Subterfuge

Gene Barry plays an American secret agent who comes to London to meet a British informer who has something important to tell him. By the time he arrives there, his contact has already been killed and Barry gets kidnapped. He escapes with the help of a local agent (Tom Adams), and is asked to investigate a leak in the British secret service. To do that, he has to get close to the agent's wife (Joan Collins). Romance ensues. Actually, that romance may be the weakest aspect of "Subterfuge": Barry and Collins don't exactly set the world on fire as a couple. There is a rather sadistic bad girl, played by Suzanna Leigh, who is much more exciting to watch than the bland Collins, but doesn't have enough screen time. On the positive side, the film boasts some amusing fight scenes, a fairly twisty plot and lots of on-location London footage, so it just about gets a passing grade. ** out of 4.

Gene Barry is "Donovan", a CIA agent sent to London to help uncover a cold war espionage ring. He is pretty much captured upon arrival, but luckily manages to quickly escape from his country house prison with the help of "Peter Langley" (Tom Adams) and together with the assistance of "Col. Redmayne" (Richard Todd) they embark on an investigation to find the spy! Most of this reminded me of an episode of "Bewitched" only it wasn't anyone's nose that was twitching. The production is cheap, the script woeful and the performances might legitimately be described as truly worthy of the occasional appearance from Joan Collins ("Anne") at her most glamorously sterile. The plot plods along with an inevitability to it that leaves no room for any suspense, and the fight scenes are so expertly choreographed as to be little more than gymnastics with tomato sauce. London in the late 1960s was a colourful, bustling city and the film at least manages to convey some of that vibrancy, but otherwise this is really just duff.

Very briefly, Subterfuge's plot goes something like this: U.S. spy MIchael Donovan (Gene Barry) is enlisted by his British counterparts to ferret out a mole hiding in their midst. Donovan decides to use the marital difficulties facing one of his suspects to his advantage. Donovan cosies up to Anne Langley (Joan Collins) to gain information on his target. As you might have guessed, things get complicated when Donovan ends up falling for Anne

Subterfuge should have worked on me. It's got a lot of what I normally enjoy: spy shenanigans, interesting locations, kidnappings, double-agents, double crosses, chase scenes, fight scenes, and Joan Collins. The problem is that the movie doesn't have much of a plot - at least one that's interesting. Subterfuge is deathly dull. I'll admit that the last act does get a bit interesting, but by that point, I was really struggling to stay awake. The baddies are boring, the plot is confusing, and Gene Barry isn't very exciting. That's not much of a recipe for success. Joan Collins is easily the best thing Subterfuge has going for it. She shines in every instance she appears on-screen. Unfortunately, though, she's stuck with Barry. Their relationship and chemistry is as lacking as the plot. Overall, there's not much here to recommend. A generous 4/10 from me.

Subterfuge is quite an elusive title to track down, however it was released on VHS in the US, and DVD copies have recently become available. The cast is pretty starry, however the plot is rather confused, and Peter Graham Scott's direction couldn't be described as anything other than workmanlike. Of chief interest are the location shots of the London of 1968 - fascinating for those who know the capital well - and the luminous Joan Collins, who, clearly realising the weak script wasn't going to give the audience much for their money, and that her good-girl role lacked much substance, sets about creating a one-woman style festival. So we get Joan in hats, leotards, thigh-high leather boots, evening dresses, mini-dresses, furs ... you name it - if it was 'in' in 1968, Joan is wearing it and looking as glorious as always (and slimmer than ever). And for the more sombre scenes when her character's life is in turmoil, Joan isn't afraid to deglamourise her look. As for the rest of the cast, the only performances of note are Marius Goring (his name way down in the credits!) as the chief villain, and Suzanna Leigh being surprisingly good as a somewhat psycho villainess. Top-billed Gene Barry resembles a walking store-window dummy: devoid of any emotion or talent whatsoever, he seems disinterested and disconnected from the action and the actors around him, and he is the main reason the film fails. A poor script can be enlivened by a star turn such as that of Miss Collins, or a fun and campy characterisation such as that of Miss Leigh, but with a leading man as uninspired as Gene Barry, Subterfuge is beyond saving.

Here's one that tries to be cynical and hip but fails on both accounts. Director Peter Graham Scott was involved with both the Danger Man and The Avengers television series' but drops the ball here, churning out a staid but not altogether lifeless espionage non-thriller.