‘Jumping on the Bondwagon’: The Spy Cycle in British Cinema in the 1960s

Abstract

The article examines the significant cycle of spy thrillers in British cinema in the 1960s. It argues that the success of the early James Bond pictures, which commenced with Dr. No in 1962, initiated a popular cycle of spy films that lasted through the decade. The interest in fictional intrigue generated by the new-style espionage stories of Len Deighton and John le Carré further fuelled the cycle, and there appeared a number of adaptations of these authors’ novels. The article pays particular attention to the critical reception of the cycle and the two styles of Bond-inspired spy thriller and Deighton/le Carré-inspired espionage drama, carefully considering the mounting reviewer fatigue regarding the overworked spy picture and recounting the decline of the cycle.