“I want you to know what we know so your mind will be clear, you dig? ” – Alan Raimy
Number of Times Seen – Twice (26 Nov 2012 and 7 Mar 2022)
Brief Synopsis – A man is blackmailed about an affair that he is having and must try and get to the bottom of it all.
My Take on it – This is actually a pretty poorly made crime thriller that moves along at a very slow pace.
The characters aren’t developed well enough where the viewer can appreciate them more.
The villains don;t feel menacing enough which takes away from much of the suspense or thrills that one might expect to get from this kind of film.
Roy Scheider plays his character is a relatively bland way and that also hurts things here.
This movie is based on a book by Elmore Leonard and doesn’t manage to stay interesting enough along the way.
Two years earlier, the same book was pseudo adapted and released a The Ambassador (1984) which changed the location and nationality of the story and was more effective there.
Ann Margaret does a nice job as Scheider’s wife and I really liked the way that the story manages to explain why they each act to each other as things play out.
There aren’t enough surprises in the story that would make this more thrilling to watch.
I actually expected something much better given the fact that it was directed by John Frankenheimer.
MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Adult film actress Seka mentions in her official biography that she auditioned for a small part as an extra in the porn party sequence, but ultimately passed on being in this film after director John Frankenheimer asked her out for a dinner date. (From IMDB)
Rating – Razzie Worthy (3/10)
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