Following the erection of the Berlin wall, special agent Carl Halman is assigned by East German intelligence to move to New York where he’ll “sleep” as a writer until he is called. Using the code-name “April 23,” Carl successfully infiltrates the uptown-downtown literary world in 1950s New York. He edits a magazine, follows the Knicks, and marries Melinda, the socialite wife of best-selling jock novelist Hubert Cleaver, Ayden’s hilarious Norman Mailer pastiche. Through Carl’s eyes, we see New York City change from an outpost of Europe to the new capital of an anarchistic, post-ideological world. But then, when Carl least expects it, he’s called.
Chris Kraus
Director, Writer
Ann Rower
Writer

Richard Hell
Carl Halman

Rosemary Hochschild
Melinda

George Bartenieff
Hubert Cleaver

Larry Gregory
Nat Cooper
Penny Arcade
Juanita
Paula Greevy
Elise O'Leary
Jerome Koenig
Gus Steinermann
Judy Nylon
Melinda (voice)
Michael Ryan
Col. Bechstein
The Age of Innocence69%
Three Days of the Condor72%
Something Borrowed62%
The First Purge60%
Rosemary's Baby78%
Isn't It Romantic61%
Minority Report73%
Gentleman's Agreement69%
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent67%
One, Two, Three74%
How to Be Single62%
Trust64%
Manhattan77%
The Brutalist69%
I Am Legend72%
Can You Keep a Secret?63%
The Apprentice68%
The Dark Tower58%
Eyes Wide Shut74%
Strange Darling69%