Funeral in Berlin (1966)

Colonel Stok, a Soviet intelligence officer responsible for security at the Berlin Wall, appears to want to defect but the evidence is contradictory. Stok wants the British to handle his defection and asks for one of their agents, Harry Palmer, to smuggle him out of East Germany.

"The Ipcress File" introduced us to Harry Palmer, the anti-James Bond. This movie is even better than the first. Both are based on novels by Len Deighton, who rivals John LeCarre as the most sophisticated thoughtful spy novelists. Michael Caine's Palmer has a cockney accent, avoids fights, can't afford the finer things in life, has no fancy cars or technological gimmicks. What he has is the brain to figure who's triple crossing all the double crossers in Cold War Berlin's espionage underground. It helps that all the other characters underestimate him. This movie is sharp, intelligent, and unsentimental. It ranks with the very best spy movies ever made. Outstanding.