Superspia K

Stephen Boyd made several films during the mid-to late 60's, which all seem to have "slick" plots in which he portrays a wealthy, sophisticated, cosmopolitan character sporting perfectly coiffed hair. Neither the hairstyle nor the roles seemed to suit him well, and I'll bet he was vastly relieved to switch to westerns like Shalako and The Man Called Noon in the '70's. Assignment K, however, is probably the best of the "smooth hair" movies. He's a international spy in this one and a lot of the action takes place in a ski resort so the scenery is beautiful and wintry. He and Camilla Sparv play well together and, best of all for Stephen Boyd fans like me, he is on-screen throughout the entire film, no cameos here - a major plus for this movie. Leo McKern, another wonderful character actor, turns up once again as the bad guy. (Remember him as the irascible, but lovable Captain Brandt in Lisa?) Assignment K is fairly fast-paced and somewhat exciting, especially if you enjoy a little romance with your espionage. And the ending will surprise you!

When I looked up information about this film on IMDB, I realized that writer/director Val Guest was also one of the ones responsible for the god-awful "Casino Royale" (1967), a disjointed and unfunny from start to finish. And, as this ALSO is a spy film I assumed it would be terrible. However, the film ended up being the total opposite of his later fiasco...as the spy in this one was much more realistic (for good as well as bad).

The Irish actor, Stephen Boyd, stars in this as a British spy. You really don't know much about who he works for and if he's even one of the good guys for much of the story. Instead, the first portion focuses mostly on his vacation in the Alps and the time he spends with a pretty Swedish woman. Only later does the spy aspect of the film occur...and some rival group wants to get information out of him...or kill him.

The film has a lot of mediocre reviews and I can understand this. The story is NOT packed with action and excitement and seems to emphasize realism instead. And, I can only assume real spies are a bit dull most of the time! But I appreciated this realism and thought the film worth seeing.

This film essentially involves a man by the name of "Philip Scott" (Stephen Boyd) using his position as an executive at a toy company as a cover for operating his own independent spy organization to help the British Secret Service in Europe. In this particular case he has been tasked to retrieve some microfilm from sources behind the Iron Curtain which detail Soviet missile technology. To that effect, this requires him to travel to both West Germany and Austria and while there he becomes attracted to a beautiful Swedish woman by the name of "Antonia 'Toni' Peters" (Camila Sparv) and while getting better acquainted with her also uses their relationship to further conceal his clandestine activities. What he doesn't know, however, is that another secret organization has developed suspicions about him and are following his every move with the hope of turning the tables on him to their own advantage as well. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a rather dull and mundane spy film which seemed to focus too heavily upon quite normal and routine activities. Admittedly, both Stephen Boyd and Camila Sparv performed their roles in a solid manner but the overall lack of action and suspense was much too noticeable and for that reason I have rated this film accordingly. Average.

Long time since I saw this but remember liking it.

I don't think it is out on dvd.

Certainly it is never on tv anymore.

I try not to be nostalgic but in the 1970s and 1980s broadcast tv in the UK showed lots of films and I sat and watched them.

There is a British cable channel that shows old films,and I love it but it hows mostly British films,where are the old Hollywood films?

Anyway I am a spy/war/crime film fan so dvd companies get this one out there.

It has zippy music, attractive locations and Camilla Sparv as an affable boytoy, but that world is not enough. Hits all the action man buttons of the 60s, race car driver, MI6, spy, playboy, and on. But he's not Bond and not Harry Palmer, and therein lies the problem.

Stephen Boyd miscast so the tone of the movie was not dark enough to sustain strong interest. The ending was good as she plays both Scott and Harris off each other and gets both of them, and her cohorts, out of the spy game. A better script would have concealed then revealed complex betrayals and alliances and, perhaps, who Sparv really worked for and to what purpose. Forty or so years later Casino Royale got it right.