Original subtitles

Do you remember The Admiral's Glass?

The Admiral's what?

Glass.

By Southwark Bridge.

I think that's well and truly out now, Kim.

'I don't think I know any pubs in Southwark.'

'You remember this one.'

SIREN

What's that?

MURMURING

I want fucking witnesses.

To what? Open the fucking door.

Kim, don't be ridiculous. Open the door!

Open it yourself. It isn't locked.

You can't seriously believe they've come here for you?

I don't know what to fucking well believe right now.

MEN CHATTER

'Be honest, Nick...

'..did you or did you not come to Beirut as my friend?'

'Well, I'll tell you this much -

'MI5 were champing at the bit to send their first 11 out here, '

until C intervened with the Minister

and insisted that this was still technically an intelligence matter

as opposed to a security one, because you are, after all,

An SIS man for whom there may still be a path to redemption.

CRYING

Poor dear. Yeah.

I mean you.

Have you finished buggering about yet?

One more thing, what you're accusing me of...

That's new. What?

'You're wearing a wedding ring now?'

'It's what you get when you marry an American.'

SHE LAUGHS

Treason.

That's what I'm accusing you of.

To be clear.

Speaking of America, what have they been told?

Nothing.

'Yet. Which is why the sooner you tell me everything,

'the sooner we can take care of them...'

..and any others that might be out there.

Others? Well, you must've thought about

what the Russians might try to do to you

if they ever find out you're blown.

So... CLEARS THROAT

..in that regard, yes,

I suppose you could say that I came to Beirut as your friend.

'The Admiral's what?' 'Glass.

'By Southwark Bridge.'

Any more tea in the...

'I think that's well and truly out now, Kim.'

'I don't think I know any pubs in Southwark.'

Bloody hell, look at you. Freezing to death!

Boots!

Ooh!

Pay the toll.

More, please.

SHE LAUGHS

I like your carrots. What?

I know that face.

I mean it!

They are very impressive carrots,

not what you'd expect to see in a London back garden.

Nearly finished. Take your time.

I'll just be a minute.

'Speaking of America, what have they been told?'

'Nothing. Yet. Which is why the sooner you tell me everything,

'the sooner we can take care of them,

'and any others that might be out there.'

Ciao, ragazzi!

CHEERING

Those poor bloody foxes. It's a mink, che cazzo!

Hundred percent mink.

IN COCKNEY ACCENT: Cheeky bastard!

Cuppa tea and a bacon and egg roll for young Nicholas, please, love.

Ooh, I like-a the look of your salami.

Whole or sliced, sir? All together now:

What do I look-a like, a fucking money box?

LAUGHING

Morning, gents. Morning. Morning.

PHONE RINGS

Thirty four and a half hours of two spies

Talking rings around each other.

Elliott, though, was in Beirut for four days - 96 hours,

so that's 60...

..one and a half.

Let's call it 62 hours we know sweet FA about.

Explain to me cricket.

Nobody wins. What is point?

England against Australia.

Oh, it's a draw!

That's good? It could have been worse.

We leave in 30 minutes.

So, for example, on the last night he was there, believe it or not,

he went for dinner at Philby's flat on Rue what-ya-ma-call-it...

Kantari. Er, and...

SIS expect us... KNOCK

..to believe that they talked about, what, the weather?

More likely cricket.

Cricket. Right.

Make your point, Mrs Thomas.

Philby's life was on the line, as was the meaning of Elliott's,

not to mention the reputation of the Intelligence Service,

so I, for one, find it very hard to believe

that he'd come back from Beirut empty-handed.

Based on what?

His entire career.

He was supposed to come back with Philby.

Maybe... he came back with something better.

From Philby? Such as?

I dunno yet. Ah.

But I do know we won't find an answer to that

in an interrogation room.

Very sure of yourself, aren't you, Mrs Thomas?

Is that a problem?

I believe that under that posh, jovial exterior

is a man fighting for his life, which is his career.

