Could we see you, please?
Percy would lik e quite an urgent word with you.
If you can come now to the fifth floor that would be so kind.
Yes, of course.
Throw that into the lift for me.
Send it to the second floor, save me filling out bloody chits.
Will do, sir.
So what have you been getting up to down there these days?
Apart from chasing our virgins.
A couple of Arab ploys that look quite promising.
Apart from that, I'm getting quite good at ping-pong.
Arabs.
You can rent one but you can't buy one. Right, Bill?
How's Ricki Tarr these days?
Fine. We have tea at Fortnum's every afternoon.
I require the matter of your discussion with Tarr.
I'll tell him. He'll be thrilled.
What's that shrug for?
I'm talking to you about the traitor
who cut the throat of our man in Istanbul.
I'm talking to you about a defector from your own damn section.
I'm accusing you of consorting with an enemy agent behind my back.
Don't damn well shrug at me!
How would you lik e a term in prison?
Well, I haven't been seeing him.
So get your facts straight and get off my back!
So... if I told you Tarr had recently arrived in Paris,
would you be surprised?
No, nothing would surprise me about Ricki Tarr.
And if I told you we happen to know £30, 000 mysteriously appeared
in his bank account last month,
would that surprise you?
Your man's a defector, Guillam.
Turned by the opposition months ago and now they've sent him back to us.
- What for? - Never mind what for.
To muddy the water, that's what for.
To spread a whole lot of damn nonsense to get us chasing our tails.
The point is this.
He's heading for home.
The first peep from him, you come to the grown-ups.
Understood?
Anyone you see around this table but not another damn soul.
Get out.
Peter?
Thank you, Belinda.
(Bland) # Oh, Mr Wu
# What shall I do?
(Hums)
# Oh, Mr Wu
# What shall I do?
# Mr Wu... #
All go smoothly, did it?
I need to go to the hotel to see George.
Mr Smiley isn't at the hotel, sir. Change of venue.
George?
Mr Guillam...
Sorry it took me so long to come home.
Ricki has been helping us, Peter.
He's been telling us all about his adventures.
He's a double, George.
There is no mole. Whole thing's been thought up by Moscow.
Karla bought him for £30,000.
I stole that because of you.
I spied on my own because of him. Do you know how that mak es me feel?
Ricki...
you said you sent the Circus a telegram concerning Irina's information.
- That's right. - What was the date?
He doesn't know because there was no telegram.
- The whole thing is a fabrication. - 20th November.
It must have been 20th November. Evening.
(Tarr on tape) 'lrina k ept telling me in Moscow Centre
'everybody on the top floor was laughing themselves sick.
- 'She told me Karla... ' - November 20th is missing.
Someone is covering their track s, unless of course you think
that's just a coincidence?
What about the money?
30,000 isn't so much for Karla to pay if it protects his mole.
I'm afraid someone in the Circus knows all about Mr Tarr
and is doing everything they can to discredit him.
(Tarr) '... everything the Circus think s is gold is shit, made in Moscow.'
Why didn't you tell me that you had Tarr?
In case I never made it out of the Circus.
I suppose you've got your reading to do.
Come up.
I met him once.
Karla.
In '55.
Moscow Centre was in pieces.
Purge after purge.
Half their agents were jumping ship.
I travelled around, signing them up.
Hundreds of them.
One of them was calling himself Gerstmann.
He was on his way back to Russia
and we were pretty sure he was going to be executed.
Plane had a 24-hour lay-over at Delhi and that's how long I had
to convince him to come over to us
instead of going home to die.
There's a little room.
I'm sitting here. He's sitting there.
The Americans had had him tortured.
He had no fingernails.
It's incredibly hot.
I'm very tired and all I want to do is get this over with and get back home.
Things weren't going well with Ann.
I give him the usual pitch.
"Come to the West and we can give you a comfortable life,
"after questioning."
What did he say?
"Think of your wife.
"You have a wife, don't you?
"Here. I brought you some cigarettes, by the way.
"Use my lighter.
"We could arrange for her to join you. We have a lot of stock to trade.
"If you go back, she'll be ostracised. Think of her.
"Think about..."
I k ept on...
...harping on about the damn wife,
telling him more about me than...
I should have walk ed out, of course.
"We're not so very different you and I.
"We've both spent our lives
"looking for the weaknesses in one another's systems.
"Don't you think it's time to recognise
"there is as little worth on your side as there is on mine?"
Never said a word.
Not one word.
And the next morning he got back on his plane.
He handed the pack of cigarettes back to me, untouched.
This was a chain-smok er, mind.
And he flew off to what he presumed would be his death.
He k ept my lighter.
It was a gift.
"To George from Ann.
"All my love."
That was Karla.
