Giallo a Malta

The only reason I decided to check this one out was because it’s set in Malta; the result, however, was an exceedingly feeble comedy-thriller from, of all people, the Disney stable and, needless to say, a long way behind Hitchcock.

Incidentally, this was the film which forced the studio to open a parallel label – Touchstone – so that they could make more adult-oriented fare: its few moments of violence and the appearance of a man in drag, presumably, were the offending elements in this regard! The title is the typical outfit worn by the detective hero of 1940s film noirs: here, it’s incongruously donned by the irritating would-be thriller novelist Margot Kidder(!) – while the boyish-looking Robert Hays is the typical undercover agent (whose mission is to catch a ring of plutonium-traffickers). I can’t say the script-writers/film-makers were particularly inspired by the Maltese locations – so much so that it could have been set practically anywhere else to much the same dismal effect (it’s simply not thrilling and certainly not funny)!

Most of the other characters are seen either aiding or harassing the two leads – sometimes they seem to be doing one when their intention is actually the opposite; these include clumsy assassin Leopoldo Trieste, laid-back police chief David Suchet (TV’s future Hercule Poirot!), a couple of sweet old lodgers at Kidder’s hotel, a German mystery woman, and a Sicilian stud. A notable appearance is put in by John Justin (yes, the hero of the classic Michael Powell/Alexander Korda THE THIEF OF BAGDAD [1940] in what amounted to his last feature-film role!) as the long-suffering aristocratic owner of the hotel, whose place is turned upside-down by the end of the film. By the way, I only spotted two Maltese actors of stature in bit roles – one played a guide at a museum, and the other a fishmonger who helped Kidder evade her pursuers in one scene.

For what it’s worth, the identity of the villains is ingenious (if not exactly original); in the end, though, in spite of a number of chases, the film is never as engaging (or enjoyable) as it should have been…and only manages to give a bad name to the genre it’s playing at, not to mention the people and country involved!

Margot Kidder is unstoppable. She will always be there when you need to be entertained. This film was one of the Disney film which were made to change the image of the company. Needless to say by the films controversy, it did.

Kidder is ambitious, hard edged writer on her way to write her first big mystery novel, when she stumbles upon Hayes, a lier and fraud, who turns out to be working for... Leave that up to audiences. Kidder falls upon a real plot of terror and adventure when she is kidnapped and taken to a hotel where murder and mayhem ensues. Then things get really ugly. Hayes and Kidder have great chemistry together. Intellect and acting makes up for some lulls earlier on in the film, and when you see the "Club scene" with "Princess Aida"... Laughs and even a bit of tension highlight this film with strange yet watchable locations, and bit of Italian! 8/10

I saw this film many years ago and loved it immensely...much better than the current "Stranger than Fiction" which follows a similar theme. My question now is, "When is it coming out on DVD???" This is one film I would purchase in a flash and I'm a bit disappointed that it has not yet been released on DVD and even the VHS release has been out of print, so to speak, for many years. Time to write Disney again! The coupling of Margot Kidder and Robert Hays is brilliant and the intrigue is captivating. The tension builds when Kidder's "novel" ends up in police evidence files and is taken literally but all along the banter between hers and Hays' roles is delightful. A definite keeper!

Wanna be writer Mickey Raymond (Margot Kidder) heads to Malta to work on her first mystery novel. Along the way she meets smarmy cheap jewelry salesman Terry (Robert Hays). While on a tour, she picks up some postcards that have a top secret map hidden in them and becomes the target of various spies. Double and triple crosses ensue with plenty of hijinks. Notice I didn't say "hilarious hijinks" there. Despite the best efforts of the two leads, this is pretty rough stuff. Obviously I pulled it out because of Kidder's passing and she shows her charm in this. The problem is it can't carry the bad script by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. I legit think they went to see the Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn classic Foul Play (1978) and walked out saying, "We can do that!" This is so similar that they have the same composer, Charles Fox, and he appears to be ripping off his own Foul Play score. Director Michael Tuchner had done some great thrillers before this (Villain and Fear is the Key), but it all falls flat here. Well, at least I got to fulfill my life's dream of seeing Ronald Lacey (the melting bad guy in Raiders of the Lost Ark) in drag.

I can't understand why this movie has such a low User Rating. I enjoyed it thoroughly the first time I saw it and have seen it again several times with no loss of pleasure. Perhaps some viewers failed to realize that this is not a serious thriller but a tongue-in-cheek romantic comedy in disguise. Taken on these terms it's a lot of fun.