So I suggest that we take him off the lead,

watch where he goes, what he does, who he talks to...

All right, hold on a minute.

Say, for the sake of argument, we do that...

..what makes you think you're the right person?

She doesn't.

That's not what she's saying. Is it?

So I'll say it for her -

SIS will never see her coming...

..and even if they do, they're bound to underestimate her.

MEN TALKING Just a minute.

MAN SPEAKS IN OWN LANGUAGE I said just a fucking minute!

Did you hear about Olga, the Russian shot putter?

"Doctor, Doctor," says Olga,

"lately, I have been growing a lot of hair on my chest."

The doctor says, "Oh, really, Olga? How odd."

"Mind me asking how far down it grows?"

To which Olga replies, "All the way down to my balls."

LAUGHING

Isn't the doctor Russian, too?

LAUGHING

GIRL, IN RUSSIAN:

IN RUSSIAN:

'I want fucking witnesses.'

'To what?' 'Open the fucking door.'

'Kim, don't be ridiculous!' 'Open the door!'

'Open it yourself. It isn't locked.'

Was he using the ambulance as a distraction?

I think in that instant he was genuinely concerned

that the men in white coats were coming for him.

That said, as we now know,

one can never be completely certain with a man like him.

A man like him?

Do you always have to have the last word?

No.

DOOR OPENS

Not what you expected?

I don't know what I expected.

'The Admiral's what?'

'Glass. By Southwark Bridge.'

'I don't think I know any pubs in So...'

What's so important about The Admiral's Glass?

Nothing. It's just a pub.

Feels like a bit more than just any old pub.

It has to do with a minor personal matter, that's all.

Which is why I decided,

in light of what I actually went to Beirut to achieve

and the small amount of time I had to do it in, to let it go.

Personal in what way?

In that it's not really relevant to any of this.

I've listened to and analysed every single second of every hour

of you and Philby in Beirut.

Please don't tell me this is not relevant.

Women.

Pardon?

Aileen.

Aileen?

Aileen Philby?

Flora Solomon's best friend.

The same Flora Solomon who it took 25 years

to come forward about Philby.

Do you mind if I smoke?

Burst into flames for all I care.

That was unnecessary. I'm sorry.

Where on Earth did they find you?

KNOCKING, BARKING

Will you be quiet, you horrid little dog?!

Sorry, come in.

She called me out of the blue one day,

asking me to drop by, spring 1941,

said she had something "urgent and sensitive,"

I think are the words she used,

that she needed to discuss in person.

BARKING Willie! Stop it this instant!

We're in the drawing room.

Hello, Nick.

Aileen! Darling, what a nice surprise.

I didn't know you were going to be here, too.

That's enough, Willie.

Naughty Willie. AILEEN CHUCKLES

What? Nothing.

Anyone care for a drink?

Actually, erm, if you don't mind, Flora, I'm a little pushed for...

Kim's cheating on me, Nick.

SNORTS What?!

He's having an affair.

Please, Nick, you can save us all a great deal of time

by sparing us the loyal friend act.

This is the reason you wanted to see me?

Yes or no - did you know he's having an affair?

No, of course I didn't know, cos there's nothing to know!

There's something wrong, Nick.

Kim's behaviour...

It...

It's hard to describe, but...

Here. Have one anyway.

..a wife can tell.

And, er...

What?

Nothing.

No, no, what is it?

I don't know.

We need you to find out who she is.

What? Oh, no.

No, no. Absolutely not.

Surely if he's innocent there's nothing to worry about?

Please, Nick. There's no-one else I trust to ask.

And if there is any hope of Kim and I ever getting past this,

then I first have to know the truth.

Your words or hers?

Look, the point is,

you'd be doing this for Kim as much as anything else.

With all due respect, Flora...

Well, we all know what that means, but go on.

HE SIGHS

What you're asking me to do amounts to spying.

On my closest friend.

You actually said that?

Single to Paddington. Tuppence ha'penny, sir.

Thank you.

Mind the doors!

