Die Schlange

Finally I was able to see the thriller The Serpent on DVD under a new but poor title NIGHT TRAIN FROM MOSCOW (why this has been changed I don't know).

Any film that has Yul Brynner, Henry Fonda & Dirk Bogarde has to be worth watching but this is rarely shown on TV so I was pleased to find the recent Pathfinder DVD release. The film is very much in the trend of your typical spy drama from the sixties (see The Spy who came in from the Cold and The Quiller Memorandum) despite being made in 1973.

Brynner is Vlassov a valuable KGB agent who defects on the condition he supplies the CIA with information regarding Double Agents operating in the West. Question: Is he telling the truth or is he himself another carefully placed spy? It's up to CIA head Henry Fonda with the help of British Intelligence Representative Dirk Bogarde to determine this.

Phillipe Noiret, Farley Granger, Robert Alda (father of Alan) and Virna Lisi provide the support in an intriguing thriller. Although some of the plot twists are predictable and there's a lengthy absence of the 3 main protagonists in the second act, the pace is just right as opposed to other Bond alternative spy dramas where slow pacing and no action result in boredom.

Surprising therefore that The Serpent isn't more widely known as it's a gem of a thriller with a good ending.

Released in some territories rather childishly as 'Night Flight from Moscow', Yul Brynner plays Vlassov, a Russian colonel who wishes to defect to the US. The forces of the secret services in the US, lead by CIA head Davies (Henry Fonda) are interested but hesitant, until Brynner provides the names of senior officials in the governments of France, England, Germany and in NATO who he says are working for Russia as spies. A series of investigations follows.

This was rather more sophisticated and overall far more enjoyable than I expecting. Aside from the draw of a stellar cast with Brynner, Fonda and especially Philippe Noiret and Dirk Bogarde who are both terrific, this is a fascinating, dark cold war thriller reminiscent of John Le Carre, so largely free of big action pieces but full of twists and turns, leading to a believable and satisfying conclusion. In addition, the score is unsurprisingly beautiful, composed as it by Ennio Morricone.

On the downside there is some truly crass uncalled for narration and a few below par performances. One word of warning, this is an international come euro pudding production set in a number of countries using their native languages, which is absolutely fine. Be careful though which version you catch as it's not as easy as turning subtitles on as you're going to end up with Fonda, Brynner and co speaking English with English subtitles which is desperately annoying unless you want to switch them on and off throughout the film. A underrated good old fashioned thriller though - well worth a look.

I had no doubt that this effort from prolific French director Henry Verneuil ("Le Clan Des Siciliens","Mélodie En Sous-Sol",and terrific "I... comme Icare)", will be better than your usual cold war spy thriller. This is a sort of movie that mature film fan expects to see, no James Bond nonsense, no Russians that only speak broken English, no Russians with M16 rifles and ridiculous plots. This movie rings true, even 60's and 70's strongmen such as Yul Brynner is very good and very plausible as Soviet KGB colonel Alexei Vlassov, and the supporting cast of greats: Henry Fonda, Dirk Bogarde and Philippe Noiret, wee the web of high echelon government espionage, that keeps viewer guessing to the end. French title "Le Serpent" is much better than unfortunate English one ("Night flight from Moscow),that has nothing to do with plot whatsoever. Le Serpent or the serpent is a snake in the grass that strikes whenever it feels threatened. It's poison is deadly and quick, but ultimately it has to shed skin and reveal it's trail. Look for this great film if you're a fan of intelligent spy films. Satisfaction is guaranteed.

Prototypical Cold War thriller deals with an aging soviet spy named Vlassov (here Yul Brynner plays Russian Colonel Alexei Vlassov , that's why Brynner plays a character of his own nationality ; as Brynner's full birth name was Yuli Borisovich Bryner) who attempts to defect the East world . The CIA chief named Allan Davies (Henry Fonda) interrogates him, using polygrapher (interrogator played by Robert Alda), computer programming , and other means . Then Davies must decide if he's telling the truth . One of these men is working for the C. I. A. If One of This Group is The Serpent - 13 People Are Going to Die!... The Master Spy

This complex espionage picture is packed with thrills , suspense , tension and extraordinary performances . This movie was made and released about three years after its source French novel titled "The Thirteenth Who Committed Suicide" by Pierre Nord that was first published in 1971 . Good spy movie , in fact the there are various Spy agencies featured in this flick , including the American CIA, Soviet KGB , Russian Mi6 and the West German intelligence service . It's a slow moving spy-movie with emphasis on de-glamorizing espionage . Sensational acting by two big star names , Yul Brynner as a spy who defects with a fistful of important documents and Henry Fonda as a chief who must discover the hard truth . Strong secondary cast with all-star-cast , such as : Dirk Bogarde , Farley Granger , Philippe Noiret , gorgeous Virna Lisi and several others .

Displaying an interesting and thrilling screenplay by producer and director Henry Verneuil himself , along with writers Perrault and Tom Rowe. As well as atmospheric musical composed by Ennio Morricone and well conducted by Bruno Nicolai . Superbly realistic and adequate cinematography by cameraman Claude Renoir . The picture was splendidly directed by Henry Verneuil, a Turkish filmmaker working in France from the 40s . Although not a director of great reputation among the critics , his movies have almost all been aimed squarely at the commercial market . Verneuil is an expert on heist-genre such as he proved in ¨The Sicilians clan (68)¨ with Jean Gabin and Alain Delon, ¨The burglars(1971)¨ with Omar Shariff and Jean Paul Belmondo ; furthermore , specialist on Warlike genre : ¨Weekend at Dunkirk¨ and ¨The 25th hour¨, espionage as ¨ Night flight from Moscow¨ and even directed one Western : ¨Guns of San Sebastian¨ (68) . He seemed to have dropped out of the film-making after 1976, but in 1981 unexpectedly reappeared with yet another of his caper films : ¨Thousand millions of dollars¨. Rating : Acceptable and notable flick , a decent yarn that must be seen for French cinema lovers and Henry Fonda and Yul Brynner fans.

This is the perfect example of what Henri Verneuil could make in his second career part, international casts for prestigious movies, very well documented, accurate, complex, sometimes spectacular, ambitious.... In this espionage intrigue, you have plenty of actors from France (Noiret, Bouquet), America ( Fonda, Brynner), UK - Bogarde - and a semi documentary style that we'll see later for MILLE MILLIARDS DE DOLLARS and I COMME ICARE. Verneuil's cinema had nothing to do with the Nouvelle Vague but his strategy was assumed to be highly commercial. He was the most "American" french director. His talent was mostly in the directing than in the topic choices. He was a brilliant technician with no ideology nor message to claim, unlike many other French directors.