films between 1960 and 2007.He was born in Hallein, Austria and he died with the help of the Swiss euthanasia group Dignitas in Zürich, Switzerland....
as Artur - Rainer BrandtRainer BrandtRainer Brandt is a German film actor. He appeared in 40 films between 1959 and 1986. He was born in Berlin, Germany.- The Persuaders! :...
as Benjamin - Rachel GurneyRachel GurneyRachel Gurney was an English actress. She began her career in the theatre towards the end of World War II and then expanded into television and film in the 1950s. She remained active mostly in television and theatre work through the early 1990s...
as Mrs. Ross - John AbineriJohn AbineriJohn Abineri was an English actor.Born in London, he attended the Old Vic drama school and described himself as "Well educated from the age of five to eighteen"...
as Otto Rukel - David Glover as Chico