Red King, White Knight
Written by	Ron Hutchinson
Directed by	Geoff Murphy
Starring	Tom Skerritt Max von Sydow Helen Mirren
Composer	John Scott
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	David R. Ginsburg
Producer	John Kemeny
Production locations	Budapest, Hungary Washington, D.C., United States
Cinematography	Elemér Ragályi
Editor	Peter Davies
Running time	105 minutes
Production companies	Zenith Entertainment Citadel Entertainment
Original release
Network	HBO
Release	November 25, 1989 (1989-11-25)

Red King, White Knight is a 1989 American political thriller television film directed by Geoff Murphy and written by Ron Hutchinson. The film stars Tom Skerritt as Bill Stoner, a retired CIA operative who is sent to the Soviet Union to determine the truth behind assassination rumors. It also stars Max von Sydow as his old KGB adversary Szaz and Helen Mirren as his former girlfriend Anna.

At the 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards, von Sydow was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special for his role in the film.^[1]

Plot

The CIA hears of a KGB scheme to assassinate the Soviet General Secretary and enlists Stoner, an agent retired for 10 years, to go to Russia to investigate. He verifies the plot, but then has trouble leaving the country. In the meantime, the U.S. policy makers struggle over whether or not to inform the Soviets of the plot. Stoner's problems are complicated by the renewal of an affair with Anna, a Russian, as he tries to convince her to defect.

Cast

• Tom Skerritt as Stoner
• Max von Sydow as Szaz
• Helen Mirren as Anna
• Tom Bell as Tulayev
• Gavan O'Herlihy as Clancy
• Barry Corbin as Bentick
• Clarke Peters as Jones
• Kerry Shale as Viktor
• Lou Hirsch as Baetz

Release

Red King, White Knight premiered on HBO on November 25, 1989.^[2][3]