The Death of Me Yet

In 1964. KGB agent McClure lives in a faux American town in Russia to train him to infiltrate seamlessly all masterminded by KGB bigwig Richard Basehart. Meg Foster palsy his wife in the faux town who fell in love with him while "playing house." We next see him 6 years later as Paul Towers, a small-town newspaper publisher idyllically married to luscious Rosemary Forsyth in the all-American dream.

After his COO, Vandamme, commits suicide with the Feds closing in on his dealings with a Russian agent, Dana Elcar, Forsyth's brother and a large military contractor, asks McClure to take over as COO while hard-nosed investigator Chalk (Darren McGavin) investigates everyone and trusts no one. Forsyth knows her husband loves her and is faithful but she also senses that there is a part of him that he has closed off from her. She laments, "There's that sign again; No trespassing!" She also characterizes Chalk as a meat grinder she once stuck her finger in.

All this sets up a chain of events that changes everything forever. Is McClure still working for the Russians or as he bought into his American life? Has Chalk figured out who he really is? or was? This cold-war thriller has neat twists and turns, terrific acting, indelible characters, good action, and some great repartee with no slow moments.

The production values are shoddy, consistent with most TV movies of this vintage -but the rest is exciting and poignant. THe ending will stay with you for a long time!