Der Ambassador

A good little action/suspense thriller that was released by the now defunct Cannon group that has the novelty of dealing with the Israeli-Palestanian crisis with real intelligence and being Rock Hudson's last feature film. It stars Robert Mitchum as Peter Hacker, an American ambassador to Israel who tries to bring peace in the Middle East by unorthodox means, but his adulteress wife, played by Ellen Burstyn, threatens to derail his plans when she has an affair with a PLO leader. To make matters worse, someone threatens to expose a film of the affair if a high ransom isn't paid and the ambassador has a hefty price on his head for certain assassins. Rock Hudson plays Frank Stevenson, the ambassador's loyal security officer/friend who tries to unravel the scheme before the film hits the airwaves.

Heading a first rate cast, Robert Mitchum plays the lead role with grace and style as a man who tries to accomplish his goals when everything possible is trying to derail him and Ellen Burstyn plays the wife with right note between guilt and steadfast loyalty for her husband. Rock Hudson, on the other hand, is given little to do. He does what he can with the thankless role as the security officer but basically he's just there to try to talk some sense into the ambassador's head and to carry out orders; it's a little sad ending to a brilliant career. The film itself is well-done and first rate with a higher budget and quality than most Cannon films and the location shoots are first-rate. Check it out if you want a Middle-East political thriller with some action thrown into it for good measure.

No wonder US foreign policy is always such a mess. It's probably because there is a genuine belief that stuff like this might actually be possible. Their ambassador to Israel arrives determined to sort of decades of political unease with the Palestinians just because, well he's Robert Mitchum! Assisted by his security chief "Stevenson" (Rock Hudson) he finds that his wife (Ellen Burstyn) is soon a pawn in a game he must play - at some risk - if he is to improve anything for anyone. Donald Pleasance shows up now and again as Israeli government man "Eretz" but for the most part this is one of those films where the whole is nowhere near the potential sum of it's parts. Indeed, as we progress it comes across as an over-written, politically simplistic and rather woeful opportunity for some stars nearing the end of their careers to have a nice holiday on the Mediterranean. Conspiring journalists, mass slaughters, helicopter chases - and a bit of illicit sex all creep in, but they can't really enliven this disappointing thriller that's really rather devoid of thrills. Rock Hudson's last full role - and not one I expect he'd be so very proud of.

Robert Mitchum stars as the U.S. ambassador to Israel who is trying to broker a peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Hardliners on both sides don't want that to happen, so there are assassination attempts, blackmail threats, car chases and terrorists bombings. All that, and I still found time to yawn.

Co-starring Rock Hudson (in his final film), Ellen Burstyn (who, at 52, has several nude scenes), Donald Pleasence, Italian star Fabio Testi and lots of local Israeli acting talent. Mitchum looks more bored than usual, and he reportedly spent half of the film sloshed. He and Hudson didn't get along, and Hudson was already starting to suffer the failing health that would end his life less than a year later. Some of the action has spark, but most is perfunctory, and there's not much depth to the geopolitical musings. For completists only.

Go watch the documentary on Cannon Films. It is probably as good as or better than anything they ever produced, and it is a hoot.

By 1984 Director J. Lee Thompson's Filmography Would Never Include such Great Films Like "Guns of Navarone" (1961), "Cape Fear" (1962). Or the Odd Western and Little Known Hidden-Gem, "White Buffalo" (1977).

He was Retained by the "Canon" Film Company and Pumped-Out Lesser Mid-Budgeted and Unremarkable Fodder.

Here He Teams Up with Robert Mitchum and Rock Hudson in a Disappointing Try at a Very Touchy Plot...Israel and the PLO.

It's Not a Bad Set Set-Up, Shot On-Location with the Story About "The Ambassador" (Mitchum) and His Efforts in Forging Peace-Talks Focusing on College Students of Both Sides.

The Story is Propelled Using the Back-Drop of Mitchum's Wife, Ellen Burstyn, and Her Affair with a Wealthy Arab Businessman. It's Caught on Film and Blackmail Begins.

Also, Caught on Film, is the Dirty-Deed in All its Pornographic Details.

The Movie's Climax is Overdone and Very Bloody and it Distracts from the Seriousness of the Situation with a Long Graphic-Violence Exploitation that Should be in Another Film.

Overall, it's Not Bad, just Nothing Above a Sophomoric Approach to a Very Complex, On-Going World Situation.

Worth a Watch with Low-Expectations.

The Ambassador (1984)

** (out of 4)

Well-meaning but incredibly over-active thriller has Robert Mitchum playing the American ambassador to Israel who is trying to bring peace in the Middle East. While him and his security advisor (Rock Hudson) are getting shot at, his wife (Ellen Burstyn) is banging a man (Fabio Testi) but neither one realizes that some terrorists are video taping their love sessions to blackmail the ambassador. Pretty soon it is revealed that the wife's lover might have terrorist ties himself.

Cannon was known for releasing countless action pictures that were usually rather mindless and just exploited the various subjects that they were covering. Film like DEATH WISH II, MISSING IN ACTION and AMERICAN NINJA were among the studios most popular pictures but THE AMBASSADOR is something completely different. It's clear that Cannon wanted to send a message to the Middle East that peace was possible but unfortuantly for them the movie just went off the rails so to speak. This picture simply tried to do way too much and in the end it's pretty much a complete mess.

The film is really all over the place in regards to what it's trying to do and it almost seems as if no one could agree on what to do with the picture. It starts off with some incredibly wild and over-the-top action scenes and so far so good. Then you've got a rather sleazy sex scene between Burstyn and Testi, which includes the actress doing some nudity. Again, so far it's fun. You then get into an incredibly long political drama about the whole peace idea and then there's some shocking and incredibly bloody violence that pops up at the end. All the while Mitchum and Hudson are trying to uncover this terrorist plot and get the sex tape back before it reaches the media.

I'm going to guess Cannon really wanted a serious drama but there wasn't a way to make money on that alone so additional bits of action were thrown in. Thompson, who was working in mainly "B" pictures at this time, manages to build up some nice action but the drama of the story is downright weak and the "message" of the movie is a bit silly to say the least. The film just never really packs a punch or builds up any sort of tension so the non-stop political talk eventually gets boring and when Mitchum's character isn't worried about the sex tape then why should the viewer be?

The film benefits from its terrific cast and that alone makes it worth sitting through. I think had Mitchum and Hudson switched roles the film might have been better but it was still fun seeing them together. Burstyn in good in her role of the wife and Testi is always dependable. You've also got Donald Pleasence so that's another plus. The film's violent climax features some gory shots that I'm sure shocked most people at the time of the film's release unless they were fans of slashers and were already used to it.

In the end, THE AMBASSADOR has its heart in the right place but it just never fully comes together.