Monte Carlo

The three hour mini series from 1986 with joan collins! (so many films with this same name.) film opens with germany making moves early in world war two. Singer katrina petrovna is on vacation in monte carlo. She bumps into harry and evelyn, staying at the same hotel. But in europe, in the 1930s, no-one is really who they say they are! Co-stars george hamilton, lauren hutton, malcolm macdowell. As the germans move en françe, monaco tries to stay neutral, but lacks an army to enforce it. Now, it's not safe to be anyone's friend. Who's side is anyone here on? It's pretty good. Kind of a fantasy land account of the underground working in monaco. Directed by anthony page, for CBS. Novel by stephen sheppard, who was born just AFTER the end of world war two.

This film begins with a famous Russian singer by the name of "Katrina Petrovna" (Joan Collins) arriving by train to Monte Carlo just before the German invasion of Belgium and the Netherlands. While there she meets an Italian general by the name of "Properi" (Philip Madoc) and begins to have a relationship with him for the sole purpose of obtaining whatever information he may have that might be useful to British Intelligence. As it so happens, there are other people in Monte Carlo who she meets along the way with one particular novelist by the name of "Harry Price" (George Hamilton) who seems intent upon winning her favor regardless of her repeated rejections of him. Meanwhile, as the war progresses other characters emerge who have various other agendas with a German Gestapo officer named "Major Pabst" (Peter Vaughn) being the principal antagonist for all concerned. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a rather uneven mini-series for the most part which benefited from a decent plot and a good cast but suffered somewhat due to its rather bland and generic made-for-television format. Likewise, it could have used a bit more mystery and suspense as well. Be that as it may, while certainly not one of the better spy thrillers ever made, it managed to pass the time fairly well and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Average.

This is a spy story set around Monaco at the time that France fell during the second world war.

My copy is an ultra low cost DVD, which I bought because Joan Collins is on the cover. Except that it took watching it a second time for it to feel worth watching. It felt empty, filled with lots of bad acting. I only looked the second time because my DVD crashed halfway through and I put it to one side on the off chance that I might have nothing better to do sometime. That happened and, okay.

I do not know how my reaction that first time happened. It is happening with me now with Lindsay Lohan and Emily Ann Lloyd and it has also happened with me with a lot of other stuff too. The comments I write are real to me, just they might not be real re reality. That does not stop me from having opinions, unfortunately. No way do I understand this aspect of personal reality.

The DVD crash was a mechanical thing solved by playing it on a more compatible drive. That is also something that happens occasionally and not just with budget price disks or second hand disks.

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The DVD sleeve mentions that this is a TV mini series. My disk has the episodes joined together so that one would not otherwise know that it originally ran in separate parts. It lasting three hours will be due to this origin.

This does not have the appeal to me of the other two Joan Collins I have, that is Annie 2 of 1995 and Cartier Affair of 1984, but those are both comedies and this is a war drama of epic duration. It is a lot better than my first impression said.

I assume that Monte Carlo will be more approachable when seen in the original context of a series. My second viewing I did watch it over three days, an hour a day. When I watch it again I will do the same thing, but if I do it will be because of such as Annie 2 and Cartier Affair.

I find the scenery to be of special interest, me not knowing Monaco or the south east coast of France.