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Ex-convict Harry (Vic Morrow) is hired to fly Jason Carlyle (Stanley
Holloway) from Monte Carlo to Istambul, but once there, Carlyle is killed
and suddenly lovely Diane Suzanne Pleshette) and not so lovely shady
businessman Mosul Rashi (Victor Buono) think Harry has the engraving
plates Carlyle was to bring to Isambul - engraving plates Harry didn't
even know about. It soon seems as if everyone was after Harry, but somehow
he manages to make it out of Turkey and back to Monte Carlo, where he
meets up with Carlyle's daughter (Charlotte Rampling), who is actually in
possession of the plates, and he persuades her to come with him to London
and return them to the Bank of England, just to keep out of trouble. But
before the two of them can take off, the girl is murdered, and it seems
one of Mosul Rashi's henchman, strongman Kemal (Milton Reid) did the job
... but still, Mosul Rashi is after Harry, so he can't have the plates,
right? It soon turns out that Diane has the plates and wants to hand
them over to the mysterious contact both she and Mosul Rashi have
made a deal with on a Greek island - so Mosul Rashi forces Harry to fly to
that island in order to prevent the handover - but what Mosul Rashi didn't
know was that the contact was actually his very own right-hand man Milos
(Michael Ansara), an Albanian spy out to crush the British currency as
such - and he doesn't care in the least if he makes the deal with Diane or
Mosul Rashi, but after he bought the plates from Diane, he plans to
eliminate Harry and Mosul Rashi - which leads to a massive shootout amid
some Greek ruins that leaves both Milos and Mosul Rashi dead. Harry
makes it back to Monte Carlo, where he confronts Dinae - who tries to cut
him in on the deal to get away scot-free ... but Harry has long called the
police to arrest her and bring the whole case to an end. Cesar Romero
plays a police detective on Harry's trail, who in the end sees reason
though. Not one of Roger Corman's better movies, this one is
pretty much a retelling of Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon
but using exotic locations and way more action than he book, a little bit
like Sam Spade crossed with James Bond. This however fails
to lend an extra dimension to the basic story and actually derives it of
much of its tension. Also, Vic Morrow is not much of a leading man to
carry a story like this, but at least the supporting cast (first and
foremost Victor Buono) is solid, and despite its shortcomings, the film is
at least mildly entertaining. Originally produced for TV, ABC
upon completion refused to run it on its stations, so the film got a
theatrical release.
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