After making Quite a Splash Directing the First Two James Bond Films and by doing so Set the Template for the Quintessential, still Considered Today, Bond Movies, Terence Young delivered this somewhat Lighthearted and Tepid Spy Thriller that just Never Thrills.
In Fact, it Doesn't Do Much of anything Except Disappoint. The Aloof Whimsical Tone is its Biggest Misstep. Christopher Plummer Plays a Real Life Double Agent Working for the Nazis and the Brits, but Mostly Working for Himself, Hence the Title.
The Film is Flat and Never at all Seems Real in any sense. It's Wartime Setting is Never Convincing. Plummer does OK adopting a Sarcastic, Winning Personality that Helps Him Con Everyone in Close Proximity, including the Charming of Women. The Film Makes Much of this Playboy Image, Probably a Nod to James Bond.
Yul Brynner just About Steals the Show as a Bespectacled Aristocratic Officer that Befriends Plummer. Gerte Frobe Adds some Intrigue as an X-Policeman, Now a Nazi Officer that has Suspicions about the British "Turncoat" from the Beginning.
Overall, Recommended for Fluffy Wartime Entertainment. But the Film Overall will Disappoint Serious Film Fans of the Subject, as it is Universally Panned for Not Living Up to its Potential. An Average Movie at Best and a Mishandled Mess at Worst.
In Fact, it Doesn't Do Much of anything Except Disappoint. The Aloof Whimsical Tone is its Biggest Misstep. Christopher Plummer Plays a Real Life Double Agent Working for the Nazis and the Brits, but Mostly Working for Himself, Hence the Title.
The Film is Flat and Never at all Seems Real in any sense. It's Wartime Setting is Never Convincing. Plummer does OK adopting a Sarcastic, Winning Personality that Helps Him Con Everyone in Close Proximity, including the Charming of Women. The Film Makes Much of this Playboy Image, Probably a Nod to James Bond.
Yul Brynner just About Steals the Show as a Bespectacled Aristocratic Officer that Befriends Plummer. Gerte Frobe Adds some Intrigue as an X-Policeman, Now a Nazi Officer that has Suspicions about the British "Turncoat" from the Beginning.
Overall, Recommended for Fluffy Wartime Entertainment. But the Film Overall will Disappoint Serious Film Fans of the Subject, as it is Universally Panned for Not Living Up to its Potential. An Average Movie at Best and a Mishandled Mess at Worst.