User Reviews

When we first meet Sebastian, an Oxford don, he is running to a ceremony at one of the colleges in full regalia. He is followed by a pretty girl, Rebecca Howard, in a jeep. As it turns out both are attracted from the start. Sebastian's talent, aside from his academic knowledge, consists in being a master at breaking enemy codes. WWII has ended, but British intelligence is still interested in deciphering threatening secret messages.

Sebastian who lands up in a government office in charge of the all female pool of code breakers, decides to employ Rebecca when she comes to him looking for a job. Things get complicated for him because Carol, the woman he has been seeing, turns out to be a royal pain. He realizes his interest in Rebecca is stronger than he realized.

This 1968 British film turned up recently on cable. Not having seen it, we decided to take a look. The film captures the spirit that was prevalent in London during those crazy years of Mod everything. Director David Greene did a fairly good job with a film that never makes clear what it was all about. One of the best things are the opening credits and of course, the costumes of that era.

Dirk Bogarde plays the enigmatic Sebastian, the man who can't see a puzzle without solving it. Lilli Palmer has a small role. Susannah York was lovely as Rebecca. John Gielgud and Nigel Davenport play government officers.

The musical score by Jerry Goldsmith is an asset for a film with its catchy melodies. Gerry Fisher's camera shows London as it looked during that fun period.

I haven't seen this movie for at least 25 years so my rating is obviously a shot from the hip. I do recollect enjoying its slightly quirky idea at the time.

Featuring Dirk Bogarde, Britain's prettiest closet gay, as yet another handsome heterosexual; he gives his usual competent turn as a cryptologist-par-excellence who is so obsessed with his craft that he can't even concentrate on sexy Susannah York (though we all know the real reason).

The movie is an interesting and light-hearted take on the business of code-breaking. Bletchley Park meets swinging sixties. Groovy, baby. It's an unpretentious little relic that seems to have been largely forgotten. Which is a shame, because it deserves an airing from time to time. It makes a great contrast with the coolly laconic and rather more serious 'Ipcress File'.

Its cast is really quite amazing for such a 'lost' movie. As well as Bogarde and York there's the irreplaceable John Gielgud, Nigel Davenport, Donald Sutherland, and Ronald Fraser. Even the late Alan Freeman, one of the most enduring pirate/BBC DJ's of the late 20th century plays the part - of a DJ. What more can a movie ask?

Worth a watch, if only for such an excellent cast.

Every profession, including apparently the spy business too, has a support staff, and this is a film about decoders, and this deals with spy Dirk Bogarde who has a team of women decoding for him, and that brings Susannah York into his life. There is a shell of a spy plot here, but you really have to dig to find it, and basically, the film is so dull at times that it's easy to get distracted and forget where the caper issues of the movie are. Joining Dirk Bogarde and Susannah York in this are Sir John Gielgud, Lili Palmer and Nigel Davenport, and they really don't get a lot to do. York, as the love interest, seems to have a love and hate for Bogarde, but when he puts her to use in his newest case, it's definitely more love simply because he's showing her value.

Outside of the location footage which is gorgeous, the real star of this is the Jerry Goldsmith musical score and that mod 60's atmosphere that when used properly brings on unintentional laughs based on the fashions and other trends of the time. I would rate this film one star less if it wasn't for that because I really had no interest in the plot as it was being developed and there's very little interest in the leading characters for me as well. It's obvious that they didn't put much thought into the script, and the direction is rather bland. I also found there was little to no action which made the film creep along at a snail's pace. Definitely not one of the better caper films of the height of that era.

"Sebastian" tells the story of a tumultuous relationship between a major British cryptographer and one of his female underlings, both of whom are fiercely intelligent but flawed individuals. Both of them have a temper and both of them need to perform a confidential and hugely stressful job, meaning that love does not walk smoothly along a sun-kissed path...

Now this movie straddles two genres, to wit romance and espionage. It is not an entirely happy combination. Moreover, the "espionage" aspect feels halfbaked and underdone : buried within "Sebastian", there's a sharper, tauter intrigue fighting to get out.

Still, I enjoyed the movie, partially because of its time capsule feel (the 1960's have rarely been so 1960's) and partially because of its unusual subject. It's rare to find a movie about cryptography, especially one which actually shows organized teams of people toiling at a solution. I also liked the fine, breezy musical score.

Here I would like to mention a point of special interest, to wit that the original screenstory for "Sebastian" was written by Leo Marks. This is a remarkable pedigree, since Marks was one of the more notable British cryptographers. A multi-talented man, he also wrote poems and stories. I wholeheartedly recommend his memoir, called "Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War 1941-1945". It's as spell-binding and moving as any fine work of fiction.

This is perhaps best described as Swinging Sixties preserved in amber past its sell-by date. The presence of Lilli Palmer sold it to me and whilst she's the best thing in it by a mile she is also so NOT Swinging Sixties and floats above it serenely. Romantic leads Dirk Bogarde and Susannah York have all the chemistry of Moishe Dayan and Golda Meir and it's no better with Bogarde and his mistress (soon to be discarded in favour of York) Janet Munro. The only female besides Palmer who seems to have a clue is Margaret Johnston as a sort of den mother. Johnny Gielgud is on hand to lend a bit of class and Nigel Davenport totally lacks credibility as Head of inept security. Apart from that it's a gem.

The Coolest Of Them All...

