Being bored recently, and with there being nothing on the telly, we decided to blow the dust off our extensive collection of stiff upper lip black and white British films. One of the unsung actors of the 1950s and 60s was Bernard Lee. Many of you will remember him as an early M in the James Bond films. He was, however, the largely unsung hero of many a British movie and TV series.
Bernard Lee as “M”
Bernard’s film career starts in the 1930s with films The Double Event, The River House Mystery, Rhodes of Africa, Love From a Stranger, The Black Tulip, The Terror, Murder in Soho, and The Frozen Limits.
In the 1940s he appeared in Let George Do It!, Spare a Copper, Once a Crook, The New Lot, This Man is Mine, The Courtneys of Curzon St, Dusty Bates, Quartet, The Fallen Idol, and The Third Man.
By the time we get to the 1950s the film parts are coming thick and fast. Highlights from this period are The Blue Lamp, Morning Departure, Odette, Single Handed, Beat the Devil, The Purple Plain, The Ship that Died of Shame, The Battle of the River Plate, Dunkirk, and Danger Within.
His most prolific period is the 1960s where he had parts in Whistle Down the Wind, The L Shaped Room, Dr No, From Russia With Love, Ring of Spies, Goldfinger, The Spy Who Came in From The Cold, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
The 1970s were a quieter period in Bernard’s life. His films include Danger Point, Raging Moon, Diamonds are Forever, Dulcima, Live and Let Die, Frankenstein and The Monster From Hell, Percy’s Progress, The Man With The Golden Gun, Bons Baisers de Hong Kong, The Spy Who Loved Me, and Moonraker.
As well as his film career we should not forget his many TV appearances. These include Danger Man, The Human Jungle, The Baron, Man in a Suitcase, The Persuaders, Armchair Theatre, The Third Man, The Expert, Pathfinders, Father Brown, and The Last Detective. Surprisingly enough I don’t think he was in the Avengers.
The bungalow on Cranley Drive, Ruislip
But enough of Bernard’s long career, let us concentrate on his starring role in the 1964 film, Ring of Spies. The film is based on the true life story of the Portland Spy Ring. Bernard plays Henry Houghton an alcoholic Naval Clerk that has had a mistress whilst working in the British Embassy in Warsaw. He disgraces himself at an embassy party and is sent home in disgrace. Bizarrely the powers that be send him to a top secret Underwater Weapons Establishment at Portland. Even dafter is that Houghton tells his former mistress in Warsaw of where he works. Understandably the KGB blackmail Houghton to get secrets from the Establishment’s safe.
Houghton doesn’t have access to the safe, but Elizabeth “Bunty” Gee does. Gee is middle aged and not seen much of life. Houghton takes an interest in her, but can’t quite persuade her to open the safe. Gordon Lonsdale is Houghton’s handler for the KGB. He organises parties for Houghton and Gee in London, and slowly Gee is subverted. Lonsdale and Houghton tell Gee that Lonsdale is with Nato and needs to see plans to persuade the Americans that the UK is abiding by treaties. Gee goes along with the idea. Lonsdale pays Houghton and Gee, and soon they have a relatively comfortable life style.
It is Houghton and Gee’s lifestyle that is their undoing. At the Establishment there is an officer who is moonlighting by taking photographs of the staff for a fee. Houghton falls out with him. Unfortunately the officer falls out with his girlfriend and she anonymously shops him to the Establishment security. The officer is in the clear because he doesn’t use Admiralty photographic equipment. Nevertheless security decide to call the police to investigate. The officer is asked to name anyone he has fallen out with, and names his girlfriend and Houghton. Plain clothes officers follow the girlfriend and Houghton. The surveillance officer reports back that Houghton seems to spend more money than he earns in the pub. Security start to investigate and discover the connection between Houghton, Gee and Lonsdale.
Houghton and Gee’s routine was to take documents out of the safe on Friday night, hand them to Lonsdale on Saturday, get the documents back Sunday, and replace them early on Monday morning. Lonsdale took the documents to the Krogers, Peter and Helen, who just happen to live in a bungalow in Ruislip. Textual documents were sent high speed to Moscow by radio and drawings were photo reduced to microdots by Peter Kroger. The microdots were disguised as semi colons in books, which Peter Kroger took abroad.
The security services followed Lonsdale and managed to arrest him and the Krogers as well as Houghton and Gee. An extra bonus was that the raid unmasked George Blake as a spy, when he tried to warn the Russian Ambassador about the raid. Houghton and Gee were sentenced to 15 years, The Krogers to 20 years and Lonsdale to 25 years. Lonsdale was swapped for Greville Wynne in 1964.
So, you have your little bungalow in Ruislip. You can reasonably assume N54 02. and W001 41. Remember, Comrade, if someone comes up to you and says “The rhubarb is red for this time of year!”, the proper reply is “I prefer mine with tonic water”.
You can check your answers for this puzzle on GeoChecker.com.