Der Mackintosh Mann

Thrilling and exciting picture with an extraordinary duo , Paul Newman and Dominique Sanda , they form an awesome pair in this interesting flick . This is an entertaining movie full of all usual trimmings : car pursuits , fistfights , noisy action , getaway and capture . It deals with a member of British Intelligence named Reardon (Paul Newman) who undergoes a risked assignment ordered by Mackintosh (Harry Andrews) . As he is recruited , assuming a fictitious criminal identity and allows himself to be caught , imprisoned, and freed in order to infiltrate a spy organization led by a mysterious leader (Michael Hordern) . Reardon have to expose a communist traitor and he also must catch him . The intrigue involves a Conservative Member of the British Parliament, Sir George Wheeler (James Mason) , who is best known for his frequent political diatribes on the British government . Meanwhile , Reardon goes in action , being helped by a beautiful agent (Dominique Sanda in her first Hollywood movie for French actress) .

A cold war spy thriller with all the edge-of-seat ingredients : suspense , thrills , a complex intrigue , twists and turns . Intriguing and thrilling script , being one of the first produced screenplays of Walter Hill who later became an action thriller director . Paul Newman is first rate as a secret agent assigned a dangerous mission accompanied by a beauty Dominique Sanda . Wily and excellent , as always , James Mason as a cunning Parliament member with dark aims . This is the first of two movies that actors Paul Newman and James Mason made together , the other was Verdict . It's also the second of two movies that director John Huston and actor Paul Newman made together , he first was The judge Roy Bean , made the previous year . Supporting cast is frankly magnificent , such as Ian Bannen , Nigel Patrick , Michael Hordern , Percy Herbert , the last film of Noel Purcell and Niall MacGinnis and special mention to Harry Andrews as Mackintosh . This film and its source novel were loosely based on the identification, defection and escape from Wormwood Scrubs Prison in 1966 of Russian spy George Blake who was working in British intelligence as a double agent but was not one of the Cambridge Five spies . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Oswald Morris filmed on location in London , Ireland and Malta . Enjoyable musical score by the great Maurice Jarre , including a catching leitmotif .

The motion picture was well produced by John Foreman who financed various Huston films such as The Man Who Would Be King ; being stunningly directed by the great John Huston at his best . Director John Huston made this spy movie not longer after he had helmed another espionage film , Kremlin's letter . The picture was made in a good time of the 70s and 80s when Huston resurged as a director of quality films with Fat City, (1972 ), the afore-mentioned The man who would be king (1975) and Wise blood (1979). He ended his career on a high note with Under volcano (1984), Honor of Prizzi (1985) and Dublineses (1987). Rating : 7 above average , worthwhile watching , though P.G. , parents guide , for its violence and beatings . This is one of John Huston's main films , a model of his kind , the spy genre , definitely a must see if you are aficionado to thriller film . Huston broke a new ground with this landmark movie , providing exciting scenes and unforgettable dialogs .

A well-made espionage thriller, THE MACKINTOSH MAN has all the necessary elements for a real knockout spy yarn – only it's never quite as involving as it should be. The screenplay by highly-respected writer Walter Hill features a solid premise and plenty of interesting twists and turns, and the various UK locations are used to great effect, bringing a character of their own to the film. The cast is also well-chosen, and portray their roles with respectable conviction, yet something still seems off about the picture. It's almost as if the whole enterprise lack that special "oomph" that is necessary to really sell a spy picture.

Perhaps the problem is that, after years of James Bond movies and various Cold War thrillers, too many of the film's elements have simply been done before and done better, and the ominous feeling of déjà vu is too immense for the film to survive. Or maybe the problem is that we expect a lot more from a director with clout of John Huston, who seems to take a strangely apathetic approach to the material which makes the film's recycled elements feel even more trying. For whatever reason, the film never seems to grip us in the way a good thriller is supposed to. As a whole, THE MACKINTOSH MAN is a fine film for a rainy evening, but it stands as not only a wasted opportunity, but also as possibly the least distinctive film of director Huston.

Not your usual late '60's, early 70's Paul Newman flick, where he was cast in more overt starring roles, a la "The Sting" or "Butch Cassidy". The Paul Newman here is more understated and anti-heroic which provides a welcome change to film goers like me who enjoy seeing the Hollywood biggies downplaying their box-office charm by taking on less glamorous, more substantive roles. This political melodrama takes place primarily in a European/British Isles setting, with an all European cast except for Mr. Newman. He portrays an agent who infiltrates a diamond smuggling ring to try to smash that ring's core. During the course of the film, he is pretty well beat up and bandied about by his antagonists, not leaving his pretty boy image much to thrive on. His contact agent, Mrs. Smith (Dominique Sanda), becomes his love interest, not as a torrid screen love affair but more of an quasi-platonic one, where the job at hand takes precedence over the romantic involvement.

The plot and story line is developed nicely by Mr. Huston, who takes us on a European tour that starts in London, then works its way to Ireland and finally to Malta. James Mason does his usual yeoman's job in his rendition of the pompous Sir George Wheeler, the right wing politico big wig who may have his own share of illegal dalliances. Although Mr. Newman is, in fact, the main character, the entire cast comes across very well as more of an ensemble effort, with no one role really outdoing another. It seems that Mr. Huston lent his directorial hand very deftly when it came to letting the film itself be the focal point rather than just one or two actors hogging the spotlight. Not a well known film, perhaps, but one that deserves viewing nonetheless, due in no small part to a most interesting conclusion.

While never actively bad, this thriller just isn't exceptional. The first half isn't bad (we keep wondering why Newman is doing these things, and we wonder where he's going and what's going to happen), though it somehow lacks "oomph" to everything. In the second half, it starts to get dull. You won't be clear on everything in the end, and the climax came off more as a whimper than a bang. Nowhere near the worst movie in the world, but you can give it a miss despite Huston directing and Newman starring. This didn't do very well at the box office when it first came out, and it's easy to see why.

John Huston directed this little-seen thriller that stars Paul Newman as Joseph Reardon, a member of British Intelligence sent on an undercover mission by his boss Mr. Mackintosh(played by Harry Andrews) in a prison where he is given a fictitious criminal background in order to infiltrate a criminal gang where the leaders are imprisoned. He assists in their eventual escape which leads from Ireland to Malta. His contact(played by Dominique Sanda) is a beautiful but aloof woman who has her own personal reasons for the assignment, which includes a Parliament member(played by James Mason) who isn't what he pretends to be... OK espionage thriller with good cast and direction, though the plot does seem overly complicated at times.