Un sudario a la medida

"A Candidate For A Killing" has some things going for it: Anita Ekberg looks fantastic, Margaret Lee is fun as always, Fernando Rey adds class as the suave villain, the film is shot in various European locations (Nice, Madrid, Malaga, etc.), and the hero uses almost every available means of transportation (train, plane, car, boat, etc.) to escape from those who are hunting him. There is even some surprising nudity (not from the leading ladies, though we do get a nice shot of Ekberg's beautiful bare back). Unfortunately, the film lacks pace almost completely, and is too often crudely directed by José María Elorrieta. The most bizarre sequence is a belly dance / nightclub brawl that goes on and on, well after our main characters have left the scene! ** out of 4.

I wanted to see it because of Margaret Lee, an old weakness of mine from childhood, since I saw her in the role of sexy Helga Richter in "Five for Hell" with Klaus Kinski. She has a stupid role here. The whole movie is stupid. A waste of time. Another reason I wanted to see it was Fernando Rey. A very good actor, who played in some very good movies, but also in many very bad ones. Anita Ekberg looks very good and that's it. John Richardson is embarrassing. Two stars just for the presence of Anita and Margaret, both very pleasant, one star each.

Unengaging Spanish which a bunch of strange characters starred by all-European-star cast : John Richardson , Anita Ekberg , Margaret Lee , Fernando Rey who each have their own back story become involved into a twisted tale about a stash of valuable gold . Nick Warfield (John Richardson) is a speed boat racer hitching along the Mediterranean after his speed boat has been smashed up. He is picked up by Sandra (María Martín) and after he meets Jacqueline Monnard (Anita Ekberg) who quickly gets him into violent incidents , barroom brawl , car pursuits and followed by jail .

This flick features sunny climes , noisy beaches , bikini girls and stodgy action sequences , feeling too cheap and ¨deja vu¨ to ever actually convince us ; it's the sort of story that you've seen play out dozens of times before and there's literally nothing new or attractive to enjoy in this play-out . John Ericson, a sometime familiar face in Italian action cinema, stars as a womanizer antihero and in a double role , both a drifter and a wealthy man. John Richardson began his career with small roles in British movies at the end of the 1950s. His first role of note was opposite Barbara Steele in the gothic horror classic Devil Mask (1960), directed by Mario Bava . Best known for playing the love interest of Ursula Andress in She (1965) , leading to another pairing with Raquel Welch : One million years B. C. (1966) produced by Hammer Films and it was a massive success. Later, following the steps of some other actors, he went on to appear in various Italian movies such as Umberto Lenzi's horror movie Eyeball (1975), Michele Soavi's La Chiesa (1989) and many others. Richardson's great passion was collecting automobiles and he sometimes appeared in movies as long as an automobile was included in the contract. But his recent movies filmed in the 1980s convinced him to retire from acting completely. Along the way John was even considered to take the role of James Bond in 007 . He was a noteworthy photographer with no interest whatsoever in looking back on his career in cinema. John Richardson passed away from complications of COVID in 2021, only two weeks away from his 87th birthday. Along with Richardson appearing the really gorgeous Anita Ekberg , Margaret Lee at the time married to Klaus Kinski , and Luis Buñuel's ordinary actor Fernando Rey . Adding a lot lot of familar faces from Spanish/Italian co-productions , such as : Fernando Hilbeck , Barta Barri , María Martín , Elsa Zabala , Beni Deus , and Antonio Mayans , Jess Frank's usual , as a hotel clerk .

Atmospheric cinematography showing sightseeing from several European locations such as Madrid, Marbella ,Málaga, Andalucía, Spain , Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France . The movie was produced in short budget by Sidney W. Pink, a North American producer who financed several co-productions in Spain, such as : Fuego, El valle de las Espadas, Tabu, La llamada, Un sudario a su medida , Joe Navidad, Finger on the trigger, Una bruja sin escoba, among others. The motion picture was regularly directed by José Maria Elorrieta who used to be nicknamed under pseudonym, Joe Lacy . He was a prolific director who worked a lot along his short life, as he died at 53. He directed all kinds genres, such as : Spaghetti Western : 7 de Pancho Villa, Siete disparos al amanecer, Fuerte perdido , El hombre de la diligencia, Si quieres vivir dispara. Terror : Los amantes del diablo, El espectro del terror, La llamada del vampiro, Sheba y el diablo, Las joyas del diablo, Las alegres vampiras de Voguel . Comedy : Encuentro en la ciudad, Esa picara peligrosa, El fenomeno, El bandido generoso, Habanera, La bella Mimi . And Adventures : La conquista del Pacifico, El halcón de Castilla, La muchacha de Nilo, La esclava del paraiso, Operacion Toisón de oro and El tesoro de Makuba. Rating 4/10. Below average. Inferior and bad action movie.

I liked some parts of it and disliked others. This is an average spy thriller with many typical ingredients of the 1960's James Bond movies parodies. At times reminded me of the much superior Mario Bava's "Diabolik", probably because of many car chase and sea resort scenes and two sultry women in mini-skirts: Anita Ekberg and Margaret Lee. The protagonist is the often wooden actor John Richardson (the hero of the Hammer's kitsch movie "She" with Ursula Andress). He is a man that gets involved in a dangerous spy game when he is offered a huge amount of money by the ambiguous Fernando Rey (Luis Bunuel's favourite actor and prestigious international character actor) to impersonate a millionaire who happens to be persecuted by various gangs that try to chase and kill him. There is a subplot of international weapon-smuggling, money washing and other criminal activities based in Gibraltar between Afrika and Europe. The most appealing aspect of this movie is his interesting cast: Anita Ekberg looks great specially in the train scenes when she first meets the hero and she brings some genuine warm to an underwritten character that she seems to play with a certain detachment. Fernando Rey shows his usual professionalisms and it was also nice to see some good Spanish actors playing small parts. The direction and the plot are routine, but most of it is well filmed. However, the movie is slow paced and you feel often bored.