Among the many episodes of World War II that have captivated the imaginations of writers and filmmakers, few have left as indelible a mark as Operation Salam—the most audacious Axis attempt to secure a decisive victory in the North African campaign by infiltrating British headquarters in Cairo. This operation included inovlement of László Almásy, a Hungarian desert explorer whose adventures would later inspire the Oscar-winning film The English Patient. The historical event was dramatised in two films: the 1959 West German film Rommel Calls Cairo and the 1960 British film Foxhole in Cairo, former being based on the book by Johannes Eppler, a German spy who claimed to have been a key figure in the operation. These films, while rooted in real-world history, laid the groundwork for a later adaptation that would become The Key to Rebecca, a 1985 two-part miniseries that epitomised the “Golden Age of Miniseries” and marked the final effort of the Operation Prime Time, independent television station consortium, to break the monopoly of the three major US networks.
Ken Follett, the Welsh author known for period spy thrillers, encountered Eppler’s story while researching material for his 1978 novel Eye of the Needle (adapted into a 1981 film). Ken Follett used Eppler’s account for his 1980 best-selling novel The Key to Rebecca, itself adapted into a two-part miniseries in 1985, the last production for Operation Prime Time. The miniseries, which cost a modest $6 million, was shot in Italy and Tunisia, with a 4:3 aspect ratio and limited budget constraints evident in its production design.
The central figure of The Key to Rebecca is Alex Wolff, a fictionalised version of Johannes Eppler, played by David Soul. Wolff, the son of a German mother and an Egyptian father, is portrayed as a man of dual heritage, his knowledge of Egypt and his ability to blend into both Arab and European communities making him an ideal operative. His mission is to infiltrate British headquarters in Cairo and provide critical intelligence to General Erwin Rommel (Robert Culp), whose Panzer forces, despite being outnumbered, seem invincible. The plot begins in the summer of 1942, as Wolff crosses the Sahara desert, adopting the identity of a South African businessman to reach Cairo. There, he uses an old contact to establish an intelligence network, with Sonja el Alam (Lisa Raymond), a voluptuous bisexual belly dancer and his lover, serving as a key asset. Sonja’s seductive charm is exploited to lure high-ranking British officers to her villa, where Wolff reads top-secret documents from their briefcases and later sends intelligence via radio messages encoded using the Daphne du Maurier’s novel Rebecca.
Wolff’s intelligence is so precise that Rommel considers it his secret weapon, enabling a spectacular victory at Tobruk and continuing the German advance into Egypt. However, the British are aware of the threat posed by this ruthless spy, and Major William Vandam (Cliff Robertson), an American who joined British military intelligence earlier in the war, is tasked with tracking Wolff. Vandam, who lives with his 10-year-old son Billy (Charlie Condou) after his wife was killed in a Luftwaffe bombing of Crete, begins to trace Wolff through counterfeit banknotes. His plan is to set a trap involving Elene Fontana (Season Hubley), a former Jewish prostitute who had been sent to Mandatory Palestine. Vandam’s scheme is twofold: to capture Wolff and to intercept his radio station and code, which he intends to use to provide Rommel with false information just before the German forces make a decisive blow against the Allied defences near El Alamein.
The historical record, however, paints a different picture. Most historians agree that Eppler embellished his exploits, and Operation Salam was, in fact, a disastrous failure from the outset. Yet, the miniseries transforms Wolff into a near-legendary figure, a ruthless, resourceful, and deadly spy who nearly single-handedly brings the Allies to the brink of catastrophic defeat. This portrayal is reminiscent of the character of Faber in Eye of the Needle, who is initially sympathetic but is later revealed as a ruthless killer. The series’ depiction of Wolff is a stark contrast to the historical record, with the character’s initial charm and sophistication quickly giving way to a cold, calculating nature. The audience’s initial sympathy for Wolff is negated by a series of ruthless killings, culminating in the final act where Wolff takes Elene and Billy hostage.
The real protagonist of the miniseries, despite being played by a 60-year-old actor, is Vandam. His character is portrayed as both the antithesis and the reflection of Wolff, with the two men embodying the extremes of ruthlessness and moral compromise. Vandam, who is initially portrayed as a man of principle, is gradually revealed as a character willing to use women as honeypots, mirroring Wolff’s methods. This duality is central to the series’ exploration of espionage, where the line between hero and villain is blurred. Vandam’s role as the antagonist is underscored by his decision to trap Wolff, but his own moral ambiguity is evident in his willingness to manipulate and deceive, even in the face of personal loss.
An intriguing detail from Follett’s book—Anwar el Sadat, a young Egyptian nationalist officer and future president, who actually aided German agents—is omitted from the script. Instead, the series replaces Sadat with a fictional character, Kemel, a treacherous anti-British Egyptian police inspector played by Mark Lewis. This creative choice highlights the script’s focus on the fictionalised narrative, prioritising dramatic tension over historical accuracy.
The production of The Key to Rebecca was marked by its low budget and technical limitations. Shot on locations in Italy and Tunisia, the miniseries was filmed with a modest budget of $6 million, a figure that reflects the era’s constraints. The 4:3 aspect ratio, the use of stock footage for crucial battle scenes, and the limited number of vehicles (Wehrmacht vehicles are reduced to two) all serve as reminders of the financial and logistical challenges faced by independent producers. Despite these limitations, the miniseries was directed by David Hemmings, a British actor who had previously been a star of the Swinging Sixties. By the mid-1980s, Hemmings’ age had made him more of a character actor, and his portrayal of Major Smith, a victim of Wolff’s and Sonja’s honeypot scheme, is a testament to his diminished relevance. While Hemmings’ direction is competent, the miniseries is occasionally criticized for its pacing, with the entire series feeling overly long and dragging.
What makes The Key to Rebecca particularly interesting is Hemmings’ apparent attempt to push the boundaries of what was acceptable on broadcast television. Drawing inspiration from Antonioni’s challenging censorship standards in Blowup, Hemmings experiments with content that would have been deemed risqué for 1980s US broadcast television. The most provocative of these is the scene in which Sonja’s, Wolff, and Elene take part in threesome. This scene, which was previously more likely to appear in sleazier exploitation cinema, is a bold departure from the norms of the time. Hemmings even toys with nudity, though the scenes featuring Lisa Raymond and Susan Hubley use strategic lighting to leave some things to the audience’s imagination.
However, the miniseries is not without its flaws. The musical score by J.A.C. Redford is being too reminiscent of typical television film, which undermines the miniseries’ budget and quality. The score’s repetitive and unoriginal nature serves as a constant reminder of the financial constraints that limited the production’s scope. This is a recurring issue in many 1980s miniseries, where the limitations of the era’s technology and production values are evident.
The Key to Rebecca is a mildly entertaining piece of 1980s television that serves more as a curio than a high-quality spy thriller. For fans of spy thrillers and the Golden Age of Miniseries, The Key to Rebecca is a reminder of the era’s ambition and its shortcomings.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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