The Whistle Blower

Plot synopsis:
Frank Jones (Caine) is a retired British naval officer and Korean War veteran, who is now a businessman. His bright but naive and idealistic son, Robert (Nigel Havers), works as a linguist at GCHQ, the top secret British intelligence listening station, using his love of Russian to listen to various pieces of communication on the other side of the Iron Curtain.
The film opens on Remembrance Day in Whitehall, as the war veterans line up to walk past the Cenotaph, then moves back to a conversation between Frank and his son at Robert's flat some months earlier, where Robert tells Frank that strange things are happening at GCHQ, and he's planning on leaving and marrying an older woman called Cynthia (Felicity Dean) with whom he's fallen in love.
Robert says a Soviet mole was found, and that security is all over the place encouraging people to rat on each other. The higher ups seem convinced that if they don't do something, their American friends in the CIA will stop working with them. Frank isn't thrilled over the marriage plans, and he tells his son before he leaves that it's unlikely anything off key can be happening in the agency. It's obvious that Frank loves his son deeply and wants him to be happy, whatever he may choose for himself.
The scene cuts to a room in British Intelligence, where operatives including Bruce (Gordon Jackson) are listening to a tape recording of the conversation between Frank and his son.
A few days later, police tell Frank that Robert has died in a fall in an apparent suicide, and a verdict of accidental death is recorded. However, in the midst of his grief, Frank is puzzled by the circumstances of his son's death and decides to use his old skills to conduct his own investigation. He approaches his friend Charles Greig (Barry Foster), who had joined MI6 after his service in the navy. Greig agrees to make discreet enquiries on his part.
Returning to Robert's flat, Frank is confronted by radical socialist journalist Bill Pickett (Kenneth Colley), who had arranged to meet Robert to discuss the problems at British Intelligence, but Frank rejects his investigative approaches. Frank is also told that he is in the running for a large government contract for his firm, with an implicit undertone that he not make waves about his son's death.
The rest of the film digs into an examination of the British establishment which is disturbing and ugly, and make Frank question his view of the country he loves. There are strong echoes of the Anthony Blunt case and the Cambridge spies. Frank, discreetly pursued by British Intelligence, finds men who easily consider others expendable if their ideas of class and privilege are endangered.
Pickett is also killed in mysterious circumstances in a traffic accident, having found out the name of the man who Robert wished him to meet before meeting Frank. Frank is then approached by Robert's best friend and fellow British intelligence linguist Allen Goodburn (Andrew Hawkins) at Robert's funeral. Frank learns from Goodburn that it was his good friend Grieg who had approached him as to Robert's feelings for the service. Frank gets Grieg drunk and gets him to confess that he was at Robert's flat the night Robert died. Greig admits he was there as the service had something on him, but that his job was only to leave the door open and let "others" heavy-hand Robert, not kill him. he also reveals the name of the mole as Sir Adrian Chapple (John Gielgud).
Leaving Grieg in his drunken stupor, Frank is picked up by British Intelligence and driven to a country house, where he is confronted by Secretary to the Cabinet (David Langton) and Lord (James Fox). They explain to him that his son was out of control, and was killed as part of a plan to mislead the Americans as to the extent of the depth of Russian intelligence's operatives inside British operations, in the hope that they could continue to gain intelligence from the CIA. They have presently left the higher Russian operative in place, until they can assess the extent of the damage caused. They advise Frank that should he go public with any of this information, he and/or Robert's girlfriend Cynthia and her daughter will be killed or at least restrained.
The film returns to the present, and the Remembrance Day parade. Frank confronts Chapple at his home in Whitehall, and gets him to confess to being a spy for Russia. Frank orders him to sign a full confession, which he does, but as Frank reads it, Chapple produces a gun and demands its return. Frank grabs the gun, which goes off and kills Chapple — leaving his signed confession to act as a suicide note and put Frank in the clear. He returns to the Remembrance Day parade.
The closing credits roll to an ambulance attending the death of Chapple, as Frank walks past the Cenotaph up Whitehall.

Tags: revenge

Review:
There's never a "stupid moment" in this film that reveals to us, the audience, or to Michael Caine as the protagonist, who the bad guys are or what they've done.
Michael Caine has been involved in some stinkers in his career (let's face it every actor has to pay the bills); he has also made plenty of very good films and also plenty of films like 'The Whistle-Blower': an above average and very watchable drama of the second-rank.
In fact it's Caine's solid acting (mostly low-key though he does get to fly off the handle in his own inimitable style a couple of times) which invests the film with believable emotion and elevates it above it's many clichés.
