The Mackintosh Man is a 1973 Cold War spy film directed by John Huston from a screenplay by Walter Hill, based on the novel The Freedom Trap by English author Desmond Bagley.

[5] Paul Newman stars as Joseph Rearden, a jewel thief-turned-intelligence operative, sent to infiltrate a Soviet spy ring in England, by helping one of their agents break out of prison.

The cast also features Dominique Sanda, James Mason, Harry Andrews, Michael Hordern and Ian Bannen.

Filmed in England, Malta, and Ireland, The Mackintosh Man was released in the United States by Warner Bros. on July 25, 1973, where it received a mixed critical response.

There, MI5 officer Mackintosh and his deputy, Mrs. Smith, inform Rearden of a way to steal diamonds which are transported via the postal service.

Days after entering, he encounters Ronald Slade, a former intelligence officer kept in high security after having been exposed as a KGB mole.

In the House of Commons, an old friend and war comrade, Sir George Wheeler MP, gives a speech attacking the handling of the Slade escape.

Rearden tries to get the Maltese police to raid the boat, but they refuse to believe that Wheeler, a respected man, can be involved in kidnapping and treason.

Reluctantly Rearden agrees, but Mrs Smith takes up a gun and shoots Slade and Wheeler, avenging Mackintosh's murder.

He was having a legal dispute with Warner Bros over the fact they had sold his script for Hickey & Boggs to United Artists without paying Hill any extra money.

[10][11] Hill said, "I wrote a quick script which I was not particularly enamored with myself" and "much to my shock and surprise" Paul Newman agreed to star and John Huston wanted to direct.

[16] The scene in which Rearden realises that Slade is on board Wheeler's yacht was shot at Roundstone, County Galway, Ireland.

"[17] The Hollywood Reporter called it "a good genre film in the ice cold vein of The Maltese Falcon", and though "it isn't nearly as rich nor fine as that early Huston classic but tells an interesting story with a sure sense of atmosphere, location and supporting characters.

"[19] Time Out called it a "reasonably entertaining old-fashioned thriller" "if you can accept Newman as a totally unconvincing Australian..., an appalling array of accents (mainly Irish), and Dominique Sanda as an unlikely member of the British Secret Service.