Remember how exciting The African Queen was, when Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, a very unlikely pair, unite to attack a German boat during WWI? Well, if you liked that movie, watch it again. Assault on a Queen is nothing like it, even though the plot involves an unlikely group uniting to "assault" a boat in an old WW2 German submarine they've adopted.
The band of misfits includes the slick thief Anthony Franciosa, his bombshell lover Virna Lisi, the reluctant Errol John, a tired Frank Sinatra, Richard Conte, and Alf Kjellin. With Tony and Frankie, there's more than just a tug-of-war for Virni's, well, let's be nice and say her heart; they also frequently argue about who's really in charge of the mission. Tony's pretty clearly drawn out to be the bad guy, since he racially bates Errol John, pimps out his girlfriend to mess with Frankie's head, and plans the heist.
I've seen a lot of heist movies, but this one just doesn't cut the mustard. Maybe it was the timing, or maybe the characters were too one-dimensional, but Assault on a Queen isn't very thrilling.
The band of misfits includes the slick thief Anthony Franciosa, his bombshell lover Virna Lisi, the reluctant Errol John, a tired Frank Sinatra, Richard Conte, and Alf Kjellin. With Tony and Frankie, there's more than just a tug-of-war for Virni's, well, let's be nice and say her heart; they also frequently argue about who's really in charge of the mission. Tony's pretty clearly drawn out to be the bad guy, since he racially bates Errol John, pimps out his girlfriend to mess with Frankie's head, and plans the heist.
I've seen a lot of heist movies, but this one just doesn't cut the mustard. Maybe it was the timing, or maybe the characters were too one-dimensional, but Assault on a Queen isn't very thrilling.