Chantage au meurtre

A British espionage drama; A story based on a premise that British Intelligence cannot assign one of its own agents to murder a defector to Russia. Frank Sinatra's performance was excellent - the best thing about the film. He gave a convincing portrayal of a middle aged man under duress, forced into completing a dangerous mission. The director's stylish direction and trademark camerawork created a distinct atmosphere as an espionage thriller, though it was hard to keep this consistent when the plot became protracted. The story dullens in the middle and is marred by an abrupt ending. The locations are all interesting, particularly post-war Leipzig.

Largely underrated by the critics and ignored by the movie-watching public, "The Naked Runner" is a film that definitely deserves your attention. The director, Sidney Furie, who had made the excellent "Ipcress File" two years earlier, shows (again) an instinctive feel for this genre, using many clever camera angles to inject a unique visual style into the picture. Maybe his style is a little too controlled at times (the movie is stiffly paced), but it's also unusually grim and thoughtful. And he also knows how to keep the story comprehensible - which is a relief for anyone who has seen such monstrosities as "The Kremlin Letter". Overall, this is an engrossing thriller, with an ending that's perhaps a little too abrupt, but also with a great, mature performance by Frank Sinatra.

Based on Francis Clifford's novel of the same name, The Naked Runner is an obscure but creditable thriller, and a rarely seen entry in Frank Sinatra's filmography.

To discuss the plot would be to spoil it so I won't do that. Suffice to say, furniture designer Sam Laker is pressured by a friend working for British Intelligence into doing a job in Leipzig to help an old wartime flame... but nothing is as it seems once he reaches East Germany. At that point we are firmly on Le Carre territory, with cross following double cross all the way to the end. And it is the end that is the problem; it cannot carry the weight of everything that has passed before.

The reasons for this are fairly obvious: firstly, in the novel, the reader is as oblivious as Laker as to what is going on and greets every new plot twist with a frustration and incomprehension that Laker shares. This serves to heighten suspense at every level, and Laker's character becomes a fascinating comparison exercise with our own reactions as a reader. The writer of the film, Stanley Mann, chose to place the viewer firmly on the other side of the plot - so we know what is happening to Laker, and why. This serves to undermine him as a character, making him appear hapless, transient, and surly; that Sinatra plays him as such reflects, I think, that he understood as a performer that a narrative mistake had been made. Secondly, the ending is abrupt; indeed Laker's exclusion, you might almost say his quarantine, from the plot is solved by precisely five seconds of hurried dialogue over the end credits of the movie. This is a serious error of judgment that leaves the viewer with a profound sense of disappointment, which is why I've titled this review The Non-Nude Runner: I felt a little robbed.

Apart from the botched ending it is an entertaining yarn. There are excellent performances by Peter Vaughn and Derren Nesbitt. Sinatra is very good too - his performance is low-key and it's obvious he had carefully studied the textbook performance for this kind of role; that of Richard Burton in The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.

Recommended for fans of Sinatra, and followers of cold war thrillers. But make sure you read the book - it's excellent.

There were harsh words written of that movie on the site and I think it's a bit unfair.Sure the screenplay looks like a cross between " The man who knew too much" and "the Mandchourian candidate".Sure the symbolism is somewhat ponderous: the lady and her puppets,the tunnel and daylight again.But it's an entertaining thriller,ideal for a rainy day :the screenplay is certainly smarter than that of the average thriller of today;Frank Sinatra does a good job,supported by a good cast ,particularly Darren Nesbitt as Colonel Hartmann .Not a masterpiece but not a dud either.People who like the movies I have mentioned can have a look.

I liked the Mauser gun that Sinatra used to kill the unhappy man with glasses. Then, the Romanian Nadia Gray makes a big role from a small part. Peter Vaughan and Derren Nesbitt both steal the film with their special performances. Sinatra is the same as in all his films, it's not bad but not great. Edward Fox has a role too small to show how great he is. Nobody runs naked in this movie, the title was chosen just to attract. In my opinion, the Russians would have boarded Frenzl directly on a plane to Moscow, they would not have traveled all over Europe, only to play the English game, to psychically prepare Laker-Sinatra for assassination.