I have strong reasons to believe that is one of the best movies ever made, for it has achieved an accomplishment that was never achieved by any other so - called classics of the late 60s, like 'Blow-Up!' or even the hideously uneven 'Casino Royale'. It succeeds in exposing London's hypnotic late60s atmosphere as well as telling us, viewers, an interesting and rewarding story. It basically consists on the love story between Sebastian, a counter-intelligence agent that works on deciphering codes for England that recruits to work for him - while recruiting girls for his office, he encounters flashy, fashionable, London chick Becky Howard - played to perfection by Susannah York - who becomes one of his employees as well as his lover. She finds terribly hard to keep up with his cold, uninteresting, unappealing life-style, and of not at all being a priority to the man she loves. She leaves him - and it's his turn to find how difficult life is without her. He beguins to fail on his job, to the point of almost been killed by an enemy agent. He decides to leave his pride and go after her - only to find her living alone with a baby, who turns out to be his! He asks her to come back and events lead to a jolly happy ending.

Trust me, this is the most exciting journey into 60s popculture that ever was. The coolest of them all, only topped by the also wonderful 'The President's Analyst', featuring great performances by both leads and for co-starring seniors as Lilli Palmer and Sir John Gielgud, and a beguiling soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith - Listen closely to the tune 'Comes The Night', sung by Anita Harris. Do not, I repeat, do not, miss this one! Yours Truly - Ismar

I was saddened at the death in January of one of my favourite actresses - Susannah York. 'Sebastian' was one of many films she made in the '60's. It came out just as Bondmania peaked. It is about spies but strictly speaking is not a thriller, more a romantic comedy. The late Dirk Bogarde plays the titular character, a professor of mathematics so brilliant he can work out complex sums in his head in a flash. He has his very own department within the British Secret Service, devoted to code breaking. All the people under him are women, and attractive ones at that ( no fool he ). As the film opens, we see Sebastian running through the streets of Oxford for a meeting with the Prime Minister. A young woman called Rebecca Howard ( York ) almost runs him down in her Mini Moke. Once she has finished insulting him, he asks her to spell her name backwards. She does so. Then he asks how many words she can make from 'thorough'. Impressed, he offers her a job in his Department. Sebastian is a cold fish, almost like a code himself, and she is determined to crack him. He has other problems - General Phillips ( Nigel Davenport ) believes him to be a security risk, especially as he has known Communist sympathiser Elsa Shahn ( Lilli Palmer ) working in his department. Phillips decides to put Sebastian under surveillance...

Directed by the underrated ( and alas deceased ) David Greene, whose other movie credits include 'The Shuttered Room', 'Godspell', and 'The Strange Affair', 'Sebastian' is a delight from start to finish. One of the producers was the great Michael Powell. The cast are wonderful, alongside Bogarde and York there's Sir John Gielgud as the 'Head Of Intelligence', Janet Munro as 'Carol Fancy', the washed-up pop singer Sebastian is having an affair with, and Ronald Fraser as 'Toby', who forces Carol into becoming the bait of a trap involving champagne laced with L.S.D. A pre-'M.A.S.H.' Donald Sutherland appears briefly. Gerald Vaughan-Hughes's witty script came from a story by Leo Marks, himself a code breaker in World War 2. Some lush sets on view courtesy of Wilfrid Shingleton, who also worked on 'The Avengers' television series. Sebastian's department is a big open-plan room in which his girls work tirelessly to break enemy codes while their boss watches over them from the panoramic window ( with louvre shutters ) in his office. James Bond would be proud of it.

The wonderful soundtrack is by Jerry Goldsmith. I bought a C.D. of it a year or so back and was disappointed to find that at least half the film's score is not on it, such as the strident theme that accompanies Sebastian's visit to a radio telescope.

Like a lot of '60's films, it used to get shown a lot on television but has not been screened anywhere recently. I think it was last on B.B.C.-2 back in 1988 ( I know because I taped it ). Its non-appearance on D.V.D. is itself a baffling mystery worthy of investigation by Sebastian himself.

I saw this many decades ago and, apart from the "team of female codebreakers led by a genius" couldn't really remember much apart from the fact that I enjoyed it. Not the title, the fact that it's stuffed full of really quite famous people, nor much of the plot! Having been directed to the correct title by the IMDB community (thanks!) and thanks to the wonder of youtube, I have now rewatched it. Sadly, I am now seeing more of the flaws that my memory had erased, although it was still fun and the basic setup quite interesting. Despite Dirk's subsequent comments about being miscast, I think he fits the part very well, and makes quite a convincing "work" Sebastian. Sitting less comfortably was the "romantic" Sebastian - not just because of what we now know but also because of the of-its-time sexual politics (e.g. he slaps her during one argument and she is almost immediately kissing him again...). The rest of the supporting cast also do pretty well but the biggest issue for me this time was the soundtrack. I found it very intrusive, overly loud and really quite irritating at times. I don't think I'll be watching it again, or recommending it wholesale - but for fans of the 1960s and Man-fom-Uncle-type capers it's still interesting.

Way back then I remembered that after presenting a code to solve, the head man stepped down and walked down the aisle asking "When do we go home?" to which everyone responded "When the job is done." Continuing to walk he asked "When is the job done?" The response in one word; "Never". That main room had a James Bond atmosphere about it in my mind. Especially the elevated office with vertical shades if memory serves me right. This was my first introduction to the art and science of codes, ciphers, and such. No I didn't continue in it but it is an interesting subject. I agree with a previous reviewer in that one tends to remember this movie for a long time, or at least parts of it if my memory is correct and not corrupted by time. The movie is worth the time to watch and you will watch parts of it again and again in your mind.