Also why didn't powers use his scratch coin on himself?
shareFreeze the frame and you'll see that it contained rows of 5-digit numbers. In cryptology, that's one of the traditional ways to encode words in a message. Because Abel knew the key to the code, he could decode the message.
shareI would guess that it was an egg salad recipe.
shareIt's a one-time pad type of crypt. I don't think the paper was a message but a one-time pad with rows of random numbers that are used to encrypt future message(s) he was to send out. As the name suggests, the one-time pad is used to encrypt a message only once and then is destroyed. The receiving side has an identical copy which is needed to decrypt it. The method is extremely secure when used properly. The only way possible to break the one-time pad method of code is when the operators get sloppy and re-use the same one-time pad to encrypt multiple messages. If intercepted, these messages can then be subjected to statistical analysis and deciphered.
Here's a very simplified way how it works:
1 2 3 4 5 6 (numbers representing alphabet)
I A M S P Y (your secret message in clear text)
Six random numbers (you can literally use a dice to generate truly random sequence)
4 6 2 8 1 1
Now add your message
4 6 2 5 1 1 <- encryption key
1 2 3 4 5 6 <- clear text "IAMSPY"
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5 8 5 9 6 7 <- what you send to Moscow. You can type it in a plain letter and send via mail - it doesn't matter if someone reads it. It's just a bunch of numbers that can make no sense.
In the letter you can even say which one-time pad you used (serial number) because it's only known to the receiving base which can then decrypt your message by subtracting:
5 8 5 9 6 7 -
4 6 2 5 1 1
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1 2 3 4 5 6 (substitute numbers for corresponding alphabet and you got the message)
the story of the coin is true, Abel did retrieve it shortly before caught. It contained a cypher key, Abel's job was to encode secrets to be passed back to the Soviets, as well as managing 'insiders' who were stealing the actual secrets. His story is as fascinating as this film was, well worth a read on Wikipedia.
Powers 'lost' his coin or something? Whether or not the Soviets found it I'm not sure. He was supposedly injured on landing and immediately apprehended
If I was blown out of the sky like that I would be so surprised that I was still alive I would probably not remember my own name. Much less that I was supposed to kill myself.
He did arm the destruct switch in the plane but the cockpit glass was cracked all over and blew off and his chute got tangled with a plummeting plane.
Its difficult to remember that your first priority was to drain the swamp when you find yourself ass deep in alligators.
The soviets had the coin. They showed it to Powers during the interrogation.
shareBecause in REAL LIFE he was only instructed to use it if he was being tortured. Unlike the movie he was not interrogated and sleep deprived like in the movie. He was treated well and even cross-stitched some rugs (which are on display in a spy museum) during the 20 months held captive.
"Common sense is not so common"