Category "tinker-tailor-soldier-spy"

Significance of the Owl in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"

There's a scene in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" where Prideaux (Mark Strong) is in the class room teaching, then suddenly an owl pops out of the fireplace. Pride

How did Smiley know he could trust a certain person?

This question can be based on either the 2011 film of "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" with Gary Oldman, or the 1979 BBC series with Alec Guinness. How did Smiley k

Did Prideaux kill all those agents?

In Tinker Tailor Solider Spy it’s clear that once they trap Haydon the only thing left to do is trade him back to Karla in exchange for the sources that a

Did George Smiley's wife Ann already know that Bill Haydon was a mole?

At the end of "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", the 1979 BBC series with Alec Guinness, when George is speaking with his wife Ann, she says cryptically: Ann: Bil

How does Smiley know the location where Jim Prideaux is?

How did Smiley know that Jim Prideaux wasn't killed by the Soviets, but has gone back to England and is hiding as a teacher at a school?

Who and what is Karla?

Throughout the movie, several characters, including Smiley, refer to a person named Karla. I assume it's a code name for a person, but I am still confused as t

Why did Prideaux kill Haydon?

Near the end, Prideaux kills Haydon. Was it just a purely personal, revenge thing? That's the standard answer I've seen on some other forums. Other more complic

What is the significance of the recorded phone conversation between Bill Haydon and Toby Esterhase?

There's a scene about 59m into Tinker Tailor Solder Spy (2011) where an operator is transcribing a recorded phone conversation between Bill Haydon and Toby Este

Why did Bill Haydon insult Easterhase in this scene?

After Jim was killed in a trap, Esterhase waves hands at people who had completed their meeting with Control. Then Bill insults him: Bill Haydon: You litt

Why were Poorman & Beggarman not referred in the movie title?

There are 5 codes used in the movie for Russian moles in British Intelligence: "Tinker" for Alleline, "Tailor" for Haydon, "Soldier" for Bland, "Poorman" for Es

How did Smiley capture the mole?

This question is based on the 2011 film of "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" with Gary Oldman (which I just watched). As for the 1979 BBC series with Alec Guinness, o

Why Control and his team are singing Russian national anthem?

Control and his team shown singing Russian national anthem along with a person with Lenin mask on. His team was working for British Intellingence in shortcut ca

Who tore out the pages of the logbook, and why?

George Smiley finds pages related to 20th November from the log book missing: Who tore out the pages of logbook, and why?

What does "missed the wedge" mean?

In Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy, Smiley silently barged into the house and meets Ricki, who gave him information about Irina: Smiley: Hello, Ricki. You've missed

Why didn't Smiley arrest Polyakov?

In Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), Polyakov is taking information from the mole and passing it to the Soviets. So why didn't Smiley arrest Polyakov?