Mandat d'arrêt

The High Commissioner finds Rod Taylor playing as is native Australian for once on screen. He's an Australian cop who is pulled off regular duty by the Prime Minister of New South Wales played by Leo McKern and asked to arrest the Australian High Commissioner in London on an old charge of murder. The High Commissioner is Christopher Plummer and the victim was his first wife who died under mysterious circumstances.

It's pretty obvious to Taylor that McKern has a political agenda and Plummer is an old rival of his. Even though this extradition seems to stink on ice, Taylor does have a job to do.

Once in London there is an attempt on Plummer's life that Taylor foils and Plummer is involved in some high level negotiations with non-aligned countries that someone doesn't want to succeed. We're left pretty much in the dark as to exactly who so our imaginations can run the gamut from the Communists to some Ian Fleming type entity like SPECTRE.

The women in this film are something to see. Plummer has a devoted second wife in Lilli Palmer who would do anything to see her husband succeed, ditto his embassy secretary Carmilla Sparv. The bad girl here in the story is alluring and mysterious Daliah Lavi who runs a gambling house in London. A lot of secrets are traded here as this seems to be a kind of neutral ground in the Cold War. Lavi was one of the sexiest women of her time back in the day and she's enough to lure people back from the dead.

This film with a brief appearance in a hospital bed from Franchot Tone was his farewell role. This could have been a real hospital bed because Tone didn't look too good. A sad farewell to one of the screen's most debonair players who was always fighting for roles to display his acting rather than good looks and sense of style.

One other role that does have a sense of style involved is that of Plummer's butler Clive Revill. He finds Taylor's Aussie ways somewhat uncouth, but Revill has more to him than a sense of manners.

The High Commissioner although somewhat murky is a fast moving action flick with a surprise ending and yes as another reviewer says, similar to Alfred Hitchcock's Sabotage.

What a disappointment! I've enjoyed the Jon Cleary books about Scobie Malone, but there's little resemblance between him and the cinematic Malone. In the books he's a city detective, who is devoted to his wife and doesn't get involved in fisticuffs. For the film the character has been spiced up, into an outback copper who uses his fists and isn't averse to jumping into bed with a gorgeous girl, though quite what she and the film's other sex interest see in him I don't know; Taylor was 39 at the time and his face was getting puffy.

But his character's stamina is remarkable; he flies in from Australia, apparently goes straight to the Commissioner's house (rather unwisely seeking to arrest him during a black-tie reception), saves him from assassination (getting into a fight in the process), goes to a casino with one girl, leaves with another and takes her to bed. So much for jet lag! On the way back to the Commissioner's house (showing a good knowledge of London back streets), he gets beaten up by the baddies, but is still first down to breakfast! It's also remarkable that the commissioner's limo has its windscreen and headlights miraculously repaired within minutes of the assassination attempt and that one character has a touching faith in the precise timekeeping of a clock-activated bomb.

The best thing is Joseph the Butler's disdain for the uncouth Malone. And at least the film avoids being a London travelogue, though some scenes take place during the Wimbledon tennis week.

Amiable Aussie icon Rod Taylor ("The Time Machine") plays Scobie Malone, a police detective from the Outback who is sent on special assignment. He's to retrieve high-ranking Australian politician Sir James Quentin (Christopher Plummer, "All the Money in the World"), who's wanted for a 15-year-old killing, and must go to London to do it. However, after some botched attempts on Quentins' life, Malone is obliged to act as a bodyguard for the man while trying to figure out who wants him dead.

I really don't think this is as bad as all that. Based on a novel by Jon Cleary, it tells a decent, reasonably entertaining story. It's mostly plot-driven, with some action scenes here and there, and the plot really doesn't stand up to scrutiny, but it's all perfectly watchable, if not distinguished.

It's the wonderful international cast that makes the difference. Taylor is in fine form, and Plummer is smooth as always - and importantly, he also makes his character likeable enough instead of making him some pompous jerk. The women are truly gorgeous: Daliah Lavi ("The Whip and the Body"), Camilla Sparv ("Downhill Racer"), and the classy Lilli Palmer ("The Boys from Brazil"). Also putting in appearances are Clive Revill ("Avanti!"), who's amusing as a stuffy butler, Calvin Lockhart ("The Beast Must Die"), Derren Nesbitt ("Where Eagles Dare"), Edric Connor ("Moby Dick" '56), Burt Kwouk (the "Pink Panther" series), Russell Napier ("A Night to Remember"), Charles 'Bud' Tingwell ("Dracula, Prince of Darkness"), and, in his last film appearance, Franchot Tone ("Advise & Consent").

Bolstered by a great score by Georges Delerue, "Nobody Runs Forever", a.k.a. "The High Commissioner" entertains adequately in the end, coming across as a decent but unremarkable entry in the espionage / international intrigue genre.

Six out of 10.

This is certainly not a bad film: the script maintains an air of uncertainty as to who is and who is not in the conspiracy to kill Plummer, there are some frantic fight scenes, a nice elegiac score, the performances are fine, putting in more emotion than usual for the genre, and the Goddess-like Daliah Lavi & the beautiful Camilla Sparv more than fill out the required "babe quotient" (as I've said before, these 60's spy thrillers are almost always a sure bet if you want to see some incredibly beautiful women). However, there is not much here that you have not seen before. Perhaps it says something about the greatness of Hitchcock that even one of his widely considered "lesser" pictures ("Topaz") is still better than this movie. (**1/2)

This 1968 production has a great blend of cast and the outline of the film is well described in the comments of bampton. where Scobie Malone, an Australian outback detective Sargent is summoned by the Premier of New South Wales to go to London and safely escort an Australian diplomat(Christopher Plummer) back to Australia. Scobie(played by Rod Taylor) is annoyed to go to Sydney (the capital city of the state of New South Wales) after having just returned from there. This scene of when he is summoned also shows a unique and beautiful background of outback Australia at that time.

Rod Taylor plays the part of a rugged bushman exceptionally well, as he is outspoken, grumpy and speaks his mind without too much concern as to who may be present. I even like his Australian accent as it stands out at the London banquet amongst the upper class English gentlemen in their tuxedo, who pay more attention to their etiquette as they are tensely worried by his unpredictable outbursts of free speech. In contrast to his role in Time Machine" where he is much more docile and well spoken. This is what I believe makes a good actor, especially with the extreme diverse roles that they can perform and I believe that Rod Taylor performs brilliantly.

There is also a scenery of a tennis match at Wimbledon between an Australian and an Englishman where Scobie boasts to them that Australia is in front. Yet, Scobie also shows his Australian charm as he is a real softy at heart and his bark is louder than his bite, but is also an outstanding policeman where he surprises all those that underestimate his police skills purely by judging a book by it's cover.

Without giving too much away, I do recommend this movie and should be judged fairly as it is a late 1960's production and should not be compared to modern cinema. I do enjoy repeats of it as it seems to be more inspiring . A brilliant blend of cast which also include Leo McKern, Lilli Palmer and Charles Bud Tingwell. Worth watching!!!!