He explains that they have deliberately arrested her husband in order to have a bargaining chip to exchange for a top Soviet agent who has recently been unmasked by the British.

The exchange in Germany goes wrong, however, when during the handover the Soviet spy - laden down with capitalist consumer goods from the West - sinks through the ice and drowns.

She manages to trap a man in a trench coat who has been following her all day, only for him to prove to be an incompetent British agent ordered to trail her for her own security by his chiefs.

Lalage eventually foundered off the Little Cubrae island after striking rocks during a severe storm and became a total loss.

[9] Calshot Salar, was owned by Dr W."Bill" Souter and operated during filming by a Canadian, Captain Robin Blair-Crawford,[10] who also had a position as an actor[11] in the movie and in addition was the lead safety diver at Loch Etive.

[12] TV Guide wrote the film "features a good cast, an exciting speedboat chase, a few chuckles, and every spy cliche in the book";[13] and Radio Times noted "a sometimes clever and witty script by the ace TV team of Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais.

Another problem is that, as a Bucharest waiter who is actually a spy, Kirk Douglas's peculiar intensity isn't best suited to a comedy.