The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (film)
Award Category Nominee Result
Academy Awards , 1966 Best Actor Richard Burton Nominated
Academy Awards , 1966 Best Art Direction Hal Pereira , Tambi Larsen , Ted Marshall , Josie MacAvin Nominated
BAFTA Awards , 1966 Best British Actor Richard Burton Won
BAFTA Awards , 1966 Best British Art Direction Tambi Larsen Won
BAFTA Awards , 1966 Best British Cinematography Oswald Morris Won
BAFTA Awards , 1966 Best British Film Martin Ritt Won
BAFTA Awards , 1966 Best Film from any Source Martin Ritt Nominated
BAFTA Awards , 1966 Best Foreign Actor Oskar Werner Nominated
British Society of Cinematographers , 1966 Best Cinematography Award Oswald Morris Won
David di Donatello Awards , 1966 Best Foreign Actor Richard Burton Won
Edgar Allan Poe Awards , 1966 Best Motion Picture Paul Dehn , Guy Trosper Won
Golden Globe Awards , 1966 Best Supporting Actor Oskar Werner Won
Laurel Awards , 1966 Dramatic Performance , Male Richard Burton Won
National Board of Review , 1966 Top Ten Film Won
Writers Guild of America Awards , 1966 Best Written American Drama Paul Dehn , Guy Trosper Nominated
Awards and nominations
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold is a 1965 British Cold War spy film directed by Martin Ritt and starring Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, and Oskar Werner. Based on the 1963 John le Carré novel of the same name, the film depicts British agent Alec Leamas' mission as a faux defector to East Germany who is tasked with sowing damaging disinformation about a powerful East German intelligence officer. As part of a charade, Leamas pretends to quit British intelligence and live as an embittered alcoholic. He allows himself to be recruited by East German agents in England and is taken to continental Europe to sell his secrets for money. His mission seems almost complete when his charade crumbles and he is revealed to still be working for British intelligence, a revelation that achieves the real objectives of the mission, much to his surprise. The Spy Who Came In from the Cold was a box-office success, receiving positive reviews, and several awards, including four BAFTA Awards for Best British Film, Best Actor, Best Cinematography, and Best Art Direction. For his performance, Richard Burton received the David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actor, the Golden Laurel Award, and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role. The film was named one of the top ten films of 1966 by the National Board of Review in the United States. The screenplay was written by Paul Dehn and Guy Trosper.