The supporting cast is strong too; a cynical, amoral, self-serving and oft sinister intelligence industry is portrayed ably by Gordon Jackson, James Fox and John Gielgud.It's a shame that the demands of marketing mean that a film is often plugged as something it isn't.
In this case 'The Whistle-Blower' is not a thriller (in fact the one and only 'action' scene - a car crash -is pretty rubbish and looks a bit tacked on), and it is only superficially a story about cold-war espionage (there are plenty of references to Anthony Blunt et al, but it's no 'Smiley's People').
I'd point any harsh detractors of this film to the scene where, soon after learning of his sons death, Jones (Caine) attempts to discuss what happened with his son's neighbour and colleague, Rose (Dinah Stabb), and I challenge them not to be moved and at the same time chilled by the exchange.Yes, this film does have plenty of flaws.
Cinematically it is pretty dull and dated; it has a bit of that naff 1970's/80's home-counties feel to it (though in some ways one could argue I suppose that this style aids in the depiction of the stolid, grey, snobby, repressed British establishment of the story...
It's full of clichés and undeveloped characters, and the screen-play has plenty of downs as well as ups; but credit where credit is due, it is at times thought provoking and engaging.
The end of the cold war rendered stories of this nature difficult to perceive but was written at a time when relations between the US and USSR were strained and scandals were rife in British Intelligence and at GCHQ.The film tells the story of a jittery secret service heavily reliant on American information to help keep the soviets at bay.
The eventual reasoning is cruel and cold and leaves the watcher wondering if events like this really did take place at the time.The Whistle Blower tells a good story which is easy to follow and comprehend.
It was nice to see a film about cold war paranoia that was about the U.K. and not the U.S.
In addition unless you are interested in British political culture, history and the antics of the cold war you will find this hard going even if you are a Michael Caine fan .There is a lot of dialog and the story line is a little confusing at times.However, in the light of recent events, Britain always going along with the USA, the Butler report on Britains reason for war in Iraq and the apparent suicide of UN weapons inspector David Kelly a critic and skeptic of the US and Britains claim of Iraqi WMD programs, as well as recent accusations that Harold Wilsons Govt in the 1970's was to be overthrown in favor of a military government either at the bequest of the US or at least with their blessing;I thought that it might have aroused more interest.This movie was released in 1986 ironically at the time when the cold war was winding down but the fictional events depicted in this film were surly inspired by the Anthony Blunt scandal, the Jeffrey Prime case at GCHQ ( a British intelligence listening post), as well as the Thatcher government banning trade union activity at GCHQ on the grounds of national security.
Many students from in the "Oxbridge" University systems who were Britains best and brightest destined for great things were motivated by their hatred of the Nazi/fascism passed secrets onto the USSR during WWW II and well into the cold war.
Suez may have vindicated their beliefs.The movie implies that the if you were from the respected establishment or of a certain class of person the 'official secrets act' did not apply to you.
Not only were you likely to be prosecuted through the normal channels but if you were really unlucky you might end up being a victim of a CIA death squad who quietly knock off suspected whistle blowers and possible troublemakers rather than go through a costly and public trial.
As for the film itself there is good cast all round and many of the characters are very believable in their respective roles.
Frank Jones (Michael Caine) is not fobbed off by an sweetheart investigation into his sons death which concludes suicide.
While conducting his own investigation, he discovers irregularities and soon suspects a cover up, but worse that his own countries security services might be involved in his sons death after all.
Michael Caine plays Frank Jones, a war veteran and patriotic British citizen who is shocked to learn about the mysterious death of his son, who had worked as a Russian translator for British Intelligence.
Not deterred by the usual "national security" defense of the killers, Frank is determined to bring his son's killers to justice, whether it be by legal or illegal means...First-rate conspiracy drama has fine acting by all, and Caine quite believable as the grieving and outraged father.
Film makes thoughtful observations about government secrets, and the "who watches the watchers?" debate.
Michael Caine gives a great performance as Frank, the father of a son that has died during mysterious circumstances.
another superb michael caine performance in thought-provoking film.
"I still believe the man in the white hat always wins," Bob Jones (Nigel Havers) tells his father (Michael Caine).
They'll both have reason to doubt that later on.Caine plays Frank Jones, a man whose son works as a linguist at GCHQ.
She's in the process of getting a divorce.When something happens to Bob, Frank tries to get to the bottom of it and learns some ugly truths, particularly when a journalist he is on his way to see meets with an unhappy end.Michael Caine gives an excellent, touching performance as a man trying to make things right, and Nigel Havers is wonderful as his son.