Wait, please.

He knew you were following him?

No, I don't believe... Well, at least I didn't think so at the time.

It was the middle of the war.

Tradecraft was something we were all required to do at all times

until it was second nature.

'Why do all this if you considered it such a betrayal?'

I thought Aileen's suspicions of an affair were more likely to be

a misunderstanding caused by the type of work he did for SIS,

which, of course, he could never tell her about.

Secrets can be very testing of a marriage.

So I wanted to prove Aileen and Flora wrong, and him innocent.

You didn't think he was the type to have an affair?

I never said that.

Surely you could've just told Flora and Aileen anything

and they'd have had to have taken your word for it?

Now I suppose you're gonna tell me

I had other subconscious reasons to spy on him,

beyond mere suspicions of adultery.

Not even a niggling feeling in the back of your mind?

Sorry.

SHE CLEARS THROAT

Er, yeah, sorry, you were saying?

I wasn't. You were.

Do I believe that you, a career intelligence officer

and keen observer of human behaviour,

may have had a feeling that all was not right with your friend?

Mm-hm. That's precisely what I'm saying.

HORN TOOTS

BARKING

CHATTERING

MAN LAUGHS

Did he see you?

If he did... he didn't say a word about it.

Everything was business as usual

for the next couple of weeks until...

Nicholas Elliott and Ian Fleming.

Achtung, Jerry. Hello, Kim.

Thank you, sir. Ian.

The moment of truth.

Peter Tazelaar, Kim Philby.

Peter's from Holland.

And will soon be going back, God willing.

Dry as a bone. What'd I tell you?

Well, I'll be a Dutchman.

Macallan's if I'm not mistaken.

Peter's going to swim ashore

and walk straight into a German officers' shindig

at a seaside hotel.

We thought a little bit of whisky on a jacket would be in order.

Shouldn't it be Schnapps?

Well, there's such a thing as too clever, Kim.

You come up with this wheeze?

No, joint effort with Fleming here.

A minute.

What I'm about to tell you must remain strictly between us.

Oh, well, you know there's no need to say...

I've been a bloody fool, Nick.

And I think now Aileen might be on to me.

Oh? This is a personal thing.

Has she said anything to you?

Look, Kim, if it's all the same I'd really rather not get dragged...

Quite. Quite. No need to say another word.

You understand. Perfectly.

Good man.

She has said something, hasn't she? Excuse me, sir.

SIGHS

Well, go on, then, spit it out, if you must, before I change my mind.

SIGHS

Her name's Alice. Litzi. She... She's Austrian.

I met her in Vienna in '34

when I was there, you know, trying to cut my teeth as a journalist.

She's the bravest woman I've ever known.

And also, as it happens, Jewish.

So when the time came for her to get out... You helped her.

I-I shuffled some papers. Papers? What kind of papers?

Oh, Christ, no! Marriage papers. Bloody hell, Kim.

It was only ever meant to just be paper,

and then all of a sudden she's in London, and...

SIGHS What do I do, Nick? I...

I... I never had the slightest intention of...

Cheating on Aileen, to be clear.

Don't fucking tell me you've never made any mistakes in your life!

Aileen's about to have your baby.

You know exactly what to do.

He did see you at The Admiral's Glass. He must've done.

Probably not my finest hour.

Why tell you about all that business in Austria, though,

when he could've just admitted to having an affair

and left it at that?

He was obviously probing to see what else I might know.

Obviously? You mean in retrospect.

Wasn't the resistance in Vienna...

..communist?

It was a workers' uprising.

Right.

Communism wasn't the problem then. Fascism was.

OK.

You're probably thinking why on Earth

didn't I put two and two together, right there and then. And?

All I can tell you is we were at war with Germany

and Kim happened to be one of the most effective espionage minds

In that fight. That's a fact.

Despite everything that came later,

that will never, ever change.

He's not having an affair.

On that much, I can give you my word.

You see, his work - our work -

the work we both do to fight the Nazis...

