Cible mouvante

Sergio Corbucci(or "The other Sergio", not to be confused with the great master Sergio Leone), was a real movie machine intermittently connected to the conveyor belt of Italian film industry, starting early from the '50s to the late '80s. He made sword-and-sandal(peplum) movies, action movies, police movies, a lot of westerns, dramas, musicals and a lot of comedies. This one is a special eurospy, with a predictable plot: a microfilm (hidden in a tooth pulled out of a dead man's mouth) which everyone wants: the British Intelligence, the Greek police, some Greek villains, some Bulgarian villains and some Albanian villains. The microfilm, as usual, contains names of double agents. There is a "surprise" at the end, we find out that the British agent is also Russian spy... Ty Hardin as Jason and Paola Pitagora as Greta are both OK, natural. Vittorio Caprioli as Pizza, the friend of Jason, is the same Caprioli, here more dramatic than funny. The most convincing is the globe-trotter actor Gordon Mitchell (he also played for Fellini and in a Romanian communist film "Cuibul Salamandrelor"(The Salamander's Nest). He's The Albanian and his look, specially his eyes, are stealing the whole movie.

I watched this film because I heard Leo's character in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood would be partially based off of Ty Hardin, and one of his film would resemble this one. Even though it is pretty cheesy and predictable, it's entertaining to watch. There are some fun shootouts, chases, and fights. The Albanian character was also pretty convincing and menacing. The on location scenes also add to the film. I definitely prefer other Sergio films to this, but it's still a good time, and it's interesting to see all the small films that Tarantino used to influence his works.

Ty Hardin only made one Eurospy movie, but more importantly so did Sergio Corbucci, rated by many the next best Spaghetti Western director after Sergio Leoni. Corbucci created the legendary "Django". This one was filmed during his peak period, after "Django" but just before "The Great Silence", "The Mercenary" and "Companeros".

You quickly become aware that this director has a much higher level of technique, superior to any Eurospy director in my experience. This is less glamorous and more gritty than most Eurospy, in fact you could argue that, apart from being made in Europe and being about spys, it has more in common with Cold War espionage films like "The Ipcress File", "Funeral In Berlin" or "The Quiller Memorandum" with a story more grounded in real World of spying, being related to a microfilm list of agents that various groups want to get hold of. But it also has a lot more action than most Cold War movies, so I guess it sits somewhere in between.

The screenplay, also by Corbucci, has some clever reveals and twists, which also lift it above most other films in the genre. The soundtrack is full of music designed to punch up the tension and drama. Greece is the exotic location this time, so we spend quite a bit of time at the Acropolis and driving around Athens in a fine array of classic 1960s vehicles, a Fiat 850 Coupe, a Citroen DS, a Mk II Jag, a Merc 190B, a Roller and even a 2CV. (Apologies if I got some of the models wrong, I'm not an expert).

Ty Hardin reminds me of a better looking version of Stacey Keach and his acting is also better than most Eurospys, but he never really made the big time (or even the "B" grade big time). Michael Rennie brings the "International Man Of Mystery" character that he played in the TV series of "The Third Man". The supporting cast are all memorable; - Vittorio Caprioli as Ty's wily old pal "Pizza". Gordon Mitchell ("The Albanian") and Remo De Angelis ("The Bulgarian") are suitably menacing as the leaders of two rival gangs. Graziella Granata is vivacious as "Rumba", the dancing girl of ill repute, Paola Pitagora is sympathetic as "Greta", the girl who is forced to work for the villains against her will, and Hum Silvers is good as the resourceful street urchin. There are also a number of other colourful cameos, reminiscent of the type viewers are accustomed to seeing in the Spaghetti Western genre.

Someone else on IMDB commented "I heard Leo's (de Caprio) character in "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" would be partially based on Ty Hardin's". I.e. Quinton Tarantino has watched this film and enjoyed it (as did I)

PS - other interesting information about the real Ty, who was a true "International Man Of Mystery"

In 1958, he had his name changed legally from "Orison Whipple Hungerford Jr." to Ty Hardin.

He married the 1961 Miss Universe, German beauty queen Marlene Schmidt. At the time of his death, Hardin lived with his eighth wife.

In 1974, he was arrested in Spain for drug trafficking and spent time in prison

In the 1980s, after difficulties with the Internal Revenue Service, Hardin founded a tax protest movement known as the "Arizona Patriots".

While appearing in a TV series called "Riptide" in Australia, he memorably told a journalist, "I'm really a very humble man. Not a day goes by that I don't thank God for my looks, my stature and my talent."

It is worthy to see Athens social life, night suburbs and many ancient monuments. It is also exciting to see the Athens at 1967, a somehow difficult era for Greece's political life. More exciting to see a lot of persons acting as small characters in the movies cast without to be noticed on movies casting list. What a pitty. Excellent film which is memorable of our life at 60's in Athens.

After director Corbucci made his mark with the seminal Spaghetti Western DJANGO (1966), he didn't merely restrain himself to that genre – though his work in the field is surely among the most highly regarded (incidentally, I'll be delving for the first time into two more such efforts in the coming days). For this "Euro-Cult" outing, he changed the typical desert landscape in Almeria for the equally evocative streets and landmarks of Athens; the film, in fact, is a generally lighthearted foray into contemporary espionage – however, the results aren't nearly as rewarding as Corbucci's more individualistic 'horse operas'!

To begin with, the American hero (Ty Hardin) is rather bland – he's a notorious thief who's brought in by plane to serve a sentence in the Greek capital; however, before he has even had time to put his feet on the ground, Hardin is 'kidnapped' by Communist spies in order to retrieve a microfilm embedded in one of the teeth of a dead man! A number of other entities soon reveal themselves to be just as interested in its contents – including "Albanian" Gordon Mitchell and mysterious British agent Michael Rennie; the only man the hero can trust is former associate Vittorio Caprioli – playing a character called Pizza(!) and currently the owner of a sleazy but popular nightclub in town (with vivacious blonde stripper Graziella Granata as star attraction). Another girl is also involved – Paola Pitagora – who's introduced as a 'murder victim' of Hardin's, with which the Communists can then blackmail him into acquiescence!; that said, she's an unwilling accomplice – since the girl's infant nephew (her deceased sister had been involved with the man in possession of the microfilm) is being held behind the proverbial Iron Curtain.

It's pretty convoluted stuff albeit reasonably engaging while it's on – with plenty of double-crosses, chases (especially effective when atypically set against the imposing ruins of the famed Acropolis), fistfights, shoot-outs, explosions, and what have you…even if, in the long run, it emerges as little more than a footnote in the director's career! The film turns a bit serious during its latter stages as both women are killed off, and Caprioli takes a severe beating from Mitchell and his thugs; the narrative then concludes with a dual twist – first revealing the identity of the chief spy, who's subsequently deported, but then we're shown that he has made off with a copy of the prized microfilm (which, for what it's worth, involved fabricated evidence to incriminate a specific faction for a proposed coup d'etat to be executed by their rivals!) after all. The bouncy score by DJANGO, KILL!'s Ivan Vandor is notable – as are the stylish end credits (a characteristic element of spy sagas from this era).