Back in the USSR

March 24, 2011 7:06 AM

Trying to remember a spy thriller film from the early 80s.

Saw a film in the early 80s (probably around 81/82). Sort of a spy / thriller genre film. The main thing I remember was the final sequence - the hero has to rescue a woman (I think it's his wife) who has been imprisoned in a Soviet mental hospital. At some point during this, one of the bad guys (a KGB functionary) gets cornered by two lunatics and ends up killed in a giant industrial washing machine. The final bit has title cards showing where the various protagonists ended up (one bad guy was sent to posting in Siberia/the Chinese border, the 'washing machine' guy was 'missing')

Have scoured IMDB without much luck, help!

posted by fearfulsymmetry to sports, hobbies, & recreation (7 answers total)

I assume by your location this was an English film and not a Hollywood film?
posted by JJ86 at 7:28 AM on March 24, 2011

Oh no, it was definitely American - should have said that. The hero was played by I think a fairly notable, at the time, American actor (who for the life of me I can't remember)
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 7:31 AM on March 24, 2011

Could it be Enigma from 1983? Martin Sheen and Sam Neill. A washing machine death is mentioned at the bottom of the page.
posted by iconomy at 7:45 AM on March 24, 2011 [1 favorite]

This review mentions the mental hospital and the imdb link mentions kgb, if that helps jog your memory. This site has pics and a link to the trailer.
posted by iconomy at 7:57 AM on March 24, 2011

I'm sure that must be it... there can't be many spy films that feature death by washing machine (which was very memorable - possibly because everything is implied rather than shown)

I think the fact that it was set in East Germany rather than the USSR, as I had misremembered it, was why I could not find it on IMDB. Sheen and Jacobi definitely feel like the right people for the hero and the villain. I can't remember Sam Neil but then I did only see it once as a kid so it's all a bit sketchy

Thanks, now I'll have to track it down to confirm it...
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 8:17 AM on March 24, 2011

Oh and 'This review' is a broken link
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 8:17 AM on March 24, 2011

This review ;)
posted by iconomy at 9:26 AM on March 24, 2011