Missione pericolosa

Around 60 years ago I remember the title number being played on the radio.Lyrics were added and it was sung by Jimmy Edwards.The film is rather less memorable being a fairly routine spy thriller starring an ageing Richard Conte as the parachuted in fading American star for the benefit of the American distributors.The DVD has some interesting trailers and an alternative beginning.This is far longer and much less puncture than the actual beginning.There is an intrepid reporter trying to ferret out a story,ignoring the fact that the government would quash any story with a D notice.Still this film was very topical at the time with the defection of Burgess and MacLean.

Superintendent Harrington (Russell Napier) is charged with investigating the deaths of British nuclear scientists.

A monkey creature is present when the killings took place. Maybe the Russians have trained primates to carry out the killings.

Bill Locklin (Richard Conte) is the State Department official who has flown into London to bring a Russian defector to America.

However the Russian spies are hot on his heels with the help of collaborators.

Locklin and Harrington need to keep them at bay while the press act as a nuisance.

Little Red Monkey is a passable B movie set during the 1950s cold war. Conte is the obligatory American star.

It moves along nicely as the audience work out just how a monkey could be an assassin. The presence of a little boy is a clue as to how the deaths may have been carried out.

Within minutes, one could be forgiven for thinking that the elusive monkey of the title is the director, making a Hitchcock style cameo appearance and for questioning Hollywood stalwart Richard Conte's integrity for signing up to this clunker. Throw in a low budget, lo-fi, occasionally laughable score, which sounds like it was performed by the same outfit responsible for Ed Wood's 'Jailbait' and it quickly appears that this bargain basement yarn about the bumping off of eminent scientists is headed straight for the buffers. A total train wreck of a movie!

When the brainbox behind guided missiles has a stop over in London en route to the U. S. A., despite embarrassing lapses in security and a dismissal of the monkey's existence, the authorities remain calm and bullishly stiff upper lipped. Most people would have gone ape! Visiting State Department agent Conte is given assurances regarding safety, but soon our hero has a harsh reality check. Exasperated by inert British police, hampered and harangued, by probing, all mouth and trousers reporter, Colin Gordon, kidnapped and beaten to a pulp by Russian agents, he still finds time for several stiff drinks and a spot of romance with Rona Anderson, clearly not put off by his extensive bruising and black eye.

Continued viewing spurs a combination of mirth and macabre fascination, until......wait a minute, the momentum picks up, tension mounts and against all expectations a passably noirish thriller emerges, leading to a finale in which the monkey and a midget martian contrive to (almost) steal the show, endorsing the adage; 'Never work with animals or children'.

Richard Conte is to film noir what Joel McCrea, Randolph Scott or Audie Murphy are to the Western: reliable lead without ever attaining superstar status. In this film, as ever, Conte delivers a competent performance well backed up by strong direction from Ken Hughes, and a quiet performance of immense quality by Russell Napier, playing the part of Superintendent Harrington in a typical but highly perceptive British stiff upper lip show.

At stake is the Cold War, espionage and the brain drain from the USSR to the USA, with the action happening on British soil. A monkey keeps appearing at murder scenes but in the end it is not the monkey that is icing the scientists. Pity, I have always wanted to see an animal take shots at human beings with cross hairs to even out the contest a little bit.

Lovely Rona Anderson plays the love interest - perhaps a little too eagerly to seem convincing.

Highly professional cinematography by James Ambor. Fair script by Eastwood and Hughes. I enjoyed it well enough to recommend it.

This very British film was a "B" picture given headlines because of the title song which was a massive hit in both the Uk and in the States.

Only read below if you want to know about The little red monkey.

The little red monkey was in fact a very very small/tiny adult russian spy who because of his size could enter small areas thought safe agains five foot plus size humans.

He was only called "The Midget" in the film and he was played by Leonard franks.

This was the basis of the movie.

If you ever get to watch this film, do not expect too much and you will not be disappionted.

The music is freely on line to download from various sites in the UK. Just type in "the little red monkey" into a search engine and up will pop lots of links.