Shameless Self Expression

Herbert Lom plays an account turned mobster/racketeer who has a plan to get all of the heads of London’s various gangs to work together in forming a crime syndicate. John Gregson is the top copper hoping to bring the syndicate down. Sean Connery plays Irish low-level crim Paddy, who works as a thug for racketeer Alfred Marks. Yvonne Romain plays Lom’s wife, whom Paddy (himself married) puts the moves on. Kenneth Griffith (wasted) turns up briefly as Paddy’s criminal partner who was severely injured in a previous robbery.   Dated 1961 crime pic from director John Lemont ( “Konga” , a giant ape movie with Michael Gough) has Herbert Lom top-billed, but it’s actually the far less interesting John Gregson in the lead. Playing a determined cop, he’s boring. Lom is professional as usual, but quite underused. If you’re going to see the film, the reason will be to watch a pre-Bond Sean Connery as an Irish criminal. Despite playing a crook, you can see how the 007 producers landed on him for

Set during WWII from the German perspective, James Coburn plays a cynical, battle-hardened sergeant who butts heads with his new commanding officer, glory-seeking but battle-green aristocratic Prussian officer Maximilian Schell. Whilst Coburn and his men are putting their lives on the line (and the men have much respect for Coburn, I might add), Schell is cowering in his bunker and blackmailing a closeted homosexual lieutenant to vouch for his (clearly bogus) nomination for an Iron Cross. James Mason plays a German colonel, David Warner is a German captain.   Although not terribly well-regarded at the time, this 1977 Sam Peckinpah ( “The Wild Bunch” , “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid” , “Straw Dogs” , “Convoy” ) anti-war WWII film has garnered a good reputation over the years. Both of its time and ahead of its time, I think audiences will be more accepting of an anti-war film that also happens to be very violent. I’ve always said that if you present war properly on screen you’ll natu

Palaeontologist Jeff Bridges and a stranded actress named ‘Dwan’ (Jessica Lange) are stowaways on a ship headed for a mysterious and remote island. Charles Grodin is a grumpy oil company bigwig heading the expedition, however things take an unexpected turn on arrival when Dwan is kidnapped by tribal locals who plan to use her as a sacrifice to their 40-foot ape god. Kong for his part seems rather fond of Dwan. John Randolph plays the ship’s captain, Rene Auberjonois plays Grodin’s resident science geek, whilst other members of the expedition are played by Ed Lauter, Julius Harris, and Jack O’Halloran. John Agar appears late and brief as the Mayor of New York.   Clumsy 1976 Dino De Laurentiis-produced miscalculation from director John Guillermin ( “The Blue Max” , “The Towering Inferno” ) simply isn’t up to snuff. Almost nothing works here, it’s dull (boy is it ever !), cheap-looking, stupid, laughable, and interminable. The only laudable quality here is the very fine score by John

Set around the time of the Cuban missile crisis, the plot involves a Soviet agent (Per-Axel Arosenius) attempting to defect to the US, with American CIA agent Nordstrum (John Forsthe) trying to swiftly move the agent and his family to safety in Washington DC. Frederick Stafford plays Nordstrum’s long-time French acquaintance Devereaux who is tasked by the French government to investigate claims that Soviet missiles with nuclear warheads are set to placed in Cuba. Devereaux is also asked to infiltrate the title spy ring whom the defector claims to be giving NATO secrets to the Russians. Dany Robin plays Devereaux’s wife, who rightly suspects her husband has been unfaithful. Karin Dor is Devereaux’s mistress in Cuba, now the main squeeze of Cuban official John Vernon…who does not like sharing. Roscoe Lee Browne plays a French-Martiniquan agent contact of Devereaux’s, whilst Philippe Noiret and Michel Piccoli play respectively a NATO official and one of Devereaux’s oldest friends.   O