IMDb RATING
6.3/10
5.2K
YOUR RATING
A member of British Intelligence assumes a fictitious criminal identity and allows himself to be caught, imprisoned, and freed in order to infiltrate a spy organization and expose a traitor.A member of British Intelligence assumes a fictitious criminal identity and allows himself to be caught, imprisoned, and freed in order to infiltrate a spy organization and expose a traitor.A member of British Intelligence assumes a fictitious criminal identity and allows himself to be caught, imprisoned, and freed in order to infiltrate a spy organization and expose a traitor.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn his autobiography, cinematographer Oswald Morris recalled how John Huston showed very little interest or enthusiasm for directing this movie and would arrive late on-set, largely unprepared for the day's schedule. It often was left to Morris and the crew to fill the gap and set up the shots for the day for when Huston eventually arrived and also to help Paul Newman, who also was disappointed by Huston's attitude.
- GoofsReflected in the side window of the truck when Rearden drives off to meet the airplane at the airfield.
- Quotes
Jervis: How'd you scrape your knuckles?
Joseph Rearden: Shadowboxing a lamppost.
[after a pause]
Joseph Rearden: I got a little pissed last night.
- Alternate versionsUK theatrical release was cut for violence to secure an AA rating with heavy edits to the beating of Reardon and shots of Gerda being kicked and hit with a gun. All later video and DVD releases are uncut and 15 rated.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Fearless (1978)
Featured review
Paul on the downplay
Not your usual late '60's, early 70's Paul Newman flick, where he was cast in more overt starring roles, a la "The Sting" or "Butch Cassidy". The Paul Newman here is more understated and anti-heroic which provides a welcome change to film goers like me who enjoy seeing the Hollywood biggies downplaying their box-office charm by taking on less glamorous, more substantive roles. This political melodrama takes place primarily in a European/British Isles setting, with an all European cast except for Mr. Newman. He portrays an agent who infiltrates a diamond smuggling ring to try to smash that ring's core. During the course of the film, he is pretty well beat up and bandied about by his antagonists, not leaving his pretty boy image much to thrive on. His contact agent, Mrs. Smith (Dominique Sanda), becomes his love interest, not as a torrid screen love affair but more of an quasi-platonic one, where the job at hand takes precedence over the romantic involvement.
The plot and story line is developed nicely by Mr. Huston, who takes us on a European tour that starts in London, then works its way to Ireland and finally to Malta. James Mason does his usual yeoman's job in his rendition of the pompous Sir George Wheeler, the right wing politico big wig who may have his own share of illegal dalliances. Although Mr. Newman is, in fact, the main character, the entire cast comes across very well as more of an ensemble effort, with no one role really outdoing another. It seems that Mr. Huston lent his directorial hand very deftly when it came to letting the film itself be the focal point rather than just one or two actors hogging the spotlight. Not a well known film, perhaps, but one that deserves viewing nonetheless, due in no small part to a most interesting conclusion.
The plot and story line is developed nicely by Mr. Huston, who takes us on a European tour that starts in London, then works its way to Ireland and finally to Malta. James Mason does his usual yeoman's job in his rendition of the pompous Sir George Wheeler, the right wing politico big wig who may have his own share of illegal dalliances. Although Mr. Newman is, in fact, the main character, the entire cast comes across very well as more of an ensemble effort, with no one role really outdoing another. It seems that Mr. Huston lent his directorial hand very deftly when it came to letting the film itself be the focal point rather than just one or two actors hogging the spotlight. Not a well known film, perhaps, but one that deserves viewing nonetheless, due in no small part to a most interesting conclusion.
helpful•214
- mdewey
- Mar 11, 2009
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Running Blind
- Filming locations
- County Galway, Ireland(the safe house, bar and car chase scene)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $3,300,000
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