L'exécuteur

I watched this film last night on YouTube and although there was a lot to like...the film also seemed choppy...especially at the beginning. As a result, the context for what was happening felt missing for some time as things were not clearly spelled out by the script.

George Peppard is VERY oddly cast as a British secret service agent. The film says he was British but was raised in America in order to explain his lack of a British accent...which he never even approximated. I don't know why they did this...perhaps they were thinking adding an American would make the film more marketable...but also confusing.

The story begins with the communists capturing a bunch of British agents. Obviously someone was a traitor but when John Shay (Peppard) wants to investigate this, his superiors are strangely antagonistic towards him. So, he decides on his own to investigate...and this ends up meaning killing the man he suspects of being the turncoat. What else? See the movie.

Peppard's character is easy to like or hate. On the negative side, he's extremely terse and you learn very little about him. But, on the positive, you might assume an agent would be exactly that way...in order to prevent them from saying the wrong thing.

So is it any good? Well, I liked the story but just felt that Peppard was a bit too flat. Not a terrible film by any stretch...but I couldn't help but think it could have been better.

Severe and merciless penalties should be given to people who dare to write a screenplay that is titled "The Executioner" and then subsequently deliver a film that is indescribably boring and almost doesn't contain any action whatsoever; let alone executions! I read in a few reviews that this is the more intelligent espionage thriller… You know, the type of film that gives realistic insights in the true world of secret agents rather than the contemporary James Bond movies that were all about stunts, flamboyance and gadgetry. Well, it may or may not be true that "The Executioner" is realistic but it's certainly NOT entertaining and certainly NOT the least bit memorable, unlike the vast majority of James Bond episodes. To make things even worse: the movie starts out extremely promising, with Peppard strolling around in the garden of a luxurious villa where just a bloody massacre took place. There are bloodied corpses left, right and at the bottom of the pool. Unfortunately, the boring 100 minutes that follow are a giant flashback clarifying the building up towards this massacre. American actor George Peppard depicts British secret agent John Shay. He explains at least a dozen times that his Yankee accent comes from the fact that he was raised in America. Shay suspects that his colleague Adam Booth is a double- agent who betrays the Queen by passing secret information to the Russians. Shay's superiors don't believe him, or perhaps they are protecting Booth, and he even gets suspended. Shay remains certain that he's right and seeks for further evidence in Greece, although it may also just be that he's jealous, because Booth is married to the beautiful Sarah with whom Shay once had an affair. "The Executioner" is a long – seemingly endless, in fact – and dreadfully tedious series of pointless dialogues and newly introduced characters of which you don't know who they are and why they are relevant to the plot. There isn't any suspense or mystery, and you don't feel the least bit connected with any of the lead characters, especially John Shay because he behaves like an arrogant and stubborn little boy. I was never a big fan of George Peppard, apart from his roles in the movies "Damnation Alley" and "Race for the Yankee Zephyr". His performance here is one of the most monotonous and indifferent I've ever seen. I can't write anything positive about "The Executioner", except that Judy Geeson is cute and that it's always a pleasure to watch Charles Gray (although his role is immensely dull as well)

Espionage dramas which depend on bureaucratic characters engaged in prolonged conversations rarely make good movies and this is no exception. It's competent but never sparks any real interest and the plot seems a bit muddled.

There are a number of good names in the cast and they do the best they can with pedestrian material. Top billing goes to George Peppard who plays an Englishman but his American accent is explained by saying that he grew up in the United States. He's involved, in a vaguely romantic way, with two different women -- Joan Collins and Judy Geeson -- but not much comes of this. The ads hint at some hot bedroom action between Peppard and Collins but most of these scenes must have been left on the cutting room floor.

Location work in Greece and Istanbul is, like the rest of the movie, strictly routine.

Unremarkable B British movie. I don't know if it is the director or the acting, but there is no energy in it. It is watchable (once). You can see a glimmer of the charisma Joan Collins can bring to a nighttime soap opera. The blonde girl was a bit whiny for my taste. The dresses for she and Joan Collins were outstanding. I saw a blue number I wouldn't mind wearing myself. The movie had potential, if in the right hands. It was relatively painless, but kind of flat. You didn't feel you were at the Parthenon even though they splurged on location shooting. The movie cover looks far more exciting than the movie itself. There were areas where there should have been music to set the mood, but there was silence. In the proper hands this movie could have been a classic.

Deep in plot factors and to some perhaps slow in development (but layered spy films need to "develop" to set the story in play). But steeped in cold war motivations and sensibilities of the time. Peppard is driven to do his job well, with concern for protecting those things and people he values. Twists and turns confront him, but he resolves the factors. But then there is that final and jaw-dropping question which is the final line of the film!

His former controller offers him a position of command within the British espionage structure from which George Peppard has left. Disgusted with the way in which the prior situation was handled (set up by his overseers) Peppard might be presumed to say NO, but my presumption is that the answer would have been YES.

Watch the film and screw your head on tight, no exits to bathroom without pause button pushed, this is not a trivial action film.