Portugal Locations (Part Two) - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

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(Publicity photo of Hywel Bennett and Susan Kodicek at Convento Velho da Arrábida)

Welcome back to our series of articles about the Portuguese locations in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. In Chris's first instalment, we saw Ricki Tarr (played by Hywel Bennett) follow Boris's movements in Lisbon and we start this article with something of a curiosity.

If you've only seen the series in the UK then it is likely that the image below is new to you. The international version features many cuts to reduce the run time but it also includes a tiny piece of unseen Tinker Tailor for UK audiences.

As Tarr returns to Tufty Thessinger's office the morning after shadowing Boris (Hilary Minster), the US Blu-ray comes to our aid with a legible street sign in the background. Tarr is walking along Jardim 9 de Abril and here is a close up of the street sign on that corner today...

Notice how far away the 25 de Abril Bridge is in the above streetview image and compare it to the screen shot from the series - the foreshortening is immense. The satellite image below confirms the vast distance...

Both the garden and the bridge are named after dates in April but they are not connected. 

The 25 de Abril Bridge is named after the date of the Carnation Revolution on the 25th April 1974 and Jardim 9 de Abril is named in tribute to Portuguese troops in World War I who suffered a major offensive on the 9th April 1918.

The image below captures the railing and benches in the garden. We can see the location has not changed much.

Chris takes up the story at the Lisbon Station office as Tarr reports back that Boris is a "professional, a Moscow Centre trained hood". And by way of explanation, he adds, "the way he sets himself, that alone".

In the novel, Tarr expands on his remark about the way Boris sets himself:

He had the pick of the exits and the stairway, he had a fine view of the main entrance and the action, he was right-handed and he was covered by a left-hand wall. Boris was a professional, Mr Smiley, there was no doubt of it whatsoever. He was waiting for a connect, working a letter box maybe, or trailing his coat and looking for a pass from a mug like me. 

Excerpt from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carré 

Despite his orders, Tarr breaks into Boris's hotel room and (at 9:01 in episode two) we see him inserting wedges at the top and bottom of its door to prevent someone entering the room.

While he searches the bedroom, we hear a voice reciting from the Book of Matthew and meet Irina played by Susan Kodicek. Although her dressing gown bares the name Hotel Lisbon, these scenes were actually shot at Hotel Ritz, Rua Rodrigo da Fonseca on the 19th October 1978. 

This is Hywel Bennett's best "Oops, I might be tumbled" look... 

...and then Irina presents him with one of the wedges - both know what the other really is.

Throughout the scenes that follow, we see Irina and Tarr meeting at a wide range of venues, employing their tradecraft to maintain secrecy. Le Carré gives us an example:

Our fallback was for three hours later on the hilltop, then a one minute fifty descending scale back at the church till we met up. If she was in trouble she was going to leave her bathing suit on her windowsill. 

Excerpt from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carré 

The action moves to the next day where, contrary to the requirements of Moscow Centre, at 12.36 we see Irina at Calçada de São Vicente in Lisbon. It might look like she's lost - or is that just cover?

 

Here is that same view more recently in the Alfama area of Lisbon...

...known for it's narrow, winding streets, charming alleyways and colourful buildings.

This is Beco das Cruzes - number 9 on the right is Sociedade Bao Uniao.

So far, so good, no sign of the Thirteenth Directorate's 'gorillas', but a poster Irina passes perhaps suggests there are faceless followers everywhere...

The alley we see Irina in below is for our Portuguese readers to identify...

The location of the first meeting had me stumped because of the interiors. Then, a year ago, this appeared on Facebook:

It is unusual for a pub or restaurant to be aware of something that took place 45 years earlier, but as you can see from the website their history is important to them. They are very much still in business...and still with a nice line in lampshades!

With an eye on Irina's interest in spirituality, Tarr selects the Convento Velho da Arrábida some kilometres down the coast for their next meeting.

In 2016, RTP2 presented the following programme where Paula Moura Pinheiro and Joao Luis Fontes explore the location John Irvin's crew filmed. 

The more you watch their film, the more shots you will be able to locate and here are a couple to look out for...

Again, I am indebted to our Agent In The Field who alerted us to this location last year.

Tarr mentions a ''village below here''....

...and the village really is below the convent. It is called Portinho and local regulations have restricted development so it remains ''very quiet''. This is the property where John Irvin's crew filmed on Sunday 15th of October 1978. 

It is here that Irina first tells Tarr that she knows something so secret and important that it would make him famous. In the next article in this series, we will explore the remaining Portuguese locations as Irina reveals her secret.

The scenes we have covered in Lisbon in this article are dotted around all over the city, as you can see below...

The convent and Portinho are about 30 miles and an hour drive from Lisbon.

If you have any information about the making of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy or Smiley's People that you think would be of interest to visitors to this website feel free to get in touch at guinnessissmiley@icloud.com 

Screenshots from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (c) BBC 1979

Street view images and maps by Apple and Google