..can be quite, um...

Well, it requires, erm, at times, certain levels of, erm...

Not to mention the ungodly hours that we...

Do stop waffling on, Nick!

We know that you and Kim work for MI6 or SIS

or whatever it is it's called these days.

That's not what Aileen's talking about.

Is it, darling? I...

I... I don't know, I-I mean...

I suppose.

Well, I, for one, think you're obfuscating.

Well, now you mention it, I did have plums for breakfast.

Oh, for goodness' sake! That Bertie Wooster turn you do

is utterly beneath you and nobody with half a brain falls for it.

You're-You're a serious man with a serious mind

and this is very serious stuff.

Damn it all, she's six months pregnant!

And Kim must be brought to heel before it's too late.

All right.

I've tried to be patient and keep an open mind, but now I've had enough.

Now, listen, both of you.

Kim is a good man fighting hard for his country

under some very difficult circumstances. May I just say...

He is categorically not having an affair!

Not only does he not have the time, he would never do such a thing,

and my advice to you, Aileen,

is to stop worrying about everything under the sun

and start believing in him.

And, Flora, with all due respect,

keep your nose out of other people's business.

That is all I have to say on the matter.

Do you think Philby's safe in the Soviet Union?

Do you have confirmation that's where he is?

Let's assume.

Safe from whom?

Come on, now.

Ah, do you mean would we bump him off? One of us?

What about the CIA?

Ah, well, them I'm afraid I can't vouch for.

I have something to play you, then I have a question.

NICK: 'How long has Flora bloody Solomon

'known you're a Soviet double agent?'

From now on, no matter how many clever ways

you try to frame this nonsense, I'm just not going to respond any more

because it's not worth dignifying.

You've known each other since you were at Cambridge.

I don't believe for a fucking minute

She suddenly realised you were a Soviet spy just last week!

SMASHING

How many times do I have to tell you, I am not a traitor!

She's fucking well lying! To MI5?

She's still upset about Aileen.

Rest in peace.

Now you're accusing me of killing Aileen?

An alcoholic, bless her,

with too many psychological problems to count,

who bloody well drank herself...

Years after she left me! You know, the irony is

that even though you've managed to hide your real self

for all these years, I know you all the better for it now.

And today...

you're a man on the brink.

I can see it in your eyes, plain as can be.

By the way, I know you feel responsible for Aileen's death.

How could you not, after everything you put her through?

Because I also know you're not a complete and utter monster.

Do you resent Mrs Solomon? Resent her?

Well, you've read her statement to MI5,

she knew about Philby going on 30 years.

That he was a communist, maybe. Not a spy.

Right. OK.

And the reason she would've kept quiet about his communist beliefs

would've been to protect her friend, Aileen.

How many people do you think the Soviets killed

Based on the information they got from Philby?

I don't know.

You don't know or you don't wanna know?

Now, now, Mrs Thomas.

Hundreds, possibly thousands.

You said so yourself, to Philby in Beirut. It's on the tape.

If Mrs Solomon knew Philby was spying for the Soviets

right from the beginning,

more or less right after he got back from Vienna...

Hm... how can you not resent her?

Where are you going?

Lunch.

When did you introduce Philby to Aileen?

I didn't introduce... Oh, no.

SHE LAUGHS That's right.

You didn't.

Flora Solomon did.

Some friend she turned out to be.

To Aileen, I mean.

Shall we say an hour for lunch?

RINGING

Yeah?

You got a pen?

Hang on.

All right. Got it. Go ahead.

'19 Spencer Square, Kensington.

'I need Ian in that house as soon as you can get him there.'

Got it.

CLEARS THROAT

Why are you communist?

Several reasons.

Beginning when I was a boy and witness to my father's rage

at how the British betrayed the Arabs between the wars.

Not why you are angry with the British.

Why you are communist.

Then when I was at university, up at Cambridge,

I had an economics professor who was profoundly offended

by the predicament of the workers in the industrial north of England.

Tell me about Vienna.

