Vincent Canby

 "What the film demonstrates most obviously is that when there is this much plot on the screen, there isn't much time for actors to develop much in the way of plausibility of characterization. 

"In particular, Miss Keaton, a fine actress, is left high and dry by the screenplay. She never gets a chance to find the curious, confused heart of Charlie.... Everybody connected with the film behaves as if he were hanging on to the tail of a tiger and can't let go. They desperately clutch the material but never tame it. Perhaps 'The Little Drummer Girl', like Mr. le Carre's 'Tinker, Tinker Tailor Spy', could have been done successfully as a television mini-series...."

Vincent Canby, The New York Times, October 19, 1984