Maroc, dossier numéro 7

Three things stand out in this film. The filming on location - including interior scenes, the Moroccan desert, and the wonderful 1960s fashions/hairstyles. An enjoyable film only marred by the weak storyline and implausible ending. I wish that more films would make use of real locations for interior scenes. Actually seeing the real world out of the hotel room window, hearing the echo in voices due to being in a small room, genuine ambient background sound - all these ingredients help to 'put you there'. If this film had been made in the mid 70s or later it would be completely forgettable. But being made in the swinging 60s gives it something... Worth a look.

Although by no means a spy thriller ,"Maroc 7" has its eye on Hitchcock and too many James Bond movies.The action takes place in Morroco ,like the first part of "the man who knew too much" and the final scene between Gene Barry and Elsa Martinelli resembles a "North by Norwest" in miniature ,complete with (Morrocan ) rocks.Martinelli,Cyd Charisse and Alexandra Stewart are given here the royal treatment of beauties in the tradition of the James Bond Girls.Gene Barry,although American, looks very British ,like Sean Connery ,and he does not take seriously this story of an invaluable medallion (which used to belong to none other than Cleopatra 's and Marc Antony's daughter Salome no less).No masterpiece ,but fun to watch ,and Morocco is the real star of the film.

Considering that "Maroc 7" has an overall IMDb score of 4.6, I sure expected it to be a bad film. While in theory, a 5.0 would indicate an average film, here on IMDb the number is probably closer to 6.5--and 4.6 strongly indicates BAD. But, I was surprised--the film was actually a decent little film--not a work of genius but well worth seeing.

The film begins with a guy, Simon Grant (Gene Barry) approaching a woman (Cyd Charisse) who owns a studio that photographs pretty models. He's come to tell her he KNOWS her secret--that she is a world-class thief AND that he's planning on coming with her on her next caper. This takes her and her groups of models to Morocco. But WHAT is the item she plans to steal? And how much do the ladies and their photographer know? And, just who is Grant--who is he working for and what is HIS motivation? While not a brilliant caper film, it is nice and benefits from nice scenery and pretty ladies. It's interesting and well worth your time--especially if you are in the mood for a bit of escapism.

This film begins in London with a burglar breaking into a house and stealing some jewelry from a wall safe belonging to a jewel thief by the name of "Louise Henderson" (Cyd Charisse). Not long afterward this same man goes to a party and introduces himself to Louise as "Simon Grant" (Gene Barry). He also tells her that he has the jewels in his possession and will give them back only if he is allowed to go to Morocco where she is planning to steal an ancient jewel known as "the Medallion." She reluctantly agrees and they depart together with a modeling agency which she intends on using as her cover. It's during this trip that he becomes intimately acquainted with one of the models named "Claudia" (Elsa Martinelli) who happens to be one of the few people within the modeling agency who is in on the heist but has switched her loyalty from Louise to Simon. But what nobody realizes is that Simon has been followed by a beautiful law enforcement agent by the name of "Michelle Craig" (Alexandra Stewart) and that they seem to know quite a bit about their intended caper. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a rather interesting film in that it had a good plot, an exotic location and some decent actors in the cast. Likewise, having a bevy of beautiful young models featured certainly didn't hurt the scenery either. Be that as it may, I enjoyed this film for the most part and have I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

This is no masterpiece, but it's not as bad as I was expecting. The story is quite compelling and you have to stay watching to see how it all turns out - an outcome you certainly can not guess because these characters have more guises than the Mission Impossible 2 team! Good if you like these types of 60s British films, or if you're just a curious Cyd Charisse fan. Though she's not playing a beautiful young dancer, but a still beautiful and still very young-looking fashion editor, who doubles as a jewel thief in her spare time.