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The Holcroft Covenant (1985)

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11 comments in total

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15 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
A low point in the career of Frankenheimer and Caine, and one of the worst spy films from its era too., 28 January 2003
Author: Jonathon Dabell (barnabyrudge@hotmail.com) from Wakefield, England

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.

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10 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Great action sequences let down by a bad screenplay, 4 January 2002
Author: christgla (christgla@hotmail.com) from Oslo, Norway

The Holcroft Covenant have as far I know only received bad reviews... Knowing that, I nonetheless bought the film on DVD out of curiosity. I've a fondness for bad movies and I have an affection for the espionage genre.

The Holcroft Covenant is based on the novel by Robert Ludlum . I've read a couple of his novels and they can be, if one is in the right sort of mood, exciting.

The thing one has to remember is that Ludlum's novels is about conspiracies and complicated plots and not about characters. They are plot driven. And that more than often does not make for a compelling movie experience. Somehow that was not taken into account when the transition from novel to screenplay was made.

When you go to the movies you want to care about the people in it. That's basically a film's measure of success. And thus The Holcroft Covenant fails.

But John Frankenheimer is not the one to blame. Based on the material he was given, he made a fairly interesting movie which showcases his talent as an action director. At times excellent, but not overwrought like most of the action movies are today. But apart form the scenery and the action-sequences, the films weak point lies in its characters.

They are neither very believable nor interesting enough to hold your attention. Even the star of the movie Michael Caine, a seasoned heavyweight in the espionage genre, seems out of sync in this one.

If you don't expect too much , you'll be moderately entertained. But knowing that the film is made by veteran craftsmen like John Frankenheimer and George Axelrod, one tends to be a bit disappointed.

All in all I gave The Holcroft Covenant 6 out 10

Kind regards, paul

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8 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
not quite the worst Michael Caine film I've ever seen, 5 November 2004
Author: Apostata from Toronto

...in that 'Bullet To Beijing' is certainly the winner of the contest.

However, The Holcroft Covenant should be placed in a concrete container and buried. Ideally on a moon.

Terrible pseudo-spy-thriller. Ridiculous dialogue (how many times does Caine say "I'm a foreign-born American citizen!"), fantastically bad "soundtrack" (terrible, loud, 80's synth), and plot holes you could drag a trawler through.

To be categorized under "The Bad Frankenheimer Films". If you're doing a retrospective of Frankenheimer, please fast-forward to 'Ronin' and then serve drinks and call it a night.

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Lilli Palmer's last part., 20 December 2003
Author: dbdumonteil

What her character does in the movie,Lilli Palmer did it in real life:she fleed from nazi Germany in 1940;so Frankenheimer did a good choice by casting her as Caine's mother.But Caine himself was a questionable one:he's neither German nor American and I think that Klaus Maria Brandauer would have been more credible.Is it possible ,for instance ,that Caine never utters a German word whereas his mother probably talked to him in that language when he was a child?

This is minor quibble:for once ,and for the first time in almost twenty years ,Frankenheimer had a very good start.Some kind of revenge beyond the grave,which gives the movie an eeerie flavor ,this fantasy touch which produced great works such as " Mandchurian candidate" and "seconds" in the sixties (I pass over in silence the horrible "prophecy").Good idea indeed ,but mediocre screenplay ,which the writers almost completely ruin.Plot holes by the dozen,hackneyed tricks (the dog!I have not mentioned the dog!),and a last scene which is only a pale copy of that of "the Mandchurian candidate".

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8 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
The secret shame of Michael Caine, 25 January 2006

Author: ytbufflo-1 from United States

As an avowed life-long fan of Mr. Caine, and a true fanatic for The Manchurian Candidate, I was willing to give this whole miserable mess a bit of slack, until I got about twenty minutes into another scene w/ Mr. Caine as Mr. Holcroft loudly reminding us of his character's seemingly endless stupidity. (Michael Caine as a noisy simpleton? Give me a big, fat Nazi break! Not even Michael Caine is that good of an actor.)

