La loi du talion

This "Tough as nails" John MacDonald novel was filmed at the perfect time in American Film History. Rod Taylor (an Aussie) who starred in many American films (as well as high support in GIANT and others) plays Travis MaGee, the lead, with the beautiful, intelligent and TALENTED Suzy Kendall (who nobody I know ever heard of), even though she was in TO SIR WITH LOVE and had a "Julie Christie" kind of appeal in the Kingdom in the 1960's and 70's AND was married to Dudley Moore (ARTHUR) AFTER Tuesday Weld wss married to him. ANyway, Theo Bikel is great - this is like an old Bogie or John Garfield film from the 40's or 50's about corruption and honest, tough private eyes who AREN'T James Bond or TV private eyes who wait for Inger Stevens to save them.

Well-done, tough MacDonald story (well cast) and I'm not even sure if it's on Vid OR DVD. Check it out.

A great detective film. The usually underrated Rod Taylor gives a gripping performance, holding his own against scene stealer William Smith. The ending features one of the greatest fight scenes ever filmed involving ,basically, only two men. I was not too framiliar with Travis McGee before this film but have since become a fan. And Suzy Kendall is always fun to look at

I saw Darker Than Amber 34 years ago, and it made an indelible impression on me. Perhaps it was because the realistic fast paced action and suspense, which is commonplace today, was a breakthrough at the time. I would compare it with some of the action scenes in Steve McQueen's Bullitt. I was reading John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee novels long before this movie came out, and being a Rod Taylor fan, this was the icing on the cake for me. Taylor brought McGee to life, a no nonsense, tough as nails guy, a Bond without the gadgets and gimmicks. I certainly wish the Production Company/Distributors would put it out on DVD, so everyone else could enjoy it. It could most assuredly become a cult classic.

Maybe this movie got chopped up a bit after its original release, as I've read, but it was not a model of clarity to begin with. By sheer chance, I saw it when it was having its world premiere in the summer of 1970, and I couldn't always follow what was going on.

I was a college student visiting downtown Miami for the first time when I noticed the marquee. I knew nothing about the "Travis McGee" character. The only reason I walked into the theater was because I had never seen a world premiere before.

I couldn't keep a handle on the plot, and I think that weakened the impact of the ending for me. Still, I was favorably impressed overall, because the action was so gritty and realistic. I especially liked the performances of Rod Taylor and William Smith, who were both well known to me. Their big fight scene was as memorable as everybody says.

Suzy Kendall, whom I had never heard of before, was easy on a young man's eyes. But her character was undefined. She seemed like a decorative jewel that men were willing to die for, and I never got a sense of her as a real person.

Since that afternoon so many years ago, I have had the pleasure of reading several Travis McGee novels. I like them very much. If I ever wind up seeing the movie again, maybe I'll understand it better.

Outstanding action film that builds up like movies used to in the 70s. Unfortunately the DVD version is cut for television so the fight scenes are missing.

I did manage to see a poor, uncut version with Dutch subtitles burned into it a few years ago, but that's about the closest you'll find to it. Not the best shape but you can see the fight scenes in all their bloody glory.

I'm hoping somebody like Vinegar Syndrome will issue a remastered uncut version of it someday. Here's hoping that will happen.

2 for cut version 7 for uncut version.

PS: I heard Taylor actually hurt Smith in the fight scene. That's very possible, it's that brutal.