He went back to die rather than giving in.
Yes, and that's how I k now he can be beaten.
Because he's a fanatic.
And the fanatic is always concealing a secret doubt.
What did he look lik e?
I can't remember.
After today, Peter,
you have to assume they're watching you.
If there's anything you need tidied up,
now is the time.
Nearly done.
For God's sak e.
Sometimes I think they're all sharing the same moronic brain.
If there's someone else, you can tell me.
I'm a grown-up.
(Door closes)
(# Record playing)
I know. It's just going to be such a wonderful Christmas.
Excuse me.
(# Music continues)
# And I was too proud to give in
# I had to learn the hard way
- # That pride... # - Peter, when you're ready
Put it on now.
(Record changes)
Everybody!
(All sing Russian national anthem)
(Radio playing)
(Radio off)
(Train passes)
- Jerry. - George.
- Peter. - Jerry.
I need to talk to you.
About the night J im Prideaux was killed.
You were duty officer, weren't you?
Yeah. Control ask ed me to man the phones that night.
He said someone was doing a special job for the service.
He wanted someone he could trust.
(Radio) 'H urricane Henry set to be ridden by Ray Walsh at 7:2... '
- (Gunshot) - (Shouting in Russian)
(Tape clicking)
There's been a bit of a panic, sir.
This is from the FO resident clerk.
A Hungarian news bulletin.
"British spy, work name Ellis,
"travelling with false Hungarian papers,
"has attempted to kidnap an unnamed Hungarian General in Budapest.
"He's been shot.
"Other arrests imminent."
(Phones ringing)
Can I have a brief, please?
Sir? Do you want me to deny it, sir?
(Phones ringing)
(Jerry) 'I couldn't get a word out of Control.
'So I followed protocol and went for the emergency list.'
You rang my house.
J ust on the off-chance you were back from Berlin.
What did you say?
- 'Hello? ' - Hello, Mrs Smiley.
It's Jerry. Jerry Westerby from the office.
Just that there'd been a bit of a crisis.
Ann said you wasn't back yet and that was it.
Go on.
All hell brok e loose.
Military yelling about Hungarian tank s on the border.
Lacon and the minister baying at the door.
Thank Christ Bill Haydon turned up when he did.
- Mr Haydon. - Not now.
Mr Haydon!
Out!
- Tell me. - I tried to get hold of you.
I got half a story on the tick er tape at my club. Tell me.
Jim Prideaux's been shot.
Get me the H ungarian embassy.
You tell your masters what will happen
if one hair on J im Prideaux's head is damaged.
Get Esterhase on the phone. Tell him to call in the Hungarian agents.
Yes, sir.
Any more news on him? Sir?
Oh, God.
We need to get down to his flat, clear out anything link ed.
(Guillam) Haydon heard the news at his club?
(Guillam) At 1: 30? The tick er-tape wouldn't have been running.
So how did he know?
- Jesus, George. - Peter!
- How could he have known? - It's not what you think.
- Then how did he know? - He was at my house that night.
Good flight?
Yes.
Pleasant enough.
I was just passing. I thought I'd call in.
Ann was in bed. She insisted on getting up.
She said she'd be down in a minute.
That's what I'm dropping off. It's an awful daub really.
But Ann expressed a liking.
What's k eeping her?
(Prideaux) Keep going.
Come on, lads. Keep up.
Come on, Bill!
- Got your specs on, J umbo? - Yes, sir.
Come here.
Who's that fellow down there?
I don't know, sir.
Who is he?
Beggar man?
Thief?
Why doesn't he look this way, hm?
Wouldn't you if you saw a bunch of boys flogging a car round a field?
What's the matter with him? Doesn't he lik e us?
I don't hold with odd-bods hanging around.
He might steal the Alvis.
- Which is? - The best car in England, sir.
Good lad.
(Smiley) How were you briefed for the Budapest mission?
(Prideaux) Control ask ed me to come to a flat in Kensington.
There's a rotten apple, Jim.
And we have to find it.
What did you mak e of it, Jim?
Control's theory?
I thought it was madness.
I know that it is one of five men.
All I want from you is one code name.
Alleline.
Tink er.
Haydon.
Tailor.
Bland.
Soldier.
We drop Sailor. It's too close to Tailor.
And Rich Man doesn't seem to be applicable.
Esterhase.
Poor Man.
And the fifth?
Smiley.
I thought it was madness.
To think that any one of you could have been a traitor.
Absolute madness.
(Smiley) 'But you still went.
'Why? '
(Prideaux) 'I went because Control ask ed me to go.
'Lt's called doing one's duty.
'At the station I met the legman supposed to tak e me to the General.
'The waiter must have panick ed.
'Lt was meant to be a simple snatch job.
