Rififi en Beirut

It's a more successful Eurospy than many others. Not so much because of Frederick Stafford, who is the same as in any other film, but because of the dynamic way in which it was filmed. The whole movie is a non stop action, unlike many other Eurospy that are full of talk. The actors are not of great class. They are just OK. I think 7 stars is a correct classification.

The director of this film also directed the very good "Coffin From Hong Kong." This movie has a lot of action, ranging from what you might call big action with many characters, to plenty of one-on-one battles between our hero, the handsome and suave Frederick Stafford, and various glowering bad guys. You know who comes out on top in those contests, ha! This film will have a special appeal to fans of Euro-spy because of the colorful scenes of the lively 1960's in Beirut, especially around the big hotel pool, where plenty of young lovelies are lounging in bikinis. Those scenes are absolutely classic 1960's Euro-spy!

Some other pluses for this movie: Stafford has some cool spy equipment; the plot makes sense; there are some interesting surprises and reveals. There was a big one, that I didn't see coming, at all. As I've noticed is often the case in these 1960's Euro-spy movies, the hero has a funny sidekick guy to help him out. These helper-guys are much more involved in the story than I recall ever being the case in a Bond movie, but I don't find that a drawback. The version I saw was dubbed in English--there were a few lines in German, no big deal--and the print looked simply terrific--strong, vibrant colors. Good use was made of some historic ancient ruins in Beirut, or near there, I suppose. The score was by the famous Morricone, who scored some big movies. The music was good at times, but too often I thought it rather over-dominated the scene; I wish the director had dialed that down more often.

One point I want to make: this is a totally fun movie to watch! In terms of 1960's Euro-spy, this is a home run. No one should come to any Euro-spy movie with the idea of comparing it to a Bond movie. The 1960's Bond films had: big budgets; a uniquely charismatic lead actor, in Sean Connery; perfect, exciting music; and they had that great run of five top movies in the 1960's, where you felt like you were part of the Bond "family," with the beloved familiar characters of M, Q, Moneypenny, and of course "James" himself. No lower-budget Euro-spy movie could compete with all that, but at their best they do provide good entertainment, with humor, action, twists and turns, beautiful women (does anyone doubt that Rosalba Neri--not in this movie, by the way--would have made an outstanding "Bond girl"?) and intrepid heroes. Fortunately for those who enjoy unpretentious, fun entertainment, there are plenty of good 1960's Euro-spy movies to see; and there are also a fair number of outstanding ones that are excellent in every way--like this one.

With Love from Beirut: EuroSpy Adventures with Frederick Stafford

Remembering the terrible explosion in August 2020, you cannot watch this film without a lump in your throat. Because here, too, the glamorous Beirut is to be reduced to rubble and ashes by a bomb. Richard Blake, the Interpol agent 505, is supposed to prevent this. The superhero is played by Frederick Stafford (1928-1979), who can only be seen here in his second film. The handsome businessman was discovered at his wedding party with Austrian film star Marianne Hold. No joke! In "Topas" the charmer was supposed to make it to the leading role of Hitchcock. Such an unexpected, picture-perfect career demands respect.

From the moment he arrives in Lebanon, the Interpol agent is on guard and lets an unsuspecting tourist (Harald Leipnitz) act as a target for potential opponents. Together with Assi Bobby O'Toole (Chris Howland) and the attractive photographer Denise (Genevieve Cluny), he tries to identify those behind the impending attack. A curious chambermaid (sexy and sassy: Renate Ewert), a shady Arab (Willy Birgel! Exactly him! The guy from "Blaufuchs" (1938) with Zarah Leander) and a lushly built nightclub siren (Gisella Arden) cross his path path marked by many fist fights. An Inspector Bernard (Pierre Richard) from the local police is also investigating the matter. In between, her lover goes to the Roman ruins of Baalbeck. After all, a bit of sightseeing is part of it!

