Un cri dans l'ombre

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.

In the sixties, spy stories were galore on screens, more or less 007 like oriented, with cool heroes, or more disenchanted ones. There are also some Hitchcock movies elements in this movie. It begins very slowly then becomes more interesting, but not the John Guillermin's best. With the same Georpe Peppard, I preferd PJ, also from Universal Studios, or still with Peppard, of course the awesome BLUE MAX, for me the Guillermin's ever best, with TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE. The director was not that inspired on this movie, that's my opinion. It's only entertainment and on this point, he succeeded. Mostly set in France, it evokes the war in Algeria, OAS clandestine organization - more or less involved with fascists oriented groups...And Orson Welles is impressive, smashing walnuts with his fingers - fists.....

I saw this movie with my dad when it first came out at the now long-gone Cinema Theater on Miami Beach.

What I recall most about it was the rare beauty of Inger Stevens. What a beautiful, lovely, sexy, talented actress. It is really a sad state of affairs that her personal demons ended her life so young. I recall hearing about her death on the t.v. news and how I cried a few tears; even though I was a young child of 9.

The movie is fast-paced, exciting, well-acted, and the Paris of the 1960s is in all it's glory.

Unless this movie comes out on DVD, it will be lost to the ages. Most likely it's about forgotten, except for those lucky enough to have seen it. I even have the original movie poster of this film hanging on the wall of my apartment.

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.

I understand those who don't like George Peppard in this film. His performance as something of a superman among a regular bunch of crooks is almost unbearable and adds to the film's character of general superficial abominability. Orson Welles' performance is interesting, and Inger Stevens is all right, but the script is very stereotype. Nevertheless it deals with some serious problems, the constant universal problem of a superior race wanting to take charge of the world and turn it into a superstate, the idea of a world government has always been a present issue in history, and was never more actual than today. Still, the issue gets lost in atrocities and too many murders, constantly excelling each other in inhuman cruelty, and there is the objection: An important issue gets drowned in effects, an all too common problem in modern films. What makes film worth watching in spite of all this is the wonderful photography and cinematography - the filming of Paris makes this film enjoyable in spite of the inhuman domination.