Superespía K

After attending the Munich Toy Fair, successful businessman Philip Scott decides to take a short skiing holiday and meets a beautiful Swedish girl called Toni Peters. But death stalks the snowy slopes of Kitzbuhel ...

Scott's cover is destroyed when enemy agents led by Leo McKern kidnap his girlfriend to force him to reveal the identities of his fellow spies.

The first half is devoted to some skiing in Austria and some romance between Stephen Boyd and the beautiful Camilla Sparv, which is quite distracting in a good way, before the plot starts to arise .i. E. espionage stuff. Contrary to the most of the reviews here and its reputation, I quite enjoyed it - it's not great, but not dull at all as there's nice locations, slick cinematography, Stephen Boyd is really good in his role ( originally, slated to be the original Bond, he would've been a good Bond as he, shows here, he got a sense of humour, not too much of bull in a China Cup, likeable, is reposed, and cool yet dramatic - why wasn't he chosen for OHMSS at least?), his interplay with Camilla Sparv, and the villainy by Jeremy Kemp and Leo McKern.

Having said this, it could've been better; maybe more action, less romance and a more definite direction of what kind spy film it needed to be, either the serious kind or the 007 action fest. It's stuck in limbo on those counts. Overall, a fairly enjoyable spy film, despite its faults.

Stephen Boyd made several films during the mid-to late 60's, which all seem to have "slick" plots in which he portrays a wealthy, sophisticated, cosmopolitan character sporting perfectly coiffed hair. Neither the hairstyle nor the roles seemed to suit him well, and I'll bet he was vastly relieved to switch to westerns like Shalako and The Man Called Noon in the '70's. Assignment K, however, is probably the best of the "smooth hair" movies. He's a international spy in this one and a lot of the action takes place in a ski resort so the scenery is beautiful and wintry. He and Camilla Sparv play well together and, best of all for Stephen Boyd fans like me, he is on-screen throughout the entire film, no cameos here - a major plus for this movie. Leo McKern, another wonderful character actor, turns up once again as the bad guy. (Remember him as the irascible, but lovable Captain Brandt in Lisa?) Assignment K is fairly fast-paced and somewhat exciting, especially if you enjoy a little romance with your espionage. And the ending will surprise you!

It has zippy music, attractive locations and Camilla Sparv as an affable boytoy, but that world is not enough. Hits all the action man buttons of the 60s, race car driver, MI6, spy, playboy, and on. But he's not Bond and not Harry Palmer, and therein lies the problem.

Stephen Boyd miscast so the tone of the movie was not dark enough to sustain strong interest. The ending was good as she plays both Scott and Harris off each other and gets both of them, and her cohorts, out of the spy game. A better script would have concealed then revealed complex betrayals and alliances and, perhaps, who Sparv really worked for and to what purpose. Forty or so years later Casino Royale got it right.

When I looked up information about this film on IMDB, I realized that writer/director Val Guest was also one of the ones responsible for the god-awful "Casino Royale" (1967), a disjointed and unfunny from start to finish. And, as this ALSO is a spy film I assumed it would be terrible. However, the film ended up being the total opposite of his later fiasco...as the spy in this one was much more realistic (for good as well as bad).

The Irish actor, Stephen Boyd, stars in this as a British spy. You really don't know much about who he works for and if he's even one of the good guys for much of the story. Instead, the first portion focuses mostly on his vacation in the Alps and the time he spends with a pretty Swedish woman. Only later does the spy aspect of the film occur...and some rival group wants to get information out of him...or kill him.

The film has a lot of mediocre reviews and I can understand this. The story is NOT packed with action and excitement and seems to emphasize realism instead. And, I can only assume real spies are a bit dull most of the time! But I appreciated this realism and thought the film worth seeing.

Stephen Boyd, with all the on screen charisma of a G I Joe, is a spy-cum-toy manufacturer. Really. They go a long way round before revealing his espionage activities for sure, but we're clued in.

The great Michael Redgrave shows up about three-quarters of an hour into the piece and altogether racks up three short scenes. Too bad. He always has screen charisma.

Other interesting actors come and go, including Jane Merrow and Jeremy Kemp. The big baddie is the always interesting Leo McKern. With Redgrave on a short leash and Merrow, Kemp and McKern on the side of evil, the movie suffers a severe charisma imbalance.

The case is baffling, that's for sure. But after about an hour one loses interest in it.

Oh, Camilla Sparv, sex appeal's answer to vanilla, is on hand as Boyd's convenient main squeeze who quickly falls onto the hands of his enemies.

Being no Boyd fan, I had a tedious time waiting for Redgrave's paltry appearances.