The Limbo Line

The Limbo Line
Directed bySamuel Gallu
Written byDonald James
Based onThe Limbo Line
by Victor Canning
Produced byFrank Bevis
William J. Gell
StarringCraig Stevens
Kate O'Mara
Eugene Deckers
CinematographyJohn Wilcox
Edited byPeter Weatherley
Music byJohnnie Spence
Production
companies
Trio Films
London Independent Producers
Distributed byLondon Independent Producers
Release date
  • 10 December 1968 (1968-12-10)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Limbo Line is a 1968 British spy thriller film directed by Samuel Gallu and starring Craig Stevens, Kate O'Mara and Eugene Deckers.[1][2] It is based on the 1963 novel of the same title by Victor Canning. It was made as part of a 1960s boom in spy films in the wake of the success of the James Bond series.

Plot

Through a network known as the "Limbo Line", the KGB is kidnapping figures who have recently defected to the West and returning them to the Soviet Union for punishment. A British intelligence agent identifies the ballerina Irina Tovskia as the next victim, and sets out to rescue her in a mission that takes him from London, to Amsterdam and finally to Lübeck on the East German border. He is able to destroy the Limbo Line, but not prevent Irina being taken to Moscow.

Production

It was shot at Pinewood Studios with sets designed by the art director Scott MacGregor.

Reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Naively propagandist espionage thriller. Hackneyed dialogue, feeble direction and ludicrous histrionics from most of the cast give the impression of something left over from the worst days of the Cold War."[3]

The Times called it old-fashioned.[4]

The Morning Star reviewed it as "disastrously incompetent".[5]

Cast

References

  1. ^ "The Limbo Line". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  2. ^ Burton p.21
  3. ^ "The Limbo Line". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 36 (420): 34. 1 January 1969. ProQuest 1305824721 – via ProQuest.
  4. ^ Burton p.21
  5. ^ Burton p.22

Bibliography

  • Burton, Alan. Looking-Glass Wars: Spies on British Screens since 1960. Vernon Press, 2018.