There are spot-on performances by James Fox, John Gielgud, Barry Foster, and Gordon Jackson in his final film.Very good film, perhaps a bit dated now, with the British trying to keep the Americans as happy allies, and it doesn't give any final or easy answers.
The novel was written in 1984, and this film was released in 1987.A Brit on this board referred to this as a "Michael Caine filler" - I guess he has made a ton of films, but he's always worth seeing..
Caine, Fox, Gielgud and Havers have all been in much better films.
Fans of Le Carre and Len Deighton should like this film.The film was made the same year as The Fourth Protocol and even although I like and know both films I sometimes get them confused since Caine stars in both but while they are both worth a watch they are not at all similar.Just because you have not heard of this film does not mean it is not worth seeing.Everyone is entitled to their opinions but the people on here who say this is a bad must have expected an action film,it is more of a thought provoking film..
The film starts and ends with a solemn statue funeral, at which Michael Caine is present.
His son Bob Jones (Nigel Havers) is a brilliant translator and lover of Russian literature, who at his job is a bit too clever for his own good, as he overhears in his digital brilliance talks in Kreml that he shouldn't hear, which worries Briritsh intelligence, so he is put under surveillance.
Michael Caine, his father, is a veteran pilot from the Korean war and gets busy when a number of suicides also involes his son's case.
John Gielgud is involved, and this happened to be Gordon Jackson's last film, but it is Nigel Havers you will remember.
It's about the credibility of Britain and the whole western world (i.e. America) towards the end of the cold war, and all Michael Caine desires in his quest for getting at the truth of all these so called suicides is to find again the Britain he once believed in.
This low price was probably already a secret sign saying: 'Don't buy this one boy...!!' But still, Michael Caine starred in it..a respectable actor...I gave it a try.I put it in the DVD player and pushed the play button.What followed was a period of 100 minutes.
Just meaningless dialogues and strange people.Now I am a nice and positive guy but this film really has to be one of the lousiest movies EVER made.My suggestion: don't watch.
The performances are top notch and the basic premise is very good, but the lackluster direction coupled with an almost laughable musical scoring by John Scott pull the film down.
Michael Caine and the supporting cast do a wonderful job with the screen play and are very believable in their roles.
But the film's attempt to indoctrinate are so mawkish and heavy handed that the viewer is left feeling like he/she has just read a middle school social studies text.
There's a scene when Caine's character is walking with his son and the latter, under the pretense of dialog, spills out a liberal's editorial column on the problem with national security run amuck.
Caine unmissable in low budget British thriller.
The Whistle Blower is not generally a great favourite of the critics, and is one of those small budget films that BBC2 used to show late at night - a typical Caine schedule filler, in fact.
Caine's performance here is brilliant, and if this movie really is classed by many as one of those typically weak eighties Caine features, then surely the critics will acknowledge that in the bulk of those films, a fifty-something Caine was pretty much without blame.
The most powerful example of this is when Caine is informed of the sudden tragic death of his son.
I always liked the parts Caine played throughout his fifties - I felt he displayed a real maturity and as an actor appeared to reach the peak of his career.
Set and filmed around Cheltenham, Caine really does carry this movie.
Nigel Havers (as Caine's son) looks like a Harry Palmer love child, but is not challenged in his role, whilst Gordon Jackson and James Fox stereotype their way through the picture as high ranking secret servicemen.
And let's not forget Barry Foster, 'victim' of being done up like a kipper by Caine in one of the infamous 'drunk' scenes.
By 1986, no-one played drunks better than Caine, and he seemed to be so good at it that a number of his movies became worth watching just for their scenes where he successfully played a character pretending to be drunk one minute then stone cold sober the next.
He pitches his performance perfectly here, and fortunately everyone seems to deliver - the potential pretentiousness (that doesn't roll easily off the tongue) of the movie is identifiable in most scenes - like quiet flames licking their way at the edge of each frame, but the calibre of the Caine inspired cast make this film easy on the eye.
True, there are some highly corny moments, and many spy clichés are rolled out mercilessly (usually involving a traitor declaring his love for Russia) but the chief protagonists are clearly giving it their all, and I just happen to like this movie a lot.
Alhough not a Len Deighton work,"The Whistle - Blower" shares his view of the Intelligence Service as a continuation of the Class War by other means.