The idea that life in a Nazi thriller unfolds like a Pink Panther sequel without punchlines is too difficult to swallow. Some of the scenes actually seem to me as if they were outtakes or lighting checks that ended up in the final edit by accident. I don't think I would care so much except that it is my beloved Michael Caine I am talking about here. The screenwriter should have been shot instead of this movie. The whole thing would have been more successful and excusable as a light comedy starring Peter Sellers as the bumbling Holcroft, neatly missing numerous assassination attempts while managing to solve the entire mystery purely by accident.

The queasy merger of bad 80's costumes and completely uninspired cinematography is the only conspiracy worth noting in this absurd waste of talent and money. I think the whole awful eighties cocaine craze was rampant on this movie set, and that no-one could tell a terrible script from a silver spoon by the time the whole thing got into production. I agree with the earlier reviewer - save this for a Worst Films Night with some good friends after a few stiff drinks are had by all, and hope no friendships are ruined in the process.

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1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
A watchable but not great thriller., 26 January 2007

Author: ozthegreatat42330 from Central City, Kentucky

All of the elements for a great thriller are there. An outstanding director, John Frankenheimer, An excellent source author, Robert Ludlum and a great leading man for thrillers, Michael Caine. What went wrong? The biggest problem I had with this film was the cinematography. The film was grainy and the sub-titles were very hard to read when the actors were speaking German. There were plenty of the usual Ludlum plot twists and misdirections, but somehow the feel of this film was not up to the usual standards of Frankenheimer or Caine. A lot of it is just too kinky for most people, but an accurate portrayal of Berlin during the cold war years. It would have faired better had it been released ten years earlier rather than later. It does deserve an E for effort.

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3 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Memorable and Classy Entertainment That Gets Better with Each Viewing, 25 January 2005

Author: ed56 from Israel

Another classic from the man who gave us The Manchurian Candidate in 1962. Covenant". The story follows Noel Holcroft (Michael Caine) - A New York real estate business man who has just found out he is going to inherit a huge amount of money that his Nazi father had stolen from Nazi Germany at the end of WW2 just before he died. Holcroft soon finds out that he is getting into a dirty and dangerous business. The story is full of twists and surprises and leading actor Michael Caine is great here. The film was shot in beautiful locations in Europe that really are a joy for the eyes. 5.4 here come on give me a break, this is way under-rated. Now available on DVD, rent it, buy it you are going to enjoy for sure. Recommended

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1 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Good old Michael Caine, 6 March 2006

Author: mfsor from San Francisco Bay Area

Sot it's not really for the movie its self that you are watching it. It's to see Michael Caine, and in this case Victoria Tennant, and even Anthony Andrews. by now it's almost like a period Drama. The setting in Germany is interesting as is Geneva, and London. The sex parade and a whole neighborhood lends a kind of a kinky interest to the story. Now of course not believable, the story, but that is fine. You still don't know what is going on or who's in charge or who's on first, but eventually you know that will be found out. That is all that is necessary. The dialogue is fairly good and his mother is a good actress and there's always interest in the rise of Nazis in modern times.

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1 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Intriguing, dark and surprising spy movie., 26 October 2001

Author: pfillion-1 from Montreal, Quebec

The essence of a good spy flick is the plot. Today repetitive spy movies, like James Bond, have easy and most of the time boring plots with a bad guy who wants to rule the world. Add to this unbelievable stunts and special effects... If you like these, don't watch this movie.

On the other hand, if you like real spy flick like this 1985 movie, with a twisted plot and betrayal this one is for you. The action is believable, the storyline is intriguing and the ending is surprising...

A must see for people who like real spy movies. 3.5 / 5 stars.

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2 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Very Entertaining, Relevant to 21st Century, 20 March 2005

Author: from United States

Michael Caine always could anchor a spy flick, and The Holcroft Covenant is no exception. While the plot is a trifle flat, and a couple of the supporting actors (Victoria Tennent) stretch their abilities, the cinematographic techniques and direction by John Frankenheimer are superb, and Caine and Lilli Palmer are absolutely wonderful. The elements of film, particularly outdoor angles from crowded streets and icy violin sound effects echo back to the great spy movies of the Cold War era and lend an almost Hitchcockesque eeriness. The seedy Berlin night life is not overly useful and a bit tawdry, but it passes as just a spicy interlude. And when the climax finally reveals the plot, even the dense can see the implications and relevance to contemporary events in the 21st Century.

Frankenheimer puts on a great show!

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