Hopscotch Plot Summary and Details

Plot

Walter Matthau plays a CIA agent who's been confined by office politics to a desk job. The disgruntled Matthau quits the service and heads to Europe, where he links up with former lover (an fellow ex-agent) Glenda Jackson. All goes smoothly until Matthau acts on the advice of yet another retired agent, Russian Herbert Lom, who suggests that Matthau write a tell-all autobiography. Spitefully, Matthau sends out copies of his first chapter to the heads of the CIA agencies throughout the world--and from that point on, he and Jackson don't have a moment's peace. This delights Matthau: now that all of his former colleagues are chasing after him, he has a reason to get up in the morning. As written by Brian Garfield, Hopscotch was a conventionally serious espionage novel. As adapted for the big screen by Garfield and Bryan Forbes, Hopscotch is a lively exercise in cloak-and-dagger comedy, even when the pursuit of Matthau turns deadly towards the end.

MPAA Rating:

Genre(s):

Action,Comedy,Crime and Mystery,Drama,Thriller

Run Time:

107min.

Director(s):

Ronald Neame

Starring:

Walter Matthau , Glenda Jackson , Ned Beatty , Sam Waterston , Herbert Lom

Themes:

Americans Abroad,Lovers on the Lam,Out For Revenge

Tone: