Der Mann am Draht

There were harsh words written of that movie on the site and I think it's a bit unfair.Sure the screenplay looks like a cross between " The man who knew too much" and "the Mandchourian candidate".Sure the symbolism is somewhat ponderous: the lady and her puppets,the tunnel and daylight again.But it's an entertaining thriller,ideal for a rainy day :the screenplay is certainly smarter than that of the average thriller of today;Frank Sinatra does a good job,supported by a good cast ,particularly Darren Nesbitt as Colonel Hartmann .Not a masterpiece but not a dud either.People who like the movies I have mentioned can have a look.

I liked the Mauser gun that Sinatra used to kill the unhappy man with glasses. Then, the Romanian Nadia Gray makes a big role from a small part. Peter Vaughan and Derren Nesbitt both steal the film with their special performances. Sinatra is the same as in all his films, it's not bad but not great. Edward Fox has a role too small to show how great he is. Nobody runs naked in this movie, the title was chosen just to attract. In my opinion, the Russians would have boarded Frenzl directly on a plane to Moscow, they would not have traveled all over Europe, only to play the English game, to psychically prepare Laker-Sinatra for assassination.

The film opens with a man's emotionless face in close up, enormously loud classical piano music and a phone ringing in the background. Is he listening to the music or is overlaid title music? This combination of intrusiveness and unclear purpose at the very opening of the film bodes badly for what follows. Sinatra, the world's finest singer of his time, was not a good actor but starry company and stirring plot buoyed up his performances. Here though he was with an unstarry made-for-TV cast with a convoluted plot and uninvolving characters where the task of carrying the film proved too much.

Tribute should be paid to the career of its director Sydney J. Furie who appears to be still directing at the age of 85 following a career of 50 years including the brilliant Ipcress File, Lady Sings the Blues and a string of Cliff Richard vehicles early on. Slack deserves to be cut for him on The Naked Runner. As he acknowledged in his personal quote - not every film was a winner. Some definitely were, sadly not this one.

This is definitely a typical B-type 1960's European spy thriller, but certainly not bad. Convoluted plot, but the use of extreme close-ups, tasteful melancholy score, and an excellent performance by Sinatra make it worthwhile viewing for fans of Sinatra dramas. His performance is very intense and believable. While the plot is needlessly tangled and premise is farfetched, the film is not at all corny - its presentation is perhaps more difnified than the plot and payoff deserve. Sinatra's performance is the best thing about it. A lengthier, better plot and bigger payoff would have lifted the film up into something near "The Iprcess File" league. The other good aspects of that film are in place here, but this remains a B-level spy thriller despite an obvious attempt to make an A-level thriller. Still, a must-see for Sinatra fans - but perhaps on cable or rental.

I have always liked Sinatra's acting, regardless of the pompous know it all critics here and elsewhere. However, the ending, really? Am I the only one that was let down with it? I won't say why, I think if you are a normal male(maybe even females would have the same reaction?) You'll know exactly what I mean without spoiling it for you. Still, I enjoyed the movie, I had missed this one. My favorite is Von Ryans Express, if you never saw it before, give it a try . 7/10 for me. Still worth the time.