The fun was produced by Wolf C. Hartwig (who of course also wanted to benefit from the EuroSpy wave of success) and the Italian producer Mario Siciliano.

This was to be the last film for the enchanting Renate Ewert (1933-1966). She was found dead by her friend Susanne Cramer in her Munich apartment.

This film is certainly not the most successful example of the EuroSpy wave. But it's definitely worth seeing because of the main actor, Frederick Stafford, and the beautiful shots of Beirut and the surrounding area. Passable entertainment is guaranteed!

Among the better Eurospy B-grade James Bond knockoffs, and the best movie of Frederick Stafford's career as a secret agent, in my opinion (although the "OSS 117" films are more well-known and "Topaz", the film he did with A-list director Alfred Hitchcock remains the most prestigious artistic high point)

Briskly paced and played straight, yet with a liberal sprinkling of humorous one liners, well-choreographed action (although the execution is sometimes not quite as sharp), some decent gadgets, loads of pretty girls, including several who are not just there for decoration, modernist Beirut as an exotic location, and a sound track from the great Ennio Morricone.

This version of "Stafford-Bond" flirts with all the girls, but they don't always go for it, and when they don't he shrugs it off with good grace and moves on.

Another reviewer suggested there were no "good" gadgets". But there is the booby-trapped phone gun, the ice bullets, the gun in the light projector, the amphibious car, a large, stylish, silver rocket etc. Remember this is the 1960s, when helicopters, and even shots of airliners taking off and landing, were still considered novel and glamourous by most viewers.

One bit of unintentional humour is that, before his true identity is uncovered, one of the main villains is described as a man who has "only four fingers on one hand". As, in English, we don't regard the thumb as a finger, this clue doesn't appear to narrow down the field of suspects much!

Frederick Stafford is one of those actors that stumbled into the movie business by accident, rather like Errol Flynn, spotted incidentally by a producer rather than coming from an acting background. His looks and charm carried him to the brink of stardom, the lead role in "Topaz", but for various reasons (Hitch was off form, Fred's acting wasn't up to it) the film did not succeed and it was largely downhill from there. These days the industry doesn't seem to operate in such a haphazard way and we rarely see actors appear out of nowhere in this way. His potted background biography is colourful and varied, and I'm sure at least half of it is made up fantasy by the man himself...

"By some accounts, Stafford claimed to have played water polo at the 1948 Summer Olympics. He was the son of a Slovak factory owner. He studied chemistry and spent time in Switzerland. He was worried about the Russians taking over Czechoslovakia and in 1948 decided to leave.

He went to Australia in 1949 and changed his name to "Frederick Stafford". "I always liked the name," he later said. While there he worked as a taxi driver, a lumberjack and a businessman, until he qualified as a Doctor of Chemistry. He was fluent in five languages.

In the 1950s he held a series of positions in the pharmaceutical industry and by 1962 he was a regional manager for Bristol Meyers, headquartered in Hong Kong. He travelled for them in the Middle East and Far East. Two years later in Bangkok he met a German actress Marianne Hold and married her seven days later.

In 1964, while on holiday in Bangkok, Stafford met French director André Hunebelle at a hotel and he asked him "How would you like to make movies with me?" Stafford replied, "Why not?"

Or, according to another account Stafford claimed "I married an Austrian girl in Bangkok in 1964 and among the bouquets at the wedding was one from a French film producer. He said he wanted me to star in his films. That's how it all began. I was rushed off to Brazil to make my first film in Rio de Janeiro, and have been busy ever since."

In March 1970 Stafford claimed that Harry Saltzman wanted him to play James Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service but he was unable to accept due to his commitment to make Topaz. He said "although at first I thought no one could take over from Sean. But after seeing the latest Bond film... I know I can." He added "I certainly didn't realise this film business would keep my interest like it has. It is a real change from chemistry, and at present I can't see myself going back to that."

Well, he was a true "International Man Of Mystery" after all!