Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979): Season 1, Episode 7 - Flushing Out the Mole - full transcript

Now Smiley has set his trap, Peter Guillam sets up the safe house to record the evidence when the mole finally incriminates himself. After his arrest, Smiley proudly plays the tape to the rest of the Centre and allows them to organize the moles future. The next day, after softening up by the inquisitors Smiley visits the mole and hears the whole story.

Check.

Toby Esterhase did say two full
milk bottles and all's well and you
may enter?

Yes, George. And that's the second time.

Is it? Well, let's not pretend
we're not nervous.

Check, George.

Ready to record? Shall we try it?
I'll go upstairs.

What would you like...
Monteverdi, Irving Berlin, Mick Jagger?

This machinery, installed at great
expense to the British taxpayer,

is voice-activated...

When I stop speaking,
the tape will stop recording.

See?



Old man river
That old man river

He just keeps rolling...

Hello, here's something...

Soldier's just arriving.
That's all three of them in there now.

- Under starter's orders.
- Importantly, who gets away first?

Just going for a walk.
Back with you in a minute.

Peter? All clear?

- As far as I can judge. No promises.
- You should come down now.

- Proceed?
- Proceed.

- What's that?
- Nothing, just fiddling.

- You there?
- Yes.

Someone just leaving. Can't
quite make him out.

Called a taxi right to the door. Cheeky.

Thank you. Join us.



- What will you drink?
- Scotch. Bloody great big one.

Have you anything on you
that I should...

- Will Alleline go to Paris?
- He's got to.

Stay just long enough to...

He knows Tarr would never
stick his neck out...

Something to buy back
his good name...and then some.

You know what it is.
Karla's got 24 hours to get me out.

The time has come, Aleks.

You!

You...! You!

You butchered my agents...
How many since? How many?

Two hundred? Three? FOUR?!

- Stop that!
- Alright! Alright!

- Are you armed, Bill?
- I'm a Soviet diplomat.

- This behavior...
- Shut up!

Peter, will you phone Percy Alleline
and ask him and Roy Bland

to come here immediately?
Then Lacon, then Toby Esterhase.

I think the first thing to do
is to play them this evening's tapes.

That should save
a great deal of time in explanations.

Aleks...really. Oh, they're on.

Do you mind if I finish
my drink, George?

- No one out there you noticed?
- Quiet as the grave.

Very proper, George.
Don't want anything irrelevant, do we?

Very tidy, George.

- Will Alleline go to Paris?
- He's got to.

He'll delay just long enough
to keep his dignity.

He can't jump the moment
Ricki Tarr tells him to.

Tarr would never stick his neck out
unless he'd something precious,

something to buy back
his good name...and then some.

And you and I know what it is.

Karla's got 24 hours to pull me out.
The time has come, Aleks.

Well, that's that. Congratulations,
George.

Next step, gentlemen?

Would you agree, Percy,
that our best course

is to make some positive use
of Bill Haydon?

We need to salvage whatever's left
of the networks he's betrayed.

Yes.

We sell Bill to Moscow Center for as many
of our men in the field as can be saved.

For humanitarian reasons.
Professionally, of course, they're
finished.

Quite.

The sooner you open
negotiations with Karla, the better.

You're much better placed to talk terms
with our friend downstairs than I am.

Polyakov remains your
direct link with Karla.

The only difference is this time
you know it.

It's definitely your job, Percy.
You're still Chief.

Officially...for the moment.

Very well, George.

Excuse me, sir.

Mr Guillam says is it alright
if the inquisitors take Mr Haydon
away now, sir?

Shall I go first?

All the best, Percy.

I want Fawn to stay with him.

I'm sorry about the assault
...unprofessional.

It was just that...it would have
to be Bill Haydon, wouldn't it?

He was always our hero,
in capital letters.

I mean for the younger lot
...my kind, anyway.

The antiquated English patriot.

"Never mind all the dirt we have
to do. It's for England."

The funny thing is, it's an effort
not to think of him with affection.

I suppose Bill would say
that means you've grown up, Peter.

Always good for a laugh,
wasn't he, Bill?

I'd like to thank you, by the way.
You helped enormously. Truly, Peter.

Lacon assures me there's been
no coercion. I hope that's true.

Oh, yes. No complaints, George.

Bit of a nose-bleed, keep
feeling dizzy. I'm sure it's just
the excitement of it all.

- Why have you been weeping?
- Sheer exasperation.

The pettiness of our inquisitors.
They're utterly incompetent.

They believe I know the names
of Karla's other moles around the world.

Idiots! I can't talk to
people like that.

You're prepared to say
something to me, according to Lacon.

Can't Percy get a move on
doing his horse-trading with Karla?

I'm sure it'll only be a day or two now.

- What do you want to know?
- Oh...why? When? How?

Why? You ask that!

Because it was necessary...
that's why! Someone had to.

We were bluffed! You, me,
Control...all of us.

The Circus talent spotters
all those years ago...

they picked us when we
were golden with hope.

Told us we were on our way
to the Holy Grail, a lifetime
of glory in front of us.

