Qué importa si mueren

From the first bit of footage you will know you are settling in to see a winner. Pierre Barouh's title song is enchanting and beguiling and the singer's voice sounds like an angel. George's acting in HOC rivals his performance in Breakfast at Tiffany's and The Blue Max. It's hard to believe his agent steered him to The A Team when he had proven he had real talent. Inger Stevens, who looks as fetching as you'll ever see her, was also at the top of her game in this movie.

The direction felt like Hitch was behind the camera, it's that good. One of my very favorite actors, Orson Welles, also works his magic. If you like Orson, you will certainly enjoy another of his potentially lesser know performances in Long Hot Summer.

What I will never understand is the production company, Universal Pictures, never released this on tape, laserdisc or DVD (if you have some influence with Universal, call in a favor to fix this). Talk about your missed opportunities! A loss for movie lovers the world over. Your only chance to see this is to obtain the CD-V version.

While living in South Africa my dad and I watched many classic films together, and those are special memories. We managed to record "House of Cards" using our very first VCR (in 1983) and I spent many evenings re-watching it until my brother recorded something over it... I was devastated and have been hoping to find it ever since.

Twenty years later I am still a fan and I give it 10/10 because that's my childhood-based feeling for it. No other film I've seen has stayed with me as intensely.

It's difficult to say exactly why I love this film because the memories are so old. My feelings include: excitement, curiosity, urgency, pleasure, amusement, fun, the motivation to see it may times and the crush I have had since on George Peppard! The images are a little mixed: I remember a boat on a lake, a car racing along a winding road and many desperate escapes. Also images of Paris and the Seine. Orson Welles is totally creepy. My visits to Italy have been influenced by scenes from the film - even visiting the Colosseum in Rome.

Hopefully my memories aren't too tainted by all the films I've seen since, if I come across this one again I'm keeping it far away from my brother.

Inspired by the events linked to the Algeria war.The fascist organization recalls Ordre Nouveau (which was not fiction) and the O.A.S. whose purpose was to give Algeria back to the FRench ,particularly to the Pieds-Noirs who had to leave the country after the Evian agreement (June 1962).

John Guillermin 's thriller remains very vague politically.Some characters appear or disappear without any real purpose .Some appear completely nude (Perrette Pradier) probably to please the viewer.The screenplay looks like a parboiled cross between "the jackal" (Zinnemann,1972)and "the man who knew too much" (essentially the color version 1956).

That said ,if you are not too demanding ,it's passable entertainment.George Peppard is a convincing hero with a Bondesque sense of humor (sixties Bond of course)and Inger Stevens who prematurely died two years after is attractive.Orson Wells has a very very small part and as the film is unworthy of his talent,he seems eager to collect his money and run away from this muddled story.

There's a song in French during the cast and credits which is heard again at the end.This bland song has nothing to do with the story ,not Francis Lai's best.

Guillermin's most salutary quality is his sense of space he would display again in "towering inferno" and in "death on the Nile".Here he uses the banks of the Seine to good effect .Ditto for the banks of the lake and the fountain in Rome ,or the arena.

There is little wrong with this movie. But then there's something just not right . . .

Then as the film rolls on the flaw becomes clear: the movie is paced a tad too slow.

It's well acted, well written and beautifully filmed. The incidental music works, the minor characters are played well, and the storyline is quite believable. If it had been a bit more sassy in pace & energy then the film would have worked better.

George Peppard has a laid-back attitude to his character. Which would have worked excellently had the pace of the film been more upbeat: we would have sensed a man fighting his surroundings, yin against yang. That would have fit in nicely with the story. But as each - pace & protagonist - were so leisurely, this stance took the film almost to a frustratingly downbeat attitude. I believe relaxed was more Peppard's own style in life re his profession, as I gather he refuted being a star - despite the studios loving his being a 6 foot tall blonde hunk of a man. Instead he preferred to do things his own way. (So he missed his calling then: as he seems truly an actor suited to the '60s & '70s, rather than a box office screen idol of the decade he started acting, the '50s.)

The best points are when the writer surprises us ((no spoilers here!)). At these points the film really starts to take off at last . . . Only to then lose that all-important tempo. Disappointing. As the rest of the film seems to offer little in unexpected moments, or any real excitement. And as the movie is meant to be a suspense story, with all the associated moments in a thriller of unforeseen turns, such 'zip' is what is lacking.

Had it been less maudlin in feel, I could have rated it higher. Sadly, as a thriller it doesn't offer much in the way of thrills! Insipid it is, inspiring it (sadly) is not.

This is one of those films I have fond memories of from my childhood. I remember I used to tune it in every time it appeared on TV. Yes, now being an old fart and having finally seen it again after it's long absence, I was somewhat disappointed, but not entirely. There are still some wonderful things about it. Primarily the score by Frances Lai, the beautiful photography and scenery (it made me want to go to Paris for a long time), Orson Welles as the villain, but mostly the wonderful Inger Stevens as the female protagonist. What hasn't survived the test of time are the silly plot and George Peppard. I used to like him in his TV show (Banacek, NOT the A-Team), but then I heard an interview with Pat Neal which told about what a bastard he was in real life, and I can't find myself liking any of his performances now, even though I may like the movie. Anyway, I do still enjoy the movie, and am glad I was finally able to find it again.