La blonde de Pékin

Second effort by Nicolas Gessner,it continued the director's modest ambitions:pure entertaining stuff ,but entertaining !"un Milliard Dans Un Billard" was a thriller verging on parody with a lot of unexpected twists ;"La Blonde De Pekin" is some of kind of spy thriller verging on a spoof on Bond and co.

Although there's a lot of death (and a character deplores it),nobody seems to take it seriously.If you want to know why it is useful for a woman to be at once blonde and brunette ,this is the movie to choose.Giorgia Moll is so attractive as a nurse she almost outshines Mireille Darc,the star of the film ,an actress I have always found limited.It is a pity that Françoise Brion -who resembles Catherine Deneuve's sister ,the late Françoise Dorleac- only appears a few minutes.Claudio Brook is mainly remembered for his supporting part in "La Grande Vadrouille" .

Gessner had begun to use American actors as early as his first movie; E.G.Robinson was cast in this one -in a part unworthy of the actor's talent-and Gessner would later direct Bronson,Perkins,Sheen and Foster.

It is hard to believe that so many people involved in making this film have quite some resume. This one doesn't work at all: the music does not fit, Claudio Brook is totally miscast as a James Bond wannabe, the plot is full of holes and jumpy and the characters are just sketchy. Take a look at one of the extras in the house where the Russians try to hide the girl: he is not even able to sweep the floor with a broom! All in all: a sloppy "effort" of an international team which really serves as an example for all that was wrong with some European productions of these days. If you want to see how it can work - check "Top Job", also featuring Edward G. Robinson in an international production.

This was among a handful of 'sixties crime caper films with Robinson that scarcely were in the theatres before being sold to television. He is a government agent here, and his role is brief. The plot is fast-moving, moving from Europe to Hong Kong as the protagonists chase a jewel known as "the Blue Grape." The younger performers in the leads are adequate; what mars the work is the often laughable dubbing of voices. Robinson's excuse for being involved was that it gave him yet another chance to go abroad and gaze at art treasures.

This dreary Cold War adventure with tongue-in-cheek results in a misfire, despite interesting credentials: novel author James Hadley Chase (I hadn't quite realized just how many of his work has been adapted for the screen, particularly from the 50s through the 70s, albeit mostly French-made programmers…such as this one), screenwriter Marc Behm (The Beatles' HELP! [1965]), director Gessner (THE LITTLE GIRL WHO LIVES DOWN THE LANE [1976]), composer Francois de Roubaix (LE SAMOURAI [1967], DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS [1971]), cast (a couple of lovely Godard alumni – Mireille Darc and Giorgia Moll, Bunuel regular Claudio Brook – here making an unsuitable leading man – and, of course, Edward G. Robinson – who's wasted). While occasionally sexy and featuring colorful locations, it's neither very thrilling nor very funny – though being, mercifully, short enough to be palatable.

The only other film of Gessner's that I've watched is the similarly international though superior 12+1 (1969) – based on the same source material as Mel Brooks' THE TWELVE CHAIRS (1970) and for which an equally eclectic cast had been assembled, including Sharon Tate (in her last role) and Orson Welles.

There are bad movies. There are movies so bad that at least you can laugh at them. There are movies so bad that they become good. And then there are movies like this one. Poor Edward G Robinson is totally wasted in this, and not only do I feel sorry for him, but I even feel sorry for the poor French actors who were redubbed so poorly. Not even the New Orleans' style swing jazz in the opening titles works. There is no merit to this production. I got this as one of 4 movies in an action pack, and the others are miles better.

I'm filling this with .s because the review has to be 600 characters, and there is nothing more to say. .........................