Service to the great cause.
Freedom's protectors.

Oh, my God...what a question
..."Why?"

Do you know what's killing
Western democracy, George?

Greed...and constipation...
moral, political, aesthetic.

I hate America very deeply.

The economic repression
of the masses...institutionalized.

Even Lenin couldn't foresee
the extent of that.

Britain...oh, dear!

No viability whatever in world affairs.

I suppose that's when it began.
Turning my eyes to the east, I mean.

When I saw how trivial we'd become
as a nation...say the forties.

By 1950, I was slipping Karla
occasional gifts of intelligence,

carefully selected morsels to help
the Russian cause against America.

At that time I was scrupulous not to give
Moscow anything harmful to ourselves,

our own agents in the field.

I still believe the secret services

are the only real expression
of a nation's character.

Until the mid-fifties,
I still had hopes...

lingering loyalty to what
WE represented.

Self-delusion, of course.

We were already America's streetwalkers.

I was granted Soviet citizenship
twelve years ago.

They've given me a couple of medals.

- What medals?
- I didn't ask. Does it matter?

- Quite a lot to Bill, one supposes.
- Possibly.

We're going to get a bit
more from him, I hope.

I do hope so, George.

He's right about the state
of affairs down there, slovenly.

They don't even patrol the perimeter,
day or night. I have mentioned it.

The thinking on Sarratt is that
it should be as inconspicuous
as possible.

I'm concerned for Haydon's safety.

Aren't you being a little over-dramatic?

He can only go to Russia,
and we're sending him there, anyway.

The number of people
who need to be told about all this,

as we agree, must be kept
as small as possible.

I suppose your wife will have to be
among them. I know you told me...

she and Haydon...over and done
with now...

There's always the unknown factor
in matters of the heart, isn't there?

I'm thinking about the future,
any possible further contact.

If Ann doesn't know...she does meet
so many different sorts of people.

- She gets around.
- I'm sorry, George.

Not at all. I quite take your point.

Ann must let us know
of any approach, directly or indirectly,

- made by or on behalf of...
- Exactly.

Or even apparently on behalf of,
or merely concerning, Bill Haydon.

- Thank you.
- I was going to tell her anyway.

You might call it balancing the books.

Absolutely.

One thing perplexes me more than
anything else about the mole conspiracy.

Karla devised Operation Witchcraft

primarily as a means of putting
poor Percy Alleline on Control's throne.

But why didn't Karla want Haydon
to take over the Circus himself?

It would've been less difficult
to arrange,

with all Bill's
acknowledged accomplishments.

No, no. We had the perfect set-up.

Percy made the running,
I slipstreamed behind him.

Roy and Toby did the legwork.

Far better for me to remain
the freewheeling subordinate,

the laughing cavalier.

Being in charge could have
bogged me down...

admin, meetings, dinners,
chewing the cud in Whitehall.

- Never happened to Control.
- A natural recluse, Control.

I couldn't have behaved like that
and got away with it. No, no, George.

Karla and I agreed.
I would have been wasted as Chief.

- Could have done it, of course.
- Of course.

I'd like to go inside now.

Yes, you're right.

The Czechoslovakian business
was a bit of a desperate throw.

But something pretty bold
was called for.

I was certain Control
was getting very warm indeed.

All that burrowing in the files
he was doing.

It was paying off, I knew.

He'd built up
an uncomfortably impressive inventory

of the number of operations
I'd either blown or managed to cripple.

Then, of course, he was
narrowing his field of suspects.

A short list of officers
of a certain age, experience, rank.

He did well, considering he was so ill.
Surprised Karla.

Was the offer of information
from General Stevcek genuine?

Good Lord, no. It was a fix
from start to finish.

Stevcek existed, of course.
Still does. Very distinguished man.

But he never offered anything
to Control or anybody else.

Did you expect Control
to send Jim Prideaux?

Well...obviously, we needed
to be certain Control would rise
to the bait.

We had to spell it out that he'd got
a big gun, to make the story stick.

We knew he'd only settle
for someone outside London Station.

- Someone he trusted.
- And who spoke Czech, of course.

Naturally.

It had to be a man who was old Circus,
to bring the temple down a bit.

Yes, I see the logic of that.

It was perhaps the most famous
partnership the Circus ever had.

You and Jim, back in the old days.

"The iron fist in the iron glove."
Who was it who coined that?

I got him home, didn't I?

Yes, that was good of you.

- The thing with Ann was Karla's idea.
- Was it?

Yes. Did you think it was hers?

Karla always thought, if there was
a threat, it would come from you.

He said you were quite good.
But you had this one weak spot...

Ann.

It was a double fix, actually.

On the one hand, you weren't likely
to think of me as a Circus spy

if you were preoccupied with what
your wife and I got up to in bed.

And on the other, if it was
well known that I was her lover,

it was bound to look like
personal vengeance

if you ever did suggest
I might be the mole.

So Karla said, not to strain it,

but if possible...join the queue.

- Point?
- Point.

Presumably it was on
Karla's instructions

you were with Ann on the night
of the Prideaux shoot-up? As insurance?

