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The Spy Killer
American VHS cover
Based on	private i by Jimmy Sangster
Written by	Jimmy Sangster
Directed by	Roy Ward Baker
Starring	Robert Horton Sebastian Cabot Jill St. John
Music by	Johnny Pearson
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Producers	Jimmy Sangster Harold D. Cohen
Cinematography	Arthur Grant
Editor	Spencer Reeve
Running time	74 minutes
Production companies	American Broadcasting Company Halsan Productions
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	November 11, 1969 (1969-11-11)

The Spy Killer is a 1969 American action thriller drama spy television film originally aired on ABC and directed by Roy Ward Baker. Its teleplay, written by Jimmy Sangster, was based on his own 1967 novel private i. The film starred Robert Horton, Sebastian Cabot, and Jill St. John. In the following year, a sequel titled Foreign Exchange was released with the same main cast and crew.

Both novels were reprinted by Brash Books in September 2019 in ebook, paperback and audio editions.

Plot

Former spy turned private eye John Smith (Robert Horton) is wrongly arrested for the murder of his ex-wife's new husband. Smith then finds himself acquitted for the crime by his former intelligence boss (Sebastian Cabot), but in return for a notebook from his time as a spy. This book lists the names of Western agents operating covertly in Red China, and as Smith discovers, others are also chasing the book.

Cast

• Robert Horton: John Smith
• Jill St. John: Mary Harper
• Sebastian Cabot: Max
• Lee Montague: Igor
• Eleanor Summerfield: Mrs. Roberts
• Barbara Shelley: Danielle
• Kenneth J. Warren: Diaman

References

1. "Jimmy Sangster's John Smith Spy Novels: private i (Triton, 1967)". Existential Ennui. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
2. "The Spy Killer (1969)". BFI. Archived from the original on January 9, 2021.
3. "Foreign Exchange (1970)". BFI. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018.
4. "Mystery/Thriller Book Review: The Spy Killer by Jimmy Sangster. Brash, $16.99 trade paper (180p) ISBN 978-1-941298-40-4". PublishersWeekly.com.

External links

• The Spy Killer at IMDb
• The Spy Killer at AllMovie

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• 1969 television films
• 1969 films
• American action television films
• American thriller television films
• American drama television films
• Spy television films
• ABC Movie of the Week
• Films directed by Roy Ward Baker
• 1960s spy films
• Films with screenplays by Jimmy Sangster
• Cold War spy films
• Films produced by Jimmy Sangster
• 1960s English-language films
• 1960s American films
• American thriller television film stubs
• Action thriller film stubs