The Cape Town Affair

Great for pre-integration scenes of Cape Town (look for one black person and you won't find them!), this remake of Pick Up on South Street (1953) is missing several things, notably Richard Widmark as the film noir villain that makes the whole thing work. This film is the exact opposite of film noir. It's too clean and crisp to be suspenseful. The colors reek of a British comedy ala the Pink Panther or something with Alec Guiness. The whole thing plays like a poor man's "Man From U.N.C.L.E." without the savoir faire of Robert Vaughn. James Brolin, a few years shy of Marcus Welby, M.D., has yet to learn how to act and Jacqueline Bisset is not worth the trip. See the original.

People who are fans of Samuel Fuller (who was one of the writers) or wanting to see early appearances by actors James Brolin and Jacqueline Bisset might find the prospect of watching "The Cape Town Affair" promising. But it won't take them very long upon watching the movie to start regretting their decision. The big problem with this movie is that it is incredibly boring. It's talk, talk, talk, with pretty much NOTHING of consequence or importance happening in the first two- thirds of the movie. A few things happen in the last third of the movie, but not much, and it ends up being almost as boring as the first two-thirds. Another problem with the movie is that the central character (played by Brolin) is not very likable - you'll be wondering why you are bothering to follow this selfish and cold individual. By the way, if you are wondering about the Cape Town setting, while it does occasionally add a little color in the backdrop, it's otherwise wasted - with almost no rewriting, the events of the movie could be taking place in Los Angeles. This is one movie that's pretty much a complete waste of time.

On the plus side, there are interesting shots of Capetown and of Table Mountain. Not that many people know what Capetown looked like in 1967. Not that many people know what country Capetown is IN for that matter, outside of social activists, gold speculators, and surfers. No, it's not near Provincetown. Also there are interesting shots of Jacqueline Bisset at her most -- well, let's use the word "appealing." Her looks are unimpeachable. James Brolin, young and handsome in a mannequin-like way, does pretty good impressions of Clark Gable and Ronald Reagan in other venues.

But you have to ask. Why do they take a peerless piece of cynical and brutal trash like "Pickup on South Street" and do it in color with lesser performers and slipshod direction?

Brolin simply can't SMIRK as well as Richard Widmark. And Bisset just looks too elegant, as opposed to the sluttish and overly made-up Jean Peters in the original. Compare the scenes in which the two actresses utter the same lines -- "You're talking like it was HOT, Joey." Bisset sounds as if she's commenting on the pepper pot soup at Bookbinder's Restaurant. With Peters you know exactly what she means. And Claire Trevor, a decent enough actress in her own right, shouldn't be asked to impersonate Thelma Ritter. Nobody on earth can imitate Thelma Ritter.

Fuller's direction in the original was immediate and claustrophobic. His characters brimmed with verisimilitude. The actors here are going through their paces in settings that aren't nearly seedy enough. I'm leaving the politics aside.

Stick with the original by all means.

I just bought this film for 4 dollars, and let me tell you, it wasn't worth it.

No budget, badly scripted, dull, boring, listless, "Cold War" stinker. Hard to believe that Samuel Fuller was involved in this "movie". There were lines like, "You want to help us fight the commies don't you?"

James Brolin looked handsome here, but the poor guy just wasn't an actor at this stage of his career. All he basically does is look angry and yell and scream the whole movie; gave me a headache. He is living in a run-down shack near a smelly river, with no electric, yet he wears 500 dollar suits. He's a thief who only robs twice the whole movie.

Horrible piece of worthless junk.

The best part of this film is the opportunity to visit Cape Town, South Africa during the height of Apartheid. As a low-budget, spy thriller, it is shot in as many unmodified local settings as possible. Street shots are right in the heart of the downtown and there are harbor shots and scenes from within the Police Headquarters. The photos on the wall give away the time frame as well.

Claire Trevor is the only actor credited in some Film Compendia and I wonder if both Brolin and Bisset paid not to be listed!

Brolin plays a hard-boiled petty thief and "Jacky" Bisset plays a runner for the spy ring. Claire Trevor plays Sam, the connecting character to the world of petty crime and espionage.