'They drove me to some military hospital,
'and then put me on a transport plane.
'I could tell by the stars we were heading east.
'Then they work ed me for...
(Sighs heavily)
'... I don't know how long.
'Week s, maybe months.'
(Cacophony of sounds start and stop)
What did you tell them?
Everything.
I held on for as long as I could to let everyone get the hell out of there.
Did they?
My network s in H ungary, did they get out?
No, they were blown.
The story is you blew them to save your own skin.
(Shouting in Russian)
'After the interrogators had cleared out, this little fellow turned up.
'Look ed lik e a priest.
'That's when they really started on me.'
What was your last line of defence, hm?
The mole.
Control's crazy theory.
I was going to bury that so deep they'd never get it out of me.
- Which was a jok e. - Why?
Because they already knew.
All they wanted to know was how far Control had got in his investigation.
No, I don't know her.
(Door closes)
Did they ask about me at all?
Yes.
The little fellow did.
What did he say about me?
He had this cigarette lighter.
He k ept flashing it about for me to see it.
Showed me the inscription.
- "To George..." - "...from Ann.
"All my love."
Karla.
(Gunshot)
(Baby crying)
(Prideaux) 'lt was odd.
'They sent me back to England.
'Straight to Sarratt for debriefing.'
He said when he was being debriefed at the N ursery, he had a visitor.
Who?
(Smiley) 'Toby Esterhase.
'He gave him £ 1, 000 and an Alvis.'
Told him he was dead now. Couldn't come back.
Had to become a lotus eater, forget everything that happened.
Control's theory.
Tink er, Tailor. All of it.
Yes, that's what I thought.
How on earth did Esterhase hear about Tink er, Tailor?
(Tarr on tape) 'lrina k ept telling me in Moscow Centre
'everybody on the top floor was laughing themselves sick.
'She told me Karla was very proud of this.
'She said everything the Circus think s is gold is shit, made in Moscow.
'Lrina k ept telling me in Moscow Centre
'everybody on the top floor was laughing themselves sick.
'No, I had a hotel nearby. They do have some seedy rooms.
'Lrina k ept telling me in Moscow Centre
'everybody on the top floor was laughing themselves sick.
'She told me Karla was very proud of this... '
(Tape recording on a loop)
'She said everything the Circus think s is gold is shit.'
(Stops tape)
This meeting is not taking place. Is that clear?
Perfectly, Minister.
There is a house somewhere in this city
where Alleline and the others meet Witchcraft's London representative.
I thought Lacon had made it clear to you.
Keep your nose bloody well out of Witchcraft's business.
It's Lacon's advice I'm following.
You told me to follow in Control's footsteps.
I wouldn't consider that sound advice, given the mess Control left us with.
It has tak en Alleline and, if I may say so, myself
this long to get us back in the game.
The man Alleline and the others meet is called Polyak ov.
'From Witchcraft to you.
'His real role is to receive information from the mole
'to tak e back to Karla.'
That, er... That's not possible.
Made possible.
By you in the house you persuaded the Treasury to pay for.
Witchcraft's intelligence is genuine. It's been gold.
It's just enough glitter amongst the chick en feed.
Control didn't believe in miracles or in Witchcraft.
But you were lazy and greedy
and so you hounded him out of the Circus and you let Karla in.
You opened negotiations to exchange intelligence with the Americans.
What they tell the C ircus, they'll be telling the Kremlin.
Witchcraft's information, the "gold" Karla let you have,
it wasn't to lure you.
It was to lure the Americans.
Now,
do you want to tak e credit for that?
What can we do?
We have one thing the mole wants.
- If I go to Paris... - You'll go.
If I go to Paris,
I want your word that you will get Irina back.
I don't care who you have to trade. And I am out.
I want a family, thank you. I do not want to end up lik e you lot.
You will get her back.
I'll do my utmost, Ricki.
(Metallic clanging)
Oh, hello, George.
Hello.
I want to talk about loyalty, Toby.
Control recruited you, didn't he?
Found you starving in a museum in Vienna.
A wanted man.
Saved your life, I heard.
And yet when the time came,
when it came to picking sides between him and Alleline,
you didn't hesitate.
That's understandable, perhaps, with your war experience.
You survived this long, I suppose, because of your ability to change sides.
Serve any master.
What? What's... What's this about, George?
It's about which master you've been serving, Toby.
(Smiley) 'I ntelligence has been leak ed, Toby.
'Someone's been taking files from the Circus.
(Esterhase) 'No, no, no, no. No.'
This is a mistak e, a misunderstanding.
Files were delivered to a Russian attaché, weren't they?
Yes.
(Esterhase) 'And, yes, I delivered them.'
