List of films based on spy books explained

A list of spy films that are based on books. If a book has been turned into both a film and a TV series (or TV film), then the TV series is included.

Early USA

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World War I

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Film Date Director Country Source
work 		Author Date Type TV Date Country
1 The Great Impersonation 1921 George MelfordUnited States The Great Impersonation1920 - - -
2 The 39 Steps 1935 Alfred HitchcockUK The Thirty-Nine Steps1915 - - -
3 The Great Impersonation 1935 Alan CroslandUnited States The Great Impersonation1920 - - -
4 Secret Agent 1936 Alfred HitchcockUK 1928 Ashenden 1991 UK
5 The Great Impersonation 1942 John RawlinsUnited States The Great Impersonation1920 - - -
6 The 39 Steps 1959 Ralph ThomasUK The Thirty-Nine Steps1915 - - -
7 The 39 Steps 1978 Don SharpUK The Thirty-Nine Steps1915 - - -

World War II

Film Date Director Country Source
work 		Author Date Type TV Date Country
1 The Lady Vanishes &|| 1938 || Alfred Hitchcock|| UK || The Wheel Spins|| Ethel Lina White || 1936 || Novel || - || - || -|-| 2 || They Met in the Dark || 1943 || Carl Lamac|| UK || The Vanished Corpse|| Anthony Gilbert || || Novel || - || - || -|-| 3 || Above Suspicion || 1943 || Richard Thorpe|| United States || Above Suspicion|| Helen Clark MacInnes || 1939 || Novel || - || - || -|-| 4 || Decision Before Dawn || 1951 || Anatole Litvak|| United States || Call It Treason|| George Howe || 1949 || Novel || - || - || -|-| 5 || Carve Her Name with Pride || 1958 || Lewis Gilbert|| UK || Carve Her Name with Pride|| R.J. Minney || || Novel || - || - || -|-| 6 || The Counterfeit Traitor || 1962 || George Seaton|| United States || The Counterfeit Traitor|| Alexander Klein || || Novel || - || - || -|-| 7 || Eye of the Needle || 1981 || Richard Marquand|| UK || Eye of the Needle|| Ken Follett || 1978 || Novel || - || - || -|-| 8|| Fortunes of War *|1987 James Cellan JonesUK Fortunes of War1960 & 1962 Novels - - -
9 Shining Through 1992 David SeltzerUnited States Shining Through1978 - - -
10 Fall from Grace *|| 1994 || Waris Hussein|| UK || Fall from Grace|| Larry Collins || 1985 || Novel || - || - || -|-| 11 || Enigma || 2001 || Michael Apted|| United States, UK, Germany, & Netherlands || Enigma || Robert Harris || 1995 || Novel || - || - || -|-| 12 || Charlotte Gray || 2001 || Gillian Armstrong|| UK || Charlotte Gray || Sebastian Faulks || || Novel || - || - || -|-|}
  • * BBC mini-series
  • & pre-WWII

Cold War

Film Date Director Country Source
work 		Author Date Type TV Date Country
1 The Big Clock 1948 John FarrowUK The Big Clock 1946 - - -
2 Our Man in Havana 1959 Carol ReedUK Our Man in Havana1958 - - -
3 The Spy Who Came in from the Cold 1965 Martin RittUK The Spy Who Came in from the Cold1963 - - -
4 The IPCRESS File 1965 Sidney J. FurieUK The IPCRESS File1962 - - -
5 The Quiller Memorandum 1966 Sidney J. FurieUK The Berlin Memorandum1965 - - -
6 The Deadly Affair 1966 Sidney LumetUK Call for the Dead1961 - - -
7 The Odessa File 1974 Ronald NeameUK The Odessa File1972 - - -
8 The Black Windmill 1974 Don SiegelUK Seven Days to a Killing1973 - - -
9Three Days of the Condor 1975 Sydney PollackUnited States Six Days of the Condor- - -
10 Hopscotch 1980 Ronald NeameUnited States Hopscotch1975 - - -
11 Firefox 1982 Clint EastwoodUnited States Firefox1978 - - -
12Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy *|| 1979 || Frances Alcock & John Irvin|| UK || Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy|| John le Carré || 1974 || Novel || - || - || -|-| 13|| Smiley's People *|1982 Simon LangtonUK Smiley's People1979 - - -
14The Osterman Weekend 1983 Sam PeckinpahUnited States The Osterman Weekend1972 - - -
15 The Little Drummer Girl 1984 George Roy HillUnited States The Little Drummer Girl 1983 - - -
16 The Fourth Protocol 1987 John MackenzieUnited States The Fourth Protocol 1984 - - -
17 No Way Out 1987 Roger DonaldsonUnited States The Big Clock 1946 - - -
18 The Russia House 1990 Fred SchepisiUnited States The Russia House 1989 - - -
19 Patriot Games 1992 Phillip NoyceUnited States Patriot Games 1987 - - -
20 Clear and Present Danger 1994 Phillip NoyceUnited States Clear and Present Danger 1989 - - -
21 The Tailor of Panama 2001 John BoormanUnited States The Tailor of Panama 1996 - - -
22 The Sum of All Fears 2002 Phil Alden RobinsonUnited States The Sum of All Fears 1991 - - -
23 The Bourne Identity 2002 Doug LimanUnited States The Bourne Identity 1980 The Bourne Identity 1988 United States
24 The Bourne Supremacy 2004 Paul GreengrassUnited States The Bourne Supremacy 1987 - - -
25 The Bourne Ultimatum 2007 Paul GreengrassUnited States The Bourne Ultimatum 1990 - - -
* BBC mini-series

In March 2015, shooting wrapped on the film adaptation, Damascus Cover of Howard Kaplan's novel The Damascus Cover set in 1989 at the fall of the Berlin Wall, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, John Hurt, Jurgen Prochnow and Olivia Thirlby.

Post-Cold War

Film Date Director Country Source
work 		Author Date Type TV Date Country
1 Icon 2005 Charles Martin SmithUnited States Icon1996 - - -
2 The Constant Gardener 2005 Fernando MeirellesUK The Constant Gardener2001 - - -

See also

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