Plot : In 1957, lawyer James B. Donovan is recruited from his prestigious law firm to defend accused Soviet spy Rudolf Abel. It's an unenviable task in many respects. Donovan hasn't practiced criminal law since he was a prosecutor at the Nuremburg trials after World War II. Also, the strong anti-Communist mood at the time makes him a target from who think Abel should just be executed. Abel is convicted but Donovan convinces the judge to sentence him to prison, rather than execute him, as they may at some point in the future want to swap him for an American spy the Soviets might have in custody. Just such a scenario comes into play when in 1960 U-2 spy pilot Francis Gary Powers is shot down over Soviet territory and taken prisoner. Donovan is again recruited to act as the intermediary and negotiate swapping Able for the American requiring him to travel to East Berlin crossing the newly built Berlin Wall.
Trivia:
• According to Tom Hanks in a press release for the movie, when James Donovan makes arguments to the Supreme Court about Rudolf, the words used in the movie were the same as the arguments presented to the Supreme Court.
• According to Steven Spielberg in a press release for the movie, Gregory Peck came after the story in 1965. Alec Guinness agreed to play Rudolf Ivanovich Abel, Peck would play Donovan, and Stirling Silliphant would write the script. MGM declined to make the movie at the time. It was 1965, Cold War tensions were high, and MGM was reluctant to get into the politics of the story.
• In the closing titles, it is explained that Donovan was also influential in the Bay of Pigs negotiations, shortly after the events of the film. Donovan was asked to obtain freedom for detained Cubans and Americans imprisoned during the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961. Over the course of several trips to the island, Donovan gained the confidence of Cuban Leader Fidel Castro. He eventually secured the release of more than 1,100 survivors of the invasion, as well as another 8,500 political prisoners.
• At the beginning of the movie Rudolf Abel is painting a self-portrait, the scene is based on Norman Rockwell's Triple Self-portrait. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas are big collectors of Rockwell's work.
• The rock band U2 took their name from the U-2 plane which is featured in this movie. The band's lead singer Bono's daughter Eve Hewson plays a role in the movie.
Goofs:
• Donovan calls his wife from a West Berlin telephone booth and a) can pay for the call with a few coins and b) gets through immediately. Both virtually impossible in the 1960s when an overseas call often required hours to get the line and cost $10 for 3 minutes (US to Europe, probably more the other way round)
• The subway entrance at the beginning has a green globe. These colored globes did not exist until 1982. Green means open 24 hours. Red means not. Prior to 1982 they were always white. Interestingly the exact same mistake was made in a previous Tom Hanks -Steven Spielberg movie, Catch Me If You Can.
• When the television set is turned off in this movie, picture disappears instantly. When TVs of the time were turned off, the picture shrank to a white dot which stayed on the screen for a few minutes.
• During the courtroom scenes for the 1957 trial, the American flags flanking the judge were not introduced until 1960. At the time of the trial there were only 48 states. The flags have 50 stars.
• When Donovan is riding the subway, outside you can see DirecTV antennas on people's roofs.
Have you seen this movie? Give us your thoughts! Have a fangtastic Monday!<3 Brock V"""V
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