Executioner, The (1970)

British Intelligence agent John Shay (George Peppard, whose accent is explained by the excuse that “he grew up in America”) suspects his colleague Adam Booth (Keith Michell) of being a double agent after his spy ring in Czechoslovakia is dismantled following a series of leaks.

Although Shay’s superiors, Vaughan Jones (Charles Gray) and Colonel Scott (Nigel Patrick), dismiss his claims and warn him against investigating, he travels to Greece and Turkey to verify his suspicions.

Shay is suspended for his unauthorised investigation into Booth, but questions the Russian defector Racovsky (Oskar Homolka), who gives him the impression that Booth is indeed a double agent.

One night, Shay is awakened by a phone call from his scientist friend Philip Crawford (George Baker), who tells Shay he has discovered Booth going through secret documents on his desk.

Now having no doubt about Booth’s guilt, Shay decides to take the law into his own hands. He takes Booth into the countryside and kills him, dumping his body into the English Channel.

Finding a plane ticket to Athens in Booth’s pocket, Shay travels to Greece, assuming Booth’s identity to meet his suspected Soviet contacts.

In Athens, he encounters Sarah Booth (Joan Collins) – his former lover and now Adam Booth’s wife. She is surprised to see him and is entirely unaware that her husband is dead.

Their reconnection is layered with tension because of their romantic past (Shay having lost Sarah to Adam partly fueled his suspicion and eventual execution of his rival).

The old spark is still there, and Sarah is clearly still fond of Shay – which makes the situation tragic, since Shay is romancing a woman whose husband he has just murdered.

Arriving in Corfu. Shay and Sarah are captured by Soviet agents who demand Philip Crawford – who is working on the Space Program on behalf of the Americans – as ransom.

Ultimately, Shay learns that his meeting with Racovsky and the “evidence” he gathered were all part of a larger manipulation; MI6 knew there was a leak, but they were using Booth (a loyal agent) to feed the Soviets controlled misinformation.

Shay’s execution of his colleague didn’t stop a traitor – it inadvertently destroyed a sophisticated, multi-year British intelligence operation.

Reviewers at the time compared the film unfavourably to the grittier, more realistic spy films of the era, such as The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Audiences also found the nonlinear structure of the movie and the final triple-cross twist more frustrating than clever, feeling the reveal made the previous hour of the film feel somewhat futile

But don’t listen to the naysayers. It’s a rollicking good Cold War espionage tale with all the requisite deceptions, twists, double-crosses and triple-crosses. Judy Geeson shines as Shay’s quirky, supportive girlfriend, Polly.

John Shay
George Peppard
Sarah Booth
Joan Collins
Polly Bendel
Judy Geeson
Racovsky
Oscar Homolka
Vaughan Jones
Charles Gray
Colonel Scott
Nigel Patrick
Adam Booth
Keith Michell
Philip Crawford
George Baker
Prof. Parker
Alexander Scourby
Butterfield
Peter Bull
Roper
Ernest Clark
Balkov
Peter Dyneley
Anna
Gisela Dali

Director
Sam Wanamaker