(Speak s Russian)
'But so did Percy Alleline.'
Good boy.
(Esterhase) 'Bill Haydon.
'And so did Roy Bland.'
Things aren't always what they seem, George.
You should know that.
Look, Moscow think s Polyak ov's...
...working for them.
Every now and then we give him the odd file to tak e back to them.
Chick en feed, just to k eep his bosses happy.
But Polyak ov's our Joe.
- He's a part of a big operation. - Operation Witchcraft.
Yes, I know.
George.
- Please, I don't deserve this. - Who gave you the message
for Jim Prideaux to forget about Tink er, Tailor?
- Bland. - To get rid of Connie Sachs?
- Westerby? - Bland.
Or Haydon.
I don't know. One of them.
Or maybe Percy. No.
Well, I don't know who.
You're just the messenger.
Running between them all.
Anything to serve Witchcraft.
I know all about your secret source.
And I know something you don't.
I know who he is.
He's Karla.
(Plane engine revs)
(Smiley) 'One of you has been giving Polyak ov the crown jewels. '
- I did not know. - Are you still a wanted man, Toby?
- Look, George, I didn't know. I... - You pick ed the wrong side.
No, you've got to believe me.
George, please.
I am loyal.
I... I am loyal.
Don't... Don't... Don't send me back.
Please, George.
Don't send me back.
Give me the address.
Where do you meet Polyak ov?
(Radio on)
(Knocking)
Hey, hey! Dog, dog, be quiet!
What is this? Who are you?
- What are the safety signals? - The air vent.
Open and all's well, closed and you're not to enter.
And the microphone?
Peter?
The boy stood on the burning deck whence all but he had fled
The flame that lit the battle's wreck shone brightly o'er the dead
(Tape) 'Beautiful and proud he stood as born to rule the storm
'A creature of blood, a proud though child-lik e form'
- The flames rolled on... - (Knocking)
(Bells chime)
Merci. Au revoir.
(Speak French)
Go on.
The whole service is looking for you.
- They'll skin you alive if they find you. - Maybe I want them to find me.
You can go now. Leave the book s and put the k eys in the machines.
No, Ben stays here.
Ricki Tarr claims to have information vital to the safeguarding of the Circus.
(Mendel) 'Mr Smiley? '
Taxi approaching Circus.
Tink er.
Tailor.
Here comes Soldier.
'Full house.'
- Well, go on then. Read it out loud. - "Personal for Tarr from Alleline.
"Require clarification before meeting your request.
"Quote, information vital to safeguarding of the Circus, unquote
"does not qualify, send further information."
Ah! That's it, Percy, you k eep stalling.
I warn you, Ben. We've got some really lousy people in this outfit.
I wouldn't trust a fucking one of them.
(Mendel) 'The meeting's over.
'They're leaving.'
(Car approaches and stops)
(Car door slams)
(Footsteps)
(Door closes)
(Footsteps)
C raddox says I'll be off in a few days.
I k eep thinking how much I'm going to miss the crick et in Moscow.
I was rather hoping you might do a little light housek eeping for me.
If I can.
There's a girl. Give her some money, would you?
And give her a good cover story.
If it helps, tell her I love her.
It's all there.
And there's a boy, too. Slip him a few quid to shut him up.
I know the inquisitors' bag of trick s. I taught most of them.
It's just a reaction.
An over-reaction, if you lik e.
I did have one or two questions.
- About Prideaux. - Goddamn it!
- I got him back, didn't I? - Yes, yes, you did.
I am surprised Karla didn't have him shot.
Or do you think he held back,
out of delicacy towards you?
Did Prideaux come and see you before he left on the Hungarian mission?
Yes, as a matter of fact he did.
To say what?
To warn you.
Because he knew deep down
it was you all along.
So did you.
I had to pick a side, George.
It was an aesthetic choice as much as a moral one.
And the West has become so very ugly.
Don't you think?
Did Karla ever consider having you tak e over the Circus?
I'm not his bloody office boy!
What are you, then, Bill?
I'm someone who's made his mark.
Is there anything particular you want me to pass on to Ann?
Oh, that was nothing personal, George. I hope you understand that.
Karla said you were good,
the one we had to worry about.
But you do have a blind spot.
He reck oned if I was known to be Ann's lover,
you wouldn't be able to see me straight.
And he was right.
Up to a point.
(Bill knock s)
I made this for you, sir.
I don't want you hanging around here any more.
Keep away from me from now on.
- Go and join the others. - But...
Just... Just bloody join in, will you?
Go and play, damn you!
(# Musical intro)
(Singer introduces song in French)
Could you check, Jerry?
(# Sings "La Mer" in French)
(Applause)
(# Singing continues... )
(Song ends)
(Applause)