Con le spalle al muro

International crime thriller, that's how I could describe this movie from a director who, after this one, will give us two pieces of sh.... WHERE EAGLES DARE and KELLY'S HEROES, twp big, juicy, fancy pieces of crap. So let's enjoy this one at least, it is tense, with a good paced script, a surprising lead David McCallum - I suppose his only lead role for the big screen. And the supporting characters such as Telly Savalas and Ricardo Montalban are also effective. Good production design, atmosphere so typical from the late sixties. To find another good Brian G Hutton's film, you'll have to wait till 1973 with NIGHT WATCH and eight years later with FIRST DEADLY SIN. Forget the rest. Good bittersweet ending, and cynical too.

This film should have gone by the source title "Field of the Poppy." David McCallum is wooden and emotionless. Rip Torn and Stella Stevens more than make up for it with powerful dramatic performances.

David McCallum (Sol Madrid) filmed this movie in Mexico during the summer hiatus of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in 1967 probably to capitalize on his great popularity in the TV series. From information here, it appears that the movie was not released until after The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was canceled in Jan. '68. I recently saw this film for the first time and enjoyed it very much. Great cast of actors who must have been under contract to MGM at the time, great scenery, good story, tight plot and good pacing. I really feel that MGM made a mistake in not making this into an action/adventure series of movies starring McCallum. Although tame by today's standards, maybe the film was considered too "adult" to be marketed to McCallum's teen fans or maybe it had to do with the timing of its release. Whatever the reason, I think MGM missed out and I would have really enjoyed more "Sol Madrid, Interpol cop" movies.

2 out of 10

Why even bother giving names to these plot advancers? It is a reach even to call them characters, since there is zero context, characterization or texture provided. "Supercop" infiltrates "Latin Drug Lord's" operation using "Blonde Moll" who is on the run from "Mob Guy." Who are these people? Apparently the director didn't care either, all he wanted was a few gun and knife fights to occur in front of a camera.

Unfortunately for the viewer, the plot itself is just as underdeveloped. I defy anyone to explain why the Michael Conrad character exists, why Sol Madrid does 3/4ths of the things he does (or how he could be allowed by his superiors to do so), or why "Mob Guy" decides to reenact the desert hotel scene from Touch of Evil.

The "mafia meeting" at the beginning is the silliest I have ever seen. And, no, this isn't supposed to be a comedy.

David McCallum and Stella Stevens believe the best way to deliver lines in an "intense" scene is to yell them, otherwise, any inflection is superfluous.

The only morsels of merit are seeing a completely unbelievable yet interesting way to smuggle drugs play out and Ricardo Montalban, who, despite the decent resumes of the other actors, is the only one who decided to employ his talents instead of pocketing his paycheck simply for showing up on the set.

Petty criminal Harry Mitchell and girlfriend Stacey Woodward (Stella Stevens) split half a million stolen from the mob. He takes off for Aapulco. Mob hitman Dano Villanova (Rip Torn) is sent to retrieve the money. Government agent Sol Madrid (David McCallum) finds Stacey. He hopes to bring down drug lord Emil Dietrich (Telly Savalas) with her help. Jalisco (Ricardo Montalban) is Sol Madrid's local contact in Mexico.

This is inferior James Bond. Maybe they are trying to be more real and failing. There is some brutal stuff in the subject matter. Either way, it's not that good. There are quite a few familiar faces. David McCallum is not necessarily a leading man type although I guess he had a leading role in The Man from U. N. C. L. E. During that time. I still don't see it. I don't get Sol and Stacey. I don't get why she goes with him. She threatens to leave at one point. Non of it seems reasonable. The plot is a bit clunky and simplistic. It's sometimes interesting to see some of the lesser films of an era. They do spend most of their time in sunny Mexico and that's something. Oh, it's also a horrible name even for a can of sardines.