Review: The Wilby Conspiracy

Sidney Poitier is a black South African activist freed from a decade in jail by his white lawyer Prunella Gee, only to get into strife by brawling with some racist police officers, whilst in the company of Gee’s British lover, played by Michael Caine. For some reason, racist copper Nicol Williamson lets them escape, but nonetheless follows their trail for reasons only gradually revealed. The two initially can’t stand one another, with Caine not wanting to get involved at all, but in order to survive, they will need to work together. Saeed Jaffrey plays an Indian-born dentist friend of Poitier’s, whose bewitching assistant is played by Persis Khambatta. Rutger Hauer turns up as Gee’s selfish, estranged pilot husband, whilst Helmut Dantine (the film’s producer) appears early as a prosecutor.

 

1975 Ralph Nelson (“Lilies of the Field”, “Charly”, “Embryo”) film is an odd but surprisingly enjoyable mixture of racial/political drama, buddy movie, diamond heist movie, and chase flick, and bolstered by scene-stealing work by the eccentric Williamson as a pompous, cheerfully nasty piece of work of the highest order. Caine is always good to have around, Poitier is merely OK in a role beneath his talents, and Gee is pretty awful as a lead actress, it must be said. Fine supporting roles for Jaffrey, the alluring Khambatta (a former Miss India, who has one incredibly sexy scene with Poitier in a closet), and a youngish Hauer, despite the latter being the most Dutch-sounding Seth Effriken I’ve ever heard in my life (Then again, the film itself stars Kenya in the role of South Africa, and there’s apparently a strong Dutch influence in South African history I didn’t know of beforehand, so perhaps I’m just stupid). Apparently this was Hauer’s first English-language role, several years before he became known as Replicant leader Roy Batty in “Blade Runner”.

 

This is a pretty original blend of genres and entertaining as a result. It might even be considered a little daring given the subject matter and the year of release, as stories set in apartheid-era South Africa weren’t in vogue in the 70s, to my knowledge. Perhaps this will make it an acquired taste (I’d suggest if you liked the more recent “Blood Diamond”, you might like this also), but I saw nothing offensive or wrong-headed about it. The screenplay is by Rod Amateau (who went on to direct the ghastly “Garbage Pail Kids Movie”) and Harold Nebenzal (“Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects”), from a Peter Driscoll novel.

 

Rating: B-