L'Agent américain

This Spanish-Italian crime comedy is another Sidney Pink production (see my review of FICKLE FINGER OF FATE) and stars the young Dustin Hoffman as Jason Fister, a bumbling treasury agent who is assigned to a case in Rome because the people in his home office want to get rid of him. His task is to track down a million dollars stashed away by a former gangster turned insurance man, played by Cesar Romero whose role must take all of five minutes. Although this film was not released in the US until 1969, from reading producer Sid Pink's autobiography I got the impression that it was made right before THE GRADUATE. His performance here is very good--kind of like a more subdued Jerry Lewis (or is that a more subdued Sammy Petrillo?). Having his voice post-synchronized later hurts a bit, but Mr. Hoffman does his best, and I found the film to be a harmless yet enjoyable lowbrow comedy, not too different in feel from such Pink productions as FICKLE FINGER OF FATE or WITCH WITHOUT A BROOM. It's certainly more of a success than, say, Who is Harry Kellerman? or Dick Tracy (not to mention Ishtar!). Hoffman shows that even in this early point in his career he is entirely capable of carrying a film by himself. Mainstream audiences might be put off by the dubbing or the low-budget production quality, but if nothing else it proves that Mr. Hoffman can make a Franco and Ciccio movie as well as Franco and Ciccio could have done! The scene where Hoffman plays both Fister and his enforcer "Red" is priceless and could have come from a Harry Langdon short at Columbia or Educational--high praise coming from a Langdon fan such as myself! Now, if only Alfredo, Alfredo will come out on video in the USA...

There's a reason we never see this shown on ANY channel.... it's just really poor direction. Using the circus background music when people trip... a trick usually saved for movies aimed at children. And for the first half hour, hoffman yells his lines at the microphone. When madigan (cesar romero) is sent back to italy, the feds still want to find out what happened to the cash he stole in the united states. In an early film role, dustin hoffman is fister, the fed official, trying to track down madigan and the missing money. But he's a goof up, pink panther style. Or matt helm. But the awful script and direction just aren't up to even those standards. Where is the missing money? Some great shots of what the coliseum looked like in 1966. Directed by giorgio gentili and filmed in italy and spain. Although wikipedia says the director is standley prager. Odd. Wasn't prager the broadway show director?? Wikipedia also tells us this was filmed in 1966, but not released until 1968. That alone was a warning sign. One of three films directed by gentili. And now we know why! It's just very barely okay. Mostly interesting as how hoffman got his start.

Dustin Hoffman's character Jason Fister is sent to Rome to track down the million dollars a deceased gangster named Mike Madigan (Cesar Romero) left behind.Giorgio Gentili's Madigan's Million was shot in 1966 but wasn't released until a couple years later, in 1968.Dustin Hoffman had gotten some name to himself with The Graduate so they brought this to the big screen with much less success.It is Hoffman who saves the show.He steals the show from the moment he stumbles on the screen till the moment he hops off the screen.This is totally and completely a Dustin Hoffman show.There are other actors too who aren't bad at all.There are people such as Elsa Martinelli, Gustavo Rojo, Fernando Hilbeck, Riccardo Garrone and so on.And let's not forget those few minutes in the beginning with Cesar Romero.I recommend this movie solely to Dustin Hoffman fans.Others don't be bothered.

Hoffman is sent to Rome to find a missing million left by gangster Romero.

Really odd little comedy which is pretty terrible but is in part redeemed both by one or two rather funny and silly one liners and the presence of a young Hoffman who despite playing a naff Clouseau type shows clear star quality.

After a few years in light roles in film and TV, Dustin Hoffman scored stardom in 1967 with "The Graduate." So, why would he be cast the next year in a "spaghetti" comedy? I don't know the machinations of Hollywood, but I'd like to posit a wild guess: He or someone else thought he might score again in a comedy. In this case, a sort of Italian-American "Pink Panther." When you finish laughing, consider the similarities in this film with the 1963 smash hit, "The Pink Panther."

Hoffman's character is similar to Peter Sellers' Jacques Clouseau. Both were government detectives of sorts. Both were bungling characters who fell, tripped or ran into objects and people. Both were disliked by their superiors and cohorts, who considered them incompetent. Inspector Clouseau incessantly corrected people who called him "inspector Clouseau," stating that he was "CHIEF inspector Clouseau." Hoffman's Jason Fister is a U.S. Treasury agent (auditor), whom people keep referring to as "Mr. FAWster." He continually corrects people: "It's FISTer – F, I, S, T, E, R." But amidst their bumbling and bungling, both had some keen insights about their work and the case they were on.

So, maybe it's not so implausible after all – the intentional copying of "The Pink Panther," with obvious redesigning for the later movie? Well, whether or not it was meant to be a copy, "Madigan's Millions" didn't succeed. Hoffman is not Peter Sellers. He doesn't have a naturally funny recovery from his bungling episodes. Hoffman appeared to be having fun at times in the film, but the script, acting, direction and whole thing just seemed too hackneyed. At times, I thought the director and producer must have known and purposely chopped up some scenes.

I gave this four stars only because it is an interesting look at a relatively new actor for the time; and for a cast of other interesting actors. Even with major rewriting and better direction, I'm not sure this movie would work. Surely, it wouldn't establish Hoffman as a comedy actor capable of buffoonery. I think he can do humor, but it's the more serious type – clever, witty, and wry, as in "Rain Man."