It is in fact an intelligent, deeply unsettling existentialist drama which, in a wryly black comedic fashion, shows how important a well-defined sense of identity is to the human psyche. A Dandy in Aspic comes near the tail-end of the Eurospy cycle inspired by the success of James Bond, the point at which the genre – Bond included – either stopped taking itself so seriously and became satire (Dean Martin’s “Matt Helm” films, James Coburn’s “Flint” films) or shed the frivolous pop-art fantasy and doubled down on being grim and serious. It starts with a stylish 60ies opening title sequence, in which a puppet is jerked around by red and blue disembodied hands until it gets completely entangled in its strings. The title is memorable, but is it nonsense? Aspic is a fruit jelly. Maybe it means lavender. Maybe it means lavender. Like this blog, A Dandy in Aspic starts in medias res. A Dandy in Aspic is by no means a run-of-the-mill spy thriller. A dandy is a fussy man. A Dandy in Aspic is a 1968 British spy film, directed by Anthony Mann, based on the novel of the same name by Derek Marlowe and starring Laurence Harvey, Tom Courtenay and Mia Farrow. Aspic is a fruit jelly. Said puppet, the audience soon understands, is Eberlin (Laurence… Well, that's not quite true.