What? In 1934.

Tell me about Litzi Friedmann.

ANNOUNCEMENT OUTSIDE

What?

No, no. You go. I'll stay. Give me the gun.

So, it starts for you with romantic adventure.

It started for me as the only way to fight fascism.

Romanticism is a weakness.

PANTING

Kim...

Kim, stop. Stop.

This is our first time, not our last.

QUIET CHATTERING

Wake up.

QUIET TALKING

THEY SPEAK IN OWN LANGUAGE

He is Directorate of Agriculture Inspector.

Son of military officer.

Wearing handmade shoes from England.

Drink.

I don't want another drink. Drink.

How do you know those are English shoes?

How do you not know?

They were gift to his father from a British officer at the end of war.

And you believe that?

You know who doesn't wear English shoes in Russia?

An English spy.

Does the name Konstantin Dmitrievich Volkov mean anything to you?

What has this to do with English shoes?

Nothing. Have you heard of him or not?

No.

When the war against Germany was all but won

and new battle lines were being drawn between East and West,

there were, I'm sorry to say, many from the Soviet Union

who had succumbed to the temptations,

during their wartime postings, of the West.

One such person was Konstantin Dmitrievich Volkov...

who had spent most of the war in Istanbul

as the deputy chief of Soviet intelligence in Turkey.

But now he wanted SIS to help him defect

in return for a list of Soviet agents in Britain,

including, he claimed,

an agent who had penetrated the uppermost echelons

of the foreign intelligence service.

You.

Two years before that, in '42, while Nicholas Elliott was in Istanbul,

he and Volkov crossed paths as allies against the Nazis.

Which is why Volkov insisted Elliott

Be summoned back to Istanbul to run his exfiltration.

As luck would have it, I had, by that time,

risen to head of Soviet Counter Espionage in London.

And so Volkov's somewhat amateurish approach

to the British vice-consul in Istanbul

was relayed directly to me at SIS...

Where is Mr Elliott?

..without Elliott ever knowing the first thing about it.

I specifically asked for Mr Elliott. Who are you?

I'm... so very sorry.

SIGHS

I tell a lie.

Luck had nothing at all to do with it.

Romantic adventure or not...

..you can imagine why it might irritate me

to be condescended to by someone who hasn't bothered to do his homework.

SPEAKS WITH LISP: Loving Father, we thank you for your servant Moses,

who led your people through the waters of the Red Sea

to freedom in the promised land.

We thank you for your son Jesus,

who has passed through the deep waters of death

and opened for all the way of salvation.

Now send your spirit

that those who are washed in this water may die with Christ

and rise with him...

Do you have any idea what you're doing?

Not the foggiest.

..alive in Christ forever.

Creator God,

we thank you for the gift of the life of this child

who is to be baptised.

May your blessing of peace and joy be with them and protect them

for all their days.

We make this prayer in the name of your son Jesus.

She back from lunch yet? Just rang.

She's been summoned back to MI5 for the rest of the day.

TWO SHORT RINGS

TICKING

Kensington 5062, please.

PHONE RINGS

PHONE RINGS

Welcome to Moscow.

Good Lord! No, only me.

Crikey, is that...

That can't be Willie?

What on Earth would MI6 ever do without you?

No, this is Dickie!

Course it is.

Willie's grandson. Stop it!

Dickie's slightly bigger than Willie.

Come on.

I've been wondering when you might appear.

DICKIE WHINES

Dickie. Dickie, come on, come to Mummy.

Come on.

I want you to know how awful I feel about this whole business with...

Kim?

'How long have you known?' 'What difference does it make now?'

'We almost caught him in '45, you know.' 'Really?'

Chap called Volkov. Konstantin Dmitrievich Volkov.

Almost gave him up to us. What happened?

Bit muddy on the details.

But what I came to talk to you about happened four years earlier...

..when you asked me to find out if Kim was cheating on Aileen.

It wasn't adultery that you were trying to steer me towards, was it?

Please try to understand, Aileen was heavily pregnant at the time.

You already knew.

Knew what? Flora...

That he was a communist? That he was KGB.

Oh! I didn't know anything of the sort.

Not then.

Why on Earth did you introduce Aileen to Kim in the first place?

Cos he was eligible and witty.

And a communist.

That was at Cambridge.

SHE CLEARS THROAT

And Kim wasn't the only one that dabbled with communism. We all did.

I didn't. Don't be obtuse, Nick.

'A lot of people flirted with it.

'A lot of people flirted with lots of things at university.

'It's what young people do,

'most of whom go on to be utterly respectable and normal.'

Well, you must remind me to ask you for a list of those people one day.

I introduced Kim and Aileen to each other...

..because, for my sins,

I like to believe the best in my friends.

Surely you, of all people, can understand that.

And in Kim's case, it was just impossible to believe...

Because he was so eligible and witty (!)

If I'd known he was spying for Russia

I would have said something back then.

You'd started to suspect, though, hadn't you?

Which is why you asked me to spy on him.

And you bloody well missed it!

Say I had cottoned on...

..to what Kim was really up to...

..what were you expecting me to do about it?

You were his friend.

His good and loyal friend.

And as long as we were still at war with Germany,

Russia was technically our ally.

Ah. You were expecting me to change his mind,

convince him of the error of his ways...

Before it was too late. Oh, for Christ's sake, Flora!

I-I was also trying to protect Aileen.

I thought you'd understand that.

And I knew you'd do the same for Kim.

I wasn't going to just blurt out suspicions

and accusations in case I was wrong!

Especially not after the way you reacted

to my suggestion he was having an affair.

Do you even remember that?

She was his KGB cut out.

'Who?'

Not just his mistress.

Who?

Litzi.

What did Kim tell you in Beirut?

Tell me about what?

You seriously expect me to believe you'd just let him go scot-free

without getting something from him first?

'You may fool others,

'but you can't pull the wool over these eyes.

'Do you want to know what he once told me about you?'

He said that at any given moment

you're far more switched on than you let on...

..which is what makes you so dangerous.

He said that?

Tell me you'll make something of all this, Nick.

That in the end, you were, in fact, always one step ahead of him.

Lovely to see you again, Flora.

Liar.

Bye-bye, Dickie.

Nicely done, ma'am. Please don't call me that.

MAN ON RADIO: 'Petr Il'ich Chaykovskiy

'blizok kazhdomu russkomu serdtsu.

'Muzyka yego vdokhnovlyayet I trogayet struny kazhdoy dushi.'

CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYS

MUSIC TURNS OFF

Tovarishch polkovnik.

She's talking to you.

Hello.

Tovarishch Soboreva.

What did she call me?

Comrade Colonel. That is your rank.

Does she speak English?

Pakhnet supom?

Svinina s kartoshkoy.

She has made soup. Potato and pork.

Does she speak English? You will learn Russian.

Is she KGB?

She's comrade. Friend.

Soup.

What's the matter? Nothing.

Don't worry about it.

Are you coming to bed? I'll be up in a minute.

'Do you remember that day?'

'Yeah.'

Still newlyweds.

It's just that sometimes I feel we live in two separate worlds...

..and every now and again, sort of meet in the middle.

And occasionally you will tell me a little about someone or something,

like the man that didn't know his friend was lying to him

for over 20 years, but...

..but sometimes, if I'm honest...

..I worry how well I know you.

I just love you, you know?

And I never want to lose you.

Lose me?

Gosh, man!

Are you joking?

Every day, when I get to work, I take my wedding ring off...

..and I-I put it in the box that it came in when you proposed to me.

And every night, on the train home, I put it back on.

Why do you take it off?

Because...

..I-I love putting it on!

Did you remember to get cigarettes?

Shit. Slipped my mind. Sorry.

Goddamn it!

One day you'll get a sense of humour.

MORSE CODE TAPPED OUT

GUNSHOT

---oOo---