The Internecine Project

Ingenious British-made corporate thriller with an impressive cast well-versed in this sort of thing – James Coburn, Keenan Wynn, Ian Hendry, Michael Jayston and Harry Andrews; Lee Grant provides both a feminist viewpoint and a romantic partner for Coburn. The plot involves Coburn’s rise in the political stakes, abetted by ruthless bigwig Wynn; however, he needs to put his shady past behind him and, to this end, organizes an intricate scheme by which his four former associates will eliminate one another on the same night!

Those expecting action, comedy, sex and colorful scenery a' la Coburn’s “Flint” pictures will be sorely disappointed by this low-key, intelligent but humorless character-driven piece – filmed against drab European settings (albeit by the great Geoffrey Unsworth); composer Roy Budd, another genre fixture, delivers an appropriately moody score. Still, the murder sequences themselves (with Coburn bemusedly ticking away each carefully-timed step of his plan) – particularly Andrews’ vicious shower murder of the Christiane Kruger character and the hesitation at carrying out his part of the bargain by the typically angst-ridden Hendry – generate the requisite amount of suspense during the film’s second half.

While Grant’s reporter character seems an intrusion at first, her presence (or, rather, Coburn’s callous mistreatment of her) eventually threatens to jeopardize his ‘mission’ – on finally getting wise to his machinations, she’s willing to suppress her affections and expose him for what he is! The film, however, provides a delicious twist ending, which sees the over-confident Coburn getting his come-uppance – even if the audience is clearly rooting for him – at his moment of glory (by the person he least expected it from)!

Regrettably, this is only available via a reportedly substandard pan-and-scan R2 DVD; then again, I did watch it in this aspect ratio myself – and dubbed in Italian to boot!

The Internecine Project is a devious plan in which the people who were part of a spy operation are now in the way and become unwitting participants in a plan where they kill each other. The idea is that if you took a 60's era Cold War spy and appointed him or her, in this case James Coburn who's now a suave professor of economics who is a guest on TV news interviews for his views, to a top government post in the 70's (or beyond for that matter), that person would face a thorough background investigation, prompting him or her to eliminate anyone with any damaging knowledge that would derail the appointment. It seems like an extreme solution to the problem, but good enough to make a movie about. One wonders how many political appointees today have had to think up there own internecine projects in order to assure their Senate confirmations. The movie is mostly about the contrived plot and seems trivial and weak, held together more by the locations and some nice background music. Before the ball gets rolling Coburn shares neat scenes with each person on his list that build up the characters. Lee Grant's part as an idealist reporter who's in love with Coburn but doesn't trust his methods, doesn't add much, but Keenan Wynne has a few good scenes as one of Coburn's ruthless business and political connections.

THE INTERNECINE PROJECT is an intriguing little thriller made as a collaboration between the UK and West Germany. It's one of those films that nobody mentions anymore, but which provides a few surprises and nice elements for film fans. The unusual plot itself is a highlight, as this is a film which explores the meaning of the word 'internecine' (mutually destructive, as it happens).

James Coburn plays an anti-hero, a politician with more than a few skeletons in his closet. In order to tie off some loose ends, he sets a plot in action to kill off people who know a little too much about him. The thrills come from seeing said plot play out, and wondering whether he'll succeed or not.

The spy elements of the storyline give this some decent, Cold War-era paranoia shudders. The cast is very well picked; even Lee Grant is an asset, although her character - a feminist journalist - is extraneous to the storyline, although she does have a jaw-dropping encounter with the chauvinistic Coburn. Harry Andrews continues to delight in his later years, Ian Hendry is memorably twitchy, and the likes of Julian Glover and Keenan Wynn prop up the cast. There's little to dislike and much to enjoy about this thought-provoking thriller.

James Coburn (gaunt, and with a thick mustache) plays an American diplomat and future adviser to the US President who needs his former life as a secret agent permanently scrubbed; unfortunately, he has four acquaintances in London (a civil servant, a prostitute, a thuggish masseur and a scientist doing research on a device that kills with a high-frequency sound) who know too much about his past. He orchestrates a plan to have the four unwittingly eliminate each other, though a sideline romance with former-flame and uptight writer Lee Grant might be his undoing. Very clever thriller from screenwriters Barry Levinson (who also produced) and Jonathan Lynn, adapting Mort W. Elkind's book "Internecine", though it does take a while to get this plot into motion (and involves a great deal of telephone ringing). Director Ken Hughes is attracted to intricate details and technicalities, but a snappy pace doesn't seem to be his thing. At least one of the killings (with the victim in the shower) is especially ungainly, however the film isn't terribly violent or bloody--Hughes and his writers are more interested in plot development than circumstance. Good performances all around, including Grant as the lover. Grant matches up well with Coburn, and she has a funny, natural reaction when he tells her she should be working on something more her speed--a cookbook. **1/2 from ****

British espionage movies generally fall into two categories. Those that are inspired by Ian Fleming and those inspired by John Le Carre'. If you are looking for daring escapes, beautiful girls, gadgets and gizmos plus lots of pyrotechnics then don't bother with THE INTERNECINE PROJECT. On the other hand if the concept of an ingenious plot involving multiple murders committed by the people being murdered intrigues you, then go no further for INTERNECINE will give you that and more.

James Coburn portrays Professor Robert Elliot, an intelligence agent whose specialty is providing damaging and/or sensitive information anonymously to powerful businessmen and politicians. He does this through a network of 4 operatives who do not know each other. When he is offered the plum assignment of becoming a chief advisor to the President, it becomes necessary for him to eliminate those who know about his past activities. Elliot then conceives a plan where his operatives will all kill each other on the same evening while he sits at home.

Lee Grant co-stars as a crusading reporter who was once involved with Coburn but knew nothing of his background. Now that he is associating with a powerful and unscrupulous figure (Keenan Wynn), she wants to use him to dig up dirt on the businessman. Coburn's 4 associates are played by British character actors Ian Hendry, Harry Andrews, and Michael Jayston. The one female operative is German born Christiane Kruger. All are very good with Hendry's twitchy diabetic being the standout.

The film was shot in drab and dark colors which perfectly suits the tense and humorless story that unfolds. This made poor copies of the movie TOO dark in some scenes but this new Kino Blu-Ray has an excellent transfer that rectifies that problem. Made around the time of Watergate, THE INTERNECINE PROJECT reflects the cynicism of political thrillers from the 1970s. There is a twist ending that James Coburn didn't like but in hindsight it turns out to be very satisfying. All in all a superior spy thriller that some will find too slow and uneventful...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.