A Dandy in Aspic
1968 British spy film
A Dandy in Aspic is a 1968 British spy film directed by Anthony Mann and starring Laurence Harvey, Tom Courtenay and Mia Farrow, with costumes by Pierre Cardin. It was written by Derek Marlowe based on his 1966 novel of the same title. It was filmed in Technicolor and Panavision and was Mann's final film.
Set against the backdrop of 1960s Cold War Europe, it is the story of a spy known to his superiors in British Intelligence by his code name "Eberlin".
Plot
Krasnevin, a KGB agent and assassin, has successfully infiltrated London society and the British Intelligence community as wealthy businessman Alexander Eberlin. After Kraznevin is forced to kill several British agents who come too close to revealing his identity, British Intelligence Chief Fraser – apparently unaware that Eberlin and Krasnevin are the same man – orders Eberlin to eliminate Krasnevin.
Krasnevin decides to sacrifice his KGB contact, Pavel, who is already a suspect, but before Pavel can be killed the Russians do the job for him. British Intelligence learns that Krasnevin is still at large. Eberlin is paired with rival British agent Gatiss, who has never liked Eberlin and suspects Eberlin's allegiances. They are sent to West Berlin to apprehend Henderson, another double agent now suspected as Krasnevin.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “A Dandy in Aspic” is 1968 British spy film. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Dandy, Aspic and British, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “1968 British spy film” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 28, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2056924. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1968 and 1966.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “A Dandy in Aspic”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow A Dandy in Aspic primary sources, A Dandy in Aspic archive and Dandy research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “A Dandy in Aspic”?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “A Dandy in Aspic” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.