Former Fleet Air Arm pilot Michael Caine is a patriotic Lower Middle Class Englishman proud that his son is a linguist working at GCHQ.When the young man dies under mysterious circumstances he soon becomes aware of an MI5/CIA link to his demise.As he makes his own investigations he comes up against a cunning and ruthless enemy - his son's former employers.High - ranking MI5 officers(which of course - it being the UK - means upper class Oxbridge men) conspire to protect one of their own by any means necessary.
Nigel Havers,looking like a cross between Hank Marvin and Hugh Grant,is too old to convince as Mr Caine's son.With his worn sports jacket and leather - patched elbows,horn - rimmed glasses and floppy hair he is almost a caricature of the conscience - stricken intellectual.No matter how good his Russian he would have been shown the door at GCHQ within a month,one glimpse at his room and a cursory glance at his bookshelves would have convinced his paranoid "masters"that here was a man who was idealogically unsound.
The scene where Mr Caine gets him drunk whilst pretending to be drunk himself is the highspot of the film.As it unfolds,Mr Caine gets more and more cold - eyed but still plays the part of a drunk to perfection.
As a cautionary tale about the abuse of governmental power "The Whistle Blower" has been overtaken by events,but admirers of Mr Caine will find a lot in it to like..
Whilst watching, with references to pushing the nuclear button and the cold war between the U.S and Russia, I thought it evoked the U.K's paranoia over this in the early 1980s.
Guess the film might have taken a few years to get off the ground.Anyhow, it's a great movie.
Spot-on performances from Caine and Havers - and everyone involved really.
It keeps you watching until the end because you want to see if Frank Jones gets even (in however diplomat a way) with the apparently impenetrable espionage network he faces..
This modest espionage thriller dramatizes what everyone suspects but no one will admit: that the covert networks designed to protect national security are in fact ruthlessly waging a secret war beyond control or accountability.
It's rare to see an attempt at serious spy fiction on the big screen, but unfortunately what might have worked in print is sabotaged in adaptation by unimaginative writing (in a script composed almost entirely of expository dialogue) and lackluster direction.
The Whistle Blower is a very realistic spy movie.
These films are as relevant today as they were during the cold war.
These films are for intelligent(ce) people unlike the fast action movie spy films which are just teenage fantasy.My home town is Cheltenham and this film captures the cold war period perfectly for authenticity..
whistle blower came out in 1986 A war veteran tries to investigate the murder of his son who was working as a Russian translator for the British intelligence service during the Cold War. He meets a web of deception and paranoia that seems impenetrable.6/10 i gave it at 1hr 40 Min's it looks very 80 s set in the 60s ..Michael Caine ...
plays a father called frank Jones widowed businessman and retired Navy officer his son is a Twenty-eight year old idealist Bob Jones is contemplating leaving his position as a Russian translator at Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) as those at the top have issued a new whistle blowing policy - encouraging employees to report any suspicious behavior - in light of the highly publicized case of Ramsay Dodgson, a Soviet spy who was working undetected in the organization for ten years before being caught.
he confides to his father that part of his want to leave the job, which also entails eavesdropping on private conversations between Soviet officials on a multitude of everyday topics, is that he believes the British and by association Americans are just as corrupt as the Russians in how they infiltrate institutions most of the public see as commonplace, this belief to which Within the Secret World of Governmental Cover Ups, Will the one man who dares to tell the truth survive?One of two espionage movies released in 1987 that starred Michael Caine.
The other spy film was The Fourth ProtocolThe Whistle Blower tells a story which is likely to be obsolete nowadays.
The end of the cold war rendered stories of this nature difficult to perceive but was written at a time when relations between the US and USSR were strained and scandals were rife in British Intelligence and at GCHQ..
The Whistle Blower tells a good story which is easy to follow and comprehend.
...but this movie was saved by Michael Caine (who can make a bad movie watchable) and Nigel Havers as his son...
Caine was great as the father trying to find out why his son Robert (Havers) died...
Through flashbacks, we learn that Robert has stumbled on some activities that British Intelligence would just as soon not have made public, but Robert has a conscience...Good premise and well done...
It's well documented -not least by the man himself - that Michael Caine finds it hard to say 'no' to any offer that comes in over the transom and as if to illustrate this an English Daily newspaper is giving away no less than 14 'Best Of Breeds' that today would go straight to DVD.
Several English actors who should know better but clearly have bills to pay are wheeled out to go through the motions of what may be best described as a Cool rather than Cold War episode - thriller is far too grand a description - in which Nigel Havers gets too pushy for his own good, 'falls' off a roof and leaves father Caine to get at any truth that might be floating around.