Oh, yes, he was adamant on that.

They tell me I could be away tomorrow,
or the day after at the latest.

Can you make sure any mail
gets forwarded from my club?

And the balance of my salary, of course.

I will.

- Anything else?
- Oh, yes, I nearly forgot.

You got a pen somewhere?

Thanks.

Girlfriend. Give her this.

I'm away on work of national importance.

Maybe for years...so she can
forget me...

Well, I can't take her with me, can I?

Even if I could, she'd be
a bloody millstone.

Oh, and...

there's one particular boy.
A cherub, but no angel.

Haven't seen a lot of him,
but better give him a couple of hundred.

Can you do that out of the reptile fund?

- I would think so.
- Good.

Oh, God, I'm tired.

- My pen, please.
- What?

Oh...certainly. Sorry.

Thank you.

Don't look round, Bill.

Oh, it's you, Jim.

Come to say goodbye? Nice of you.

Glad to see you haven't lost your touch.
Must be in pretty good shape.

Why did you get me back?

I couldn't leave you rotting
in a Czech prison.

Russian.

Why didn't Karla finish me off?
Was that out of delicacy to you?

Wasn't that, was it?
You both thought a corpse might make

a lot more fuss than just another
repatriated, harmless cripple.

- Didn't you?
- The shooting wasn't part of the plan, Jim.

No, not the shooting.

But everything else.

...and the food shall be forestored
to the land against the seven years
of famine,

which shall be in the land of Egypt.

That the land perish not through famine.

And the thing was good in
the eyes of Pharaoh and in
the eyes of all his servants.

And Pharaoh said unto his servants,
"Can we find such a one as this,"

"a man in whom the spirit of God is?"
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph,

"Forasmuch as God hath...
shewed...thee all this..."

"Forasmuch as God hath...shewed..."

"Forasmuch as..."

"Forasmuch as God hath...
sh...sh...shewed...!"

"Forasmuch as God hath
showed thee all this."

"Forasmuch as God hath
showed thee all this,"

"there is none so discreet
and wise as thou art."

"Thou shalt be over my house,"

"and according unto thy word
shall all my people be ruled."

"Only in the throne will I be
greater than thou..."

It seems that at 10.30, Haydon told
the guards he felt a bit sick

and thought a breath of air
would help him.

Because his case was now
considered closed,

they saw no reason to tear themselves
away from some horror film

that had just started on the TV
and they let him wander off.

Half an hour later, they thought
they'd better go and look for him.

He'd received no letters,
messages during the day.

I was the only outsider to see him.

But his suit had come back
from the cleaners.

Possibly a message was concealed in it,
inviting him to a rendezvous.

The guards had not inspected
the suit before giving it to him.

I'm afraid that doesn't surprise me.

Any comments, anyone?

If someone went to the cleaners,
said he lost his ticket,

could he look through the stuff
ready for collection?

That's one way.

Would the Russians kill Haydon?

It gives Karla all the reason he needs
to cancel the deal on our networks.

But Moscow Center prides itself
on getting its people back.

Important point, Roy.

Well, WHO, then?

We will all, of course, have to account
for our movements last night.

Necessary formality.

Also Mendel, Fawn, Ricki Tarr.

Then, as to the future...

I've been asked to...look after things
for a while.

I'd like everyone to take some leave.

Afterwards there'll be some...
redeployment...

for those of you who wish
to remain with the service.

George.

- Hello.
- Ann.

- Just the same.
- You too.

No...Julian, was that his name?

Jake. And no Jake. Gone.
Actually got a job somewhere.

I'm quite free at the moment.
Enjoying it.

Uncle Guzzle Guts is away too. Madrid.
So I've got the house to myself.

I've brought you this. It goes...

Oh, George. Very nice of you.

What's been happening?
How've you all been?

Did Bill say anything about me?

I mean me as a person,
what he thought about me?

- Not really.
- Are you glad he's dead?

Please...don't say "Not really."

No, I'm not glad.

There was a moment when I knew, when
I heard his voice, talking to Polyakov.

Just for a moment I wanted
to shoot him...but it passed.

Bill betrayed totally, didn't he?
Everything, everyone?

Was he taking some kind of revenge?

- He must have talked to you.
- Should I have passed that on?

Pillow talk?

Describe Bill.

Yet another man trying to find
a little place in history.

But George, Bill standing
at the center of some secret stage,

playing world against world,
he had a wonderful time.

He enjoyed himself. He loved
being a traitor.

I'm glad he's dead. His life was over.

- I'm glad for him.
- Did you love him?

Ann, did you?

No, George.

Poor George.
Life's such a puzzle to you, isn't it?

Lord, now lettest thou
thy servant

Depart in peace

According to

Thy word

For mine eyes have seen

Thy salvation

Which thou hast prepared before the face

Of all people

To be a light

To lighten

The gentiles

And to be the glory

Of thy people

Israel

Glory be to the Father

And to the Son

And to the Holy Ghost

As it was in the beginning

Is now and ever shall be

World without end

Amen