The legendary John Huston directs this engaging thriller starring the iconic actor Paul Newman. Newman is aces as a more antiheroic character than one might expect. Rearden (Newman) is a man hired by Mr. MacKintosh (Harry Andrews) to steal diamonds being sent through the mail. But the police are tipped off, Rearden goes on trial and is sent to prison, and agrees to a shadowy organizations' offer of assistance. They regularly break people out of prison for a hefty fee.
This viewer would do well not to give away too many more details about the plot, because it does have some twists for you along the way. Not everything here can be taken at face value. The absorbing tale was adapted from a novel by Desmond Bagley; although future director Walter Hill gets sole screenwriting credit, several people actually worked on it. It gets a lot out of some wonderful location shooting in Ireland and Malta, and it showcases a typically charismatic and commanding Newman. The first rate cast also features Dominique Sanda as a French-accented "Mrs. Smith" who works with MacKintosh, and a superb James Mason as a sly member of Parliament who's leading a double life. It's a pleasure to see them all at work. Ian Bannen, Michael Hordern, Nigel Patrick, Peter Vaughan, Roland Culver, Percy Herbert, the intoxicatingly sexy Jenny Runacre, Niall MacGinnis, Eddie Byrne, and Shane Briant turn up as well.
There are some thrilling moments, but the climactic confrontation leaves a little something to be desired. It just doesn't have that much tension. However, there is some shocking violence that makes a hell of an impact.
This is good material, overall, that would have been ideal for a filmmaker such as Hitchcock. But Huston is pretty masterful himself, crafting a slick feature that holds your attention without being really memorable.
Seven out of 10.
This viewer would do well not to give away too many more details about the plot, because it does have some twists for you along the way. Not everything here can be taken at face value. The absorbing tale was adapted from a novel by Desmond Bagley; although future director Walter Hill gets sole screenwriting credit, several people actually worked on it. It gets a lot out of some wonderful location shooting in Ireland and Malta, and it showcases a typically charismatic and commanding Newman. The first rate cast also features Dominique Sanda as a French-accented "Mrs. Smith" who works with MacKintosh, and a superb James Mason as a sly member of Parliament who's leading a double life. It's a pleasure to see them all at work. Ian Bannen, Michael Hordern, Nigel Patrick, Peter Vaughan, Roland Culver, Percy Herbert, the intoxicatingly sexy Jenny Runacre, Niall MacGinnis, Eddie Byrne, and Shane Briant turn up as well.
There are some thrilling moments, but the climactic confrontation leaves a little something to be desired. It just doesn't have that much tension. However, there is some shocking violence that makes a hell of an impact.
This is good material, overall, that would have been ideal for a filmmaker such as Hitchcock. But Huston is pretty masterful himself, crafting a slick feature that holds your attention without being really memorable.
Seven out of 10.