Copyright 24 October 1963 by Roxbury Productions. Released through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. New York opening at the Radio City Music Hall: 23 January 1964. U.S. release: 25 December 1963. U.K. release: 1 March 1964. 12,120 feet. 135 minutes.
SYNOPSIS: Newly arrived in Stockholm to receive their Nobel Prizes are Andrew Craig (literature), Max Stratman (physics), John Garrett and Carlo Farelli (medicine), and Claude and Denise Marceau (chemistry). The first night Stratman, who is accompanied by his niece Emily, is kidnapped by Communist agents and his twin brother (Emily's father) takes his place. The plan is to remove the real Stratman to behind the Iron Curtain while his brother makes derogatory remarks about the U.S. during his acceptance speech. Craig, who had met the real Stratman, becomes suspicious of the impersonator and starts his own private investigation. As a result he finds himself in the center of an intrigue and several attempts are made upon his life.
NOTES: Location scenes filmed in Stockholm.
COMMENT: Mediocre entertainment at best. Its many faults include a dated, pot-boiler script about Russian spies on a kidnapping spree with E. Phillips Oppenheim impersonations. Whether to take the goings-on seriously or not is a big question. At times, the plot is obviously played for thrills, on other occasions for laughs.
A number of technical imperfections also cause viewer unease. These include blatant doubles in 2nd unit sequences, glaringly obvious process screen effects, and action spots that are amateurishly under-cranked. The direction is undistinguished, though reasonably fast-paced. Daniels' color cinematography is disappointingly ordinary throughout.
That the film is better than the sum of its parts is due almost entirely to the cast. Newman plays sullenly, if with an occasional mordant wit. In fact, he starts off well, but is let down by the script when his character as the scared pulp-writer who is being unwillingly drawn into the parallel world of his own creation — this time for real — is abandoned halfway through. Instead the character reverts to a standard heroic mold with acrobatics that include jumping on to the side of a high-speed truck to avoid knife-wielding assassins and a spectacular dive off a Stockholm bridge.
Unfortunately, there are still inconsistencies. Robinson fares better with an ingenious role which for some reason (tiredness) he plays at only half strength, relying for effect more on his heavy make-up than his native histrionic abilities. McCarthy as usual performs most capably in a minor sub-plot, whilst Miss Presle is unattractively photographed in another. Diane Baker has a thankless, if oddly appealing part, which she plays with little zest.
On the solidly credit side are the silkily attractive Elke Sommer, Rudolph Anders as Bergh, John Wengraf as the villain and Sacha Pitoeff as Daranyi, his shivery henchman.
SYNOPSIS: Newly arrived in Stockholm to receive their Nobel Prizes are Andrew Craig (literature), Max Stratman (physics), John Garrett and Carlo Farelli (medicine), and Claude and Denise Marceau (chemistry). The first night Stratman, who is accompanied by his niece Emily, is kidnapped by Communist agents and his twin brother (Emily's father) takes his place. The plan is to remove the real Stratman to behind the Iron Curtain while his brother makes derogatory remarks about the U.S. during his acceptance speech. Craig, who had met the real Stratman, becomes suspicious of the impersonator and starts his own private investigation. As a result he finds himself in the center of an intrigue and several attempts are made upon his life.
NOTES: Location scenes filmed in Stockholm.
COMMENT: Mediocre entertainment at best. Its many faults include a dated, pot-boiler script about Russian spies on a kidnapping spree with E. Phillips Oppenheim impersonations. Whether to take the goings-on seriously or not is a big question. At times, the plot is obviously played for thrills, on other occasions for laughs.
A number of technical imperfections also cause viewer unease. These include blatant doubles in 2nd unit sequences, glaringly obvious process screen effects, and action spots that are amateurishly under-cranked. The direction is undistinguished, though reasonably fast-paced. Daniels' color cinematography is disappointingly ordinary throughout.
That the film is better than the sum of its parts is due almost entirely to the cast. Newman plays sullenly, if with an occasional mordant wit. In fact, he starts off well, but is let down by the script when his character as the scared pulp-writer who is being unwillingly drawn into the parallel world of his own creation — this time for real — is abandoned halfway through. Instead the character reverts to a standard heroic mold with acrobatics that include jumping on to the side of a high-speed truck to avoid knife-wielding assassins and a spectacular dive off a Stockholm bridge.
Unfortunately, there are still inconsistencies. Robinson fares better with an ingenious role which for some reason (tiredness) he plays at only half strength, relying for effect more on his heavy make-up than his native histrionic abilities. McCarthy as usual performs most capably in a minor sub-plot, whilst Miss Presle is unattractively photographed in another. Diane Baker has a thankless, if oddly appealing part, which she plays with little zest.
On the solidly credit side are the silkily attractive Elke Sommer, Rudolph Anders as Bergh, John Wengraf as the villain and Sacha Pitoeff as Daranyi, his shivery henchman.