Carrera - Das Geheimnis der blonden Katze

Even though the poster shows a F-1 race car, that sequence only lasts for a minute at the start, while the rest of the movie is about a HEIST on an impregnable vault. If you watch the trailer it is trying to make a super star out of Thomas Hunter, which he isn't. Erica Blanc is barely seen in the movie. There are many familiar faces of good actors (you will recognize them if you watch a lot of European movies like I do), that are sparsely used in the story and thus WASTED. A retired jewel thief turned race car driver, is coerced into breaking into a large vault to steal some "document" which turn out to be plans for a nuclear bomb. Instead of breaking into the vault from the outside, Tony hides inside the vault and then works his way OUT and almost dies in the process. They include this overly long bicycle chase along the famous canal in Holland which looks silly at best. The producers were apparently trying to make a Euro-Spy style movie but totally missed the mark. It just rambles on and was painful to watch.

Tony Carrera (Thomas Hunter) is a thief close to his retirement. He is just about to end his crime career and turn into a laid-back life with a future millionaire Italian wife , Antonella Arnaldo (Erika Blanc), and a career as Formula 1 driver . But then he is being forced from Einstein (Fernando Sancho) to do a final job . As Tony Carrera, is forced to accept one last robbery at Amsterdam , on the eve of his marriage to the wealthy heir . As Tony has to carry out a heist at a fortress guarded by the army and where he must steal a mysterious suitcase . Instead of breaking into the vault from the outside, Tony hides inside the vault and take the target. After that, it happens many car chases and intrigue and he eventually arranges to get away with "the secret plans" . Along the way , Tony is chased by Comisario van Heuven (Antonio Casas) , and his Italian fiancée goes after him .

Co-production Spain-West Germany (FRG)-Italy; Cinematografica Associati (CI. AS.), Hape-Film Company GmbH, Moncayo Films . Typical Euro spy movie with regular ingredients : thrills , noisy action , fights and helicopters . Our valiant , easy-going playboy/driver/thief takes on a powerful criminal organization while pull off a risked robbery and subsequently , being mercilessly pursued . Euro spy movie with usual tippings : car pursuits , crashes , chases throught the famous Amsterdam canals, strange artifacts , simple helicopters and explosive women . It has some flaws and gaps , as it does tend to get a bit old , including repetitive nature of some pursuit scenes , but it has big fun , so it cares . Thomas Hunter gives a passable acting as a brave robber in his last dangerous mission . Hunter has a bon vivant air about him that makes him great to see . Co-stars two Eurotrash starletts such as Erika Blanc and Gila von Weitershausen who today continues to act regularly for German television .Along with a plethora of familiar Spanish/Italian/German secondaries , usual in Euro-spy , Spaghetti or Peplum , such as : Walter Barnes , Fernando Sancho , Antonio Casas , Oscar Pellicer , Alberto Farnese , Gérard Tichy , Enzo Fiermonte , Frank Oliveras , Franco Ressel , among others .

It packs a cololorful and atmospheric cinematography in Panavision and Eastmancolor , though a perfect remastering being really necessary because the image is washed-out , photographed by cameraman Victor Monreal in terrific locations from Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands , Enkhuizen, Noordzeekanaal, Noord-Holland, Amsterdam, Netherlands , Milan, Lombardia, Monza, Milan, Lombardia, Roma, Lazio, Italy , Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. And a thrilling musical score in the seventies style by composer composer Gianni Marchetti . The motion picture was regular wriitten/produced but professionally directed by José Antonio De La Loma , and it definitively worth checking out if you are a fan of Euro spy genre . Loma was a craftsman and real creator of ¨Quinqui sub-genre¨ . As Jose Antonio De La Loma , in his usual botcher style , filmed the successful trilogy : ¨Perros Callejeros I , II¨ and ¨Ultimos Golpes Del Torete¨ and he even made a female version : ¨Perras Callejeras . His style is pretty much urban and realistic as well in the atmosphere as in the fresh dialog and attempted to take a position in favor of outcast people . Jose Antonio De La Loma chose young and natural actors as Angel Fernandez Franco ¨Torete¨ and Bernard Seray who played their parts to the hilt , unafraid of filmmaker's unsympathetic camera and the particularity of the characters . In ¨Perros Callejeros¨ series we see their troubles growing in such streets , slums or "barrios" from Barcelona and outskirts and other coastal places and some fine locations . In these films Jose Antonio De La Loma showed the ugliness of those "barrios" , toughness and cold existence . In his youthful De La Loma worked as a teacher in the Chinese barrio of Barcelona and he lived poorness and isolation . As he hired true delinquents who used their peculiar slang and particular behaves , all of them give a certain realism to these offbeat films . ¨Tres Dias De Libertad¨ was absurdly directed by Juan Antonio De La Loma who had a long career including titles as a writer and a filmmaker in all kinds of genres , as Western : ¨Professional for a massacre¨ ,¨Texas Kid¨ ,¨Clint the solitary¨ , ¨Return of Clint¨, ¨The last Mohican¨, ¨Seven pistols for Timothy¨ , ¨Viva Carrancho¨, ¨The Boldest job in the West¨, ¨Blood at sundown¨or ¨Porque Seguir Matando¨ and Action : ¨Metralleta Stein¨ , ¨Razzia¨ , ¨Explosion¨ , Squadron: Counterforce¨or "Playing with Death" , ¨Goma 2¨ , ¨Tony Carrera¨, "Playboy to Kill" and several others.