The Man Outside (1967 film)

The Man Outside is a 1967 British spy thriller film directed by Samuel Gallu and starring Van Heflin, Heidelinde Weis and Pinkas Braun.^[1] It was first released in Austria and West Germany in 1967, and in Britain in 1968. The story is based on the 1959 novel Double Agent by Gene Stackelberg.

The Man Outside
Directed by	Samuel Gallu
Written by	Samuel Gallu Julian Bond Roger Marshall
Produced by	William J. Gell
Starring	Van Heflin Heidelinde Weis Pinkas Braun Charles Gray
Cinematography	Gilbert Taylor
Edited by	Thom Noble
Music by	Richard Arnell
Production companies	Trio Film Group W Films
Distributed by	London Independent Producers (UK) Allied Artists (US)
Release dates	25 August 1967 (1967-08-25) (W. Germany) 1 May 1968 (1968-05-01) (London)
Running time	97 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Plot

A disgraced former CIA agent attempts to bring a Russian defector safely to his former bosses.

Cast

• Van Heflin as Bill MacLean
• Heidelinde Weis as Kay Sebastian
• Pinkas Braun as Rafe Machek
• Peter Vaughan as Nikolai Volkov
• Charles Gray as Charles Griddon
• Paul Maxwell as Judson Murphy
• Ronnie Barker as George Venaxas
• Linda Marlowe as Dorothy
• Gary Cockrell as Brune Parry
• Larry Cross as Austen
• Bill Nagy as Morehouse
• Carole Ann Ford as Cindy

Production

The film's sets were designed by the art director Peter Mullins.

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "A standard espionage adventure on the spying-is-a-dirty-business theme, with the usual quota of red herrings, loose ends and double crosses. Van Heflin gives Maclean a rather attractive line in tired charm that underlines his disenchantment with international intrigue. Still, it is hard to maintain sympathy with any spy who has not yet learned from previous films the sheer folly of meeting other agents at Charing Cross Pier. And the banality of the photography (mostly shot from a "seat in the stalls" perspective) is heightened rather than relieved by the occasional use of arty upside-down shots."^[2]