Friday, February 24, 2023

Crossplot (1969)

The movie opens with a couple, Sebastian and Marla (Claudie Lange) on a bridge in London.  A car arrives and deposits two men at one end of the bridge and then continues to the other end where two more men exit.  Sebastian starts to panic.  Luckily, a jeep full of hippies drives across the bridge and Marla climbs aboard, taking the newspaper that Sebastian was carrying.  Sebastian is caught by the four men and tossed to his death over the bridge.

The following day, Gary Fenn (Roger Moore) is romancing a lovely blonde when his watch alarm buzzes.  He's late!  Quickly dressing, he dashes to his car - a sporty red convertible - and races across London.  He uses an electric razor as he goes.  Forced to duck behind cover lest his boss spot him arriving late, Gary smuggles himself into his office.  He has a presentation for a big client this morning.  Gary is an advertising executive.  The presentation goes well and Mr. Chilmore (Bernard Lee) just wants to see the model in a layout in the next 48 hours.  And this is where Gary's life goes awry.  He had selected the lovely blonde for the model but discovers that Marla Kogash's picture is in the file!  Rather than hire the model he had in hand, he must now find Miss Kogash.  No sooner has he found her than efforts are made to kill or abduct her.

There are a couple of rival factions who both want to get their hands on Marla.  First, there are the peaceniks led by Tarquin (Alexis Kanner).  These proponents for peace show up regularly, demanding peace.  Notably, they are protesting a visit by President Maudula, an African potentate.  Then there are the mysterious plotters, who try to undermine the peaceniks.  When the full extent of the plot is revealed, it is clever, but the players are unexpected and provide little more than an offhand comment to explain why.

Mostly, this is one long chase movie with the occasional pause for exposition.  This is Moore's transition from The Saint to James Bond, an action-packed thriller with espionage undertones.  Just okay.

No comments: