La spia senza domani

Typical (and typically complex) Cold War spy saga, not the best in the genre by far – but still counting among its admirers film-geek supremo Quentin Tarantino!

The narrative deals with hounded KGB man Oliver Reed who's wanted by one side and deemed expendable by the other; the only one who can help him is Richard Widmark, recently retired from the C.I.A. and currently living with Reed's ex-flame (Gayle Hunnicutt) in Israel! On Reed's trail are Sam Wanamaker of the C.I.A. and Vladek Sheybal of the KGB; an Israeli agent, who's trying to keep the situation under control, is sympathetic to Widmark but ends up paying for the interest with his life. As a film, It's watchable enough but hardly outstanding, despite a plethora of action sequences set to a pounding score and culminating in a desert trek fraught with peril. Even so, the star combo works surprisingly well (watching them dressed up in Jewish garb "praying" beneath the Weeping Wall is an unintentionally comic highlight), the supporting cast all pull their weight (particularly Sheybal's sleek but ruthless hit-man), and the overly-hysterical Hunnicutt is ultimately exposed as a femme fatale.

THE SELL OUT is available on a budget DVD containing two other espionage titles (all under the dubious name of "Great Spy Movies"): these are the obscure THE INSIDE MAN (1984) – which, at least, offers some interest due to the presence in the cast of Dennis Hopper and Hardy Kruger – and the distinctly unappetizing HANGMEN (1987) with Sandra Bullock and Jake LaMotta!

Awful, wretched account of spies converging in Jerusalem in order to either aid or obstruct the departure of double-agent Oliver Reed after a contract is put out on him by both CIA and KGB interests. Local former CIA spy turned antiquities dealer (Widmark) is approached by Reed (his former protégé) to assist his exit, but finds himself becoming implicated in a saga in which he wanted no involvement.

One could only assume that Reed, Widmark, Wanamaker, Hunnicutt & Sheybul agreed to appear in this movie for the opportunity to visit Israel. Perhaps that's why they titled it "The Sell Out". Hunnicutt looks good in a teasing negligee and Sheybul is suitably sinister (perhaps some residual good-will from his former Bond villain colours his performance - there is a mildly creepy moment where he nibbles on a slice of cucumber while passively threatening Hunnicutt), but everyone and everything else associated with this picture is pure bunkum.

Endless double cross, incessant car chases, inane dialogue and woeful attempts at patriotic sympathy are just a few of the fault-lines that permanently fracture this would-be thriller. The film's meandering, incoherent narrative loses its way quickly and never recovers; the climax is an absolute non-event (and so dimly lit as to be virtually invisible), but to be disappointing, there would have needed to have been something better anticipated, and that was never an expectation after enduring the first 85 minutes of this abject failure.

Despite seeing one of my dear actors, Oliver Reed, the film didn't go down well. It is extremely predictable and boring. The whole movie repeats the same thing, the request that Gabriel Lee, Reed's character, is handed over. We don't have great acting performances. Vladek Sheybal as The Dutchman tries to be cool but it's more ridiculous. Better are Sam Wanamaker as Harry Sickles and Richard Widmark as Sam Lucas is even better.

Poor old Ollie Reed is having a bit of an holiday in Israel when someone tries to kill him... It turns out that he used to run the CIA operation in Lebanon, and that his former employers and the KGB have decided to eliminate some loose ends that might come back to haunt them - he is their current target! In desperation, he turns to his former colleague Richard Widmark ("Sam"), now retired to an antiques business with Gayle Hunnicutt ("Deborah") in Jerusalem. What ensues is a pretty lacklustre espionage thriller, with neither star really bothering. There is quite a funny scene with Reed before the wailing wall looking as if he is about to vomit - a scene that rather sums the whole thing up. It's largely devoid of jeopardy, what action there is has an inevitability about it that isn't at all helped out by a pretty formulaic script. It has some nice photography of the City of David (the bits folks are not trying to blow up) but otherwise is something you will soon forget.

"The Sell Out" has an overall rating of 4.9 on IMDB...indicating it's NOT a very good film. However, something needs to be taken into account...nearly HALF the ratings for this film are 10s!!! Clearly, when a bad or even mediocre movie gets this many 10s, someone or group of people are messing with the ratings. IMDB must have realized this and weighted the scores, as with so many 10s I cannot explain why the movie still has such a low overall score.

"The Sell Out" is an international production with a couple past their peak big-name actors, Richard Widmark and Oliver Reed. Otherwise, you won't recognize most of the actors...and as I watched, I could understand why they won't be recognized...they, like the director, just aren't very good.

The story is a convoluted and talky story about a former CIA agent (Widmark) and a double-agent (Reed). The double-agent says he wishes to return to the NATO fold...but for some reason both sides want to kill him and the former CIA agent. Why and what are they hiding?

This is an extremely cheap and low energy film...despite being about spies and murder. It's not bad enough to merit scores like 1 or 2...but isn't much better than that. I REALLY found myself struggling to pay attention or even care about this film...and it's interesting how dull they managed to make the production.