The Holcroft Covenant (1985)

Director:

John Frankenheimer

Writers:

Robert Ludlum (novel)
George Axelrod (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 October 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Plot:

The son of a German General becomes part of a mysterious conspiracy to gain hidden Nazi funds.

Plot Keywords:

Security Camera | Trafalgar Square | Incestuous Relationship | Man In Wheelchair | Architect

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Michael Caine	...	Noel Holcroft
Anthony Andrews	...	Johann von Tiebolt / Jonathan Tennyson
Victoria Tennant	...	Helden von Tiebolt / Helden Tennyson
Lilli Palmer	...	Althene Holcroft
Mario Adorf	...	Erich Kessler / Jürgen Mass
Michael Lonsdale	...	Ernst Manfredi
Bernard Hepton	...	Commander Leighton
Richard Münch	...	Oberst (as Richard Munch)
Carl Rigg	...	Anthony Beaumont
André Penvern	...	Frederick Leger (as Andre Penvern)
Andy Bradford	...	Hartman (as Andrew Bradford)
Shane Rimmer	...	Lt. Miles
Alexander Kerst	...	Gen. Heinrich Clausen
Michael Wolf	...	Gen. Erich Kessler
Hugo Bower	...	Gen. Wilhelm von Tiebolt

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | USA:R | UK:15 | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Lindau, Bodensee, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment

Trivia:

The voice of Bernie Sussman on Holcroft's answering machine is director John Frankenheimer.

Goofs:

Continuity: The letter Manfredi gives Holcroft, despite being 40 years ago, looks brand new.

Quotes:

Leighton: You must go to Geneva, as scheduled. And you must face the bastard. When the Covenant is signed, I will kill him, of course. Or you can, if you like.
Holcroft: I like!

A low point in the career of Frankenheimer and Caine, and one of the worst spy films from its era too.

The Holcroft Covenant takes its cue from a bestseller by the prolific Robert Ludlum. I've read the book and it's pretty good, with lots of globe trotting adventures and some startling twists and turns. It also takes upwards of 600 pages to tell its complex tale. The film version misses out most of the events from the book, yet tries in vain to remain faithful to the key plot points.... however, any film which tries to tell a 600 page story in less than two hours is doomed before it even begins. There's no surprise that this film is a muddled, intractable, poorly developed misfire. The story involves an inheritance in Nazi money which falls into the hands of several German descendants in the 1980s. The money is supposed to be a sort of compensation payment for the suffering and misery caused by WWII, but some of the inheritors are evil people and intend to use the money for nefarious purposes. Michael Caine plays one of the inheritors, Noel Holcroft (hence the title), and he sets out to ensure that it is used for good causes, but he finds that various others will kill to keep him from getting his hands on his rightful share.

The film is a terrible mess, and it's only too apparent that those involved were in it for the money. Every single performance is lazy. Frankenheimer once made great movies like The Manchurian Cnadidate and The French Connection 2, but here he is guilty of directing a listless hodge-podge that bears no trace of originality or flair. Caine has made too many bad movies, but this ranks amongst the very worst. No questions about it: this is a surefire low point for just about everyone involved.