Nobody Runs Forever

What a disappointment! I've enjoyed the Jon Cleary books about Scobie Malone, but there's little resemblance between him and the cinematic Malone. In the books he's a city detective, who is devoted to his wife and doesn't get involved in fisticuffs. For the film the character has been spiced up, into an outback copper who uses his fists and isn't averse to jumping into bed with a gorgeous girl, though quite what she and the film's other sex interest see in him I don't know; Taylor was 39 at the time and his face was getting puffy.

But his character's stamina is remarkable; he flies in from Australia, apparently goes straight to the Commissioner's house (rather unwisely seeking to arrest him during a black-tie reception), saves him from assassination (getting into a fight in the process), goes to a casino with one girl, leaves with another and takes her to bed. So much for jet lag! On the way back to the Commissioner's house (showing a good knowledge of London back streets), he gets beaten up by the baddies, but is still first down to breakfast! It's also remarkable that the commissioner's limo has its windscreen and headlights miraculously repaired within minutes of the assassination attempt and that one character has a touching faith in the precise timekeeping of a clock-activated bomb.

The best thing is Joseph the Butler's disdain for the uncouth Malone. And at least the film avoids being a London travelogue, though some scenes take place during the Wimbledon tennis week.

An Australian detective (Rod Taylor) is sent to London to bring back the High Commissioner (Christopher Plummer) for a possible crime in 1951, but he's involved in delicate peace talks for the UN, not to mention dealing with a leaker and assassination attempts.

"The High Commissioner" (1968) is also known as "Nobody Runs Forever" and works well enough if you're interested in a way more believable, dialogue-driven substitute to the 007 flicks with Sean Connery. Clive Revill is entertaining as a grumpy butler while suave Calvin Lockhart is notable as an American involved in the diplomatic proceedings.

Exotic-looking Daliah Lavi stands out on the feminine front. Her character is involved in an unconvincing romantic sequence, which wasn't in the 1966 novel (the creators obviously wanted to spice up the story for moviegoers). Camilla Sparv and Lilli Palmer are also on hand.

There's something too mechanical about the movie. The director described himself as a "hired hand" and brushed it off as "okay." I wouldn't pay top dollar at the cinema to see it, but it's enjoyable enough for home entertainment if you're in the mood for a talky 60's big city drama/thriller with lots of political intrigue and a quality cast.

This was the first of two movies featuring Aussie detective Scobie Malone; the other came out in 1975 and was titled "Scobie Malone," minus Rod Taylor in the role.

It runs 1 hour, 41 minutes, and was shot at Pinewood Studios, west of London, as well as in the city, including Wimbledon. There are also shots of Sydney and the opening sequence appears to have been shot in the Outback.

GRADE: B/B-

This 1968 production has a great blend of cast and the outline of the film is well described in the comments of bampton. where Scobie Malone, an Australian outback detective Sargent is summoned by the Premier of New South Wales to go to London and safely escort an Australian diplomat(Christopher Plummer) back to Australia. Scobie(played by Rod Taylor) is annoyed to go to Sydney (the capital city of the state of New South Wales) after having just returned from there. This scene of when he is summoned also shows a unique and beautiful background of outback Australia at that time.

Rod Taylor plays the part of a rugged bushman exceptionally well, as he is outspoken, grumpy and speaks his mind without too much concern as to who may be present. I even like his Australian accent as it stands out at the London banquet amongst the upper class English gentlemen in their tuxedo, who pay more attention to their etiquette as they are tensely worried by his unpredictable outbursts of free speech. In contrast to his role in Time Machine" where he is much more docile and well spoken. This is what I believe makes a good actor, especially with the extreme diverse roles that they can perform and I believe that Rod Taylor performs brilliantly.

There is also a scenery of a tennis match at Wimbledon between an Australian and an Englishman where Scobie boasts to them that Australia is in front. Yet, Scobie also shows his Australian charm as he is a real softy at heart and his bark is louder than his bite, but is also an outstanding policeman where he surprises all those that underestimate his police skills purely by judging a book by it's cover.

Without giving too much away, I do recommend this movie and should be judged fairly as it is a late 1960's production and should not be compared to modern cinema. I do enjoy repeats of it as it seems to be more inspiring . A brilliant blend of cast which also include Leo McKern, Lilli Palmer and Charles Bud Tingwell. Worth watching!!!!

The High Commissioner finds Rod Taylor playing as is native Australian for once on screen. He's an Australian cop who is pulled off regular duty by the Prime Minister of New South Wales played by Leo McKern and asked to arrest the Australian High Commissioner in London on an old charge of murder. The High Commissioner is Christopher Plummer and the victim was his first wife who died under mysterious circumstances.

It's pretty obvious to Taylor that McKern has a political agenda and Plummer is an old rival of his. Even though this extradition seems to stink on ice, Taylor does have a job to do.

Once in London there is an attempt on Plummer's life that Taylor foils and Plummer is involved in some high level negotiations with non-aligned countries that someone doesn't want to succeed. We're left pretty much in the dark as to exactly who so our imaginations can run the gamut from the Communists to some Ian Fleming type entity like SPECTRE.

The women in this film are something to see. Plummer has a devoted second wife in Lilli Palmer who would do anything to see her husband succeed, ditto his embassy secretary Carmilla Sparv. The bad girl here in the story is alluring and mysterious Daliah Lavi who runs a gambling house in London. A lot of secrets are traded here as this seems to be a kind of neutral ground in the Cold War. Lavi was one of the sexiest women of her time back in the day and she's enough to lure people back from the dead.

This film with a brief appearance in a hospital bed from Franchot Tone was his farewell role. This could have been a real hospital bed because Tone didn't look too good. A sad farewell to one of the screen's most debonair players who was always fighting for roles to display his acting rather than good looks and sense of style.

One other role that does have a sense of style involved is that of Plummer's butler Clive Revill. He finds Taylor's Aussie ways somewhat uncouth, but Revill has more to him than a sense of manners.

The High Commissioner although somewhat murky is a fast moving action flick with a surprise ending and yes as another reviewer says, similar to Alfred Hitchcock's Sabotage.

This gets off to a cracking start with Rod Taylor's no-nonsense outback cop, Scobie Malone, engaged by the New South Wales premier - played by an oddly uncredited Leo McKern - to arrest Australia's High Commissioner in London, a former political rival, accused of murdering a former wife.

The stage is set for a taut political thriller, but once Malone reaches London the tension gradually dissipates as he finds himself acting as Commissioner Christopher Plummer's bodyguard in a meandering cold war plot involving a peace conference and assassination attempts. The sort of thing you could see regularly in second-rate episodes of the likes of The Saint or Jason King back in the day. Hard to figure how the Calvin Lockhart character fitted in, nor Franchot Tone in his final film, in a brief cameo as an ambassador confined to bed. Among the baddies are the familiar faces of Burt Kwouk and Derren Nesbitt, the latter with hardly a word of dialogue.

True, Rod Taylor is very good in the lead, and it was a shame he was never given another chance to reprise the character. Plummer and Lilli Palmer are convincing under the circumstances, Camilla Sparv and Daliah Lavi provide plenty of glamour and there's a fitting score from Georges Delerue, but all these hardly compensate for what seems a missed opportunity.