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Assassination In Rome
[Dark Sky Films]
1965; color
Directed by Silvio Amadio
Starring: Cyd Charisse, Hugh O'Brian, Mario Feliciani, Alberto Closas & Juliette Mayniel
Espionage In Tangiers
[Dark Sky Films]
1965; color
Directed by Greg C. Tallas
Starring: Luis Davila, Jose Greci, Perla Cristal, Ana Castor, Erica Blanc & George Lazenby
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Two distinctly different takes on the spy genre that was so popular in the '60s. Espionage In Tangiers is the first flick on this disc, despite it's apparent second billing on the boxcover, and it's the quirkier of the two. The movie wants to be taken seriously but there are so many elements that seem to be subtly tongue-in-cheek, or throw a knowing wink to the viewing audience, that it's hard to say if it's parody or not. Either way, it's a goofy little story about a professor who invents a disintegration ray, and the ensuing scramble by secret (as well as not so secret) agents from a number of different countries to get possession said ray because it's the most powerful weapon in the world. The American agent who has to pretty much save the world is one Mike Murphy (played by Luis Davila), a perpetually smiling, always on-the-make, wannabe classic '60s superspy. I say wannabe because at the same time as Murphy is saving the world and bedding down the babes, he's also kind of a bungling oaf. He's got this weird perpetual grin too, even when he's being held captive or taking a beating, which is one of the aforementioned things that make me question the level of this movie's seriousness. Despite the incredibly confusing multi-tiered plot, which, to be honest, I gave up on trying to closely follow about halfway in, it's nonetheless all fun and something I will probably find myself watching again.
Assassination In Rome, is definitely a more serious film. Or at least it wants to be taken more seriously, with quasi-A-List notables like Hugh O'Brian and Cyd Charisse in the lead roles. Set up almost exactly like a spy flick, with at least three different sets of characters, plots and plot twists that all eventually intertwine on a number of levels, the movie is actually more of a cop story than anything else. When an American woman's husband goes missing in Rome it starts a cascade of events that lead to murder, kidnapping, and an American journalist (O'Brian) who acts more like a cop or a P.I. than writer in his quest for the truth. Somehow they manage to work in drugs, gambling debts, microfilm, and blackmail into one big ball o' wax, yet each mini-story resolves itself by the film's end. There's even at least one double agent (who might even have been a triple agent, if that's possible) and a surprise twist at the end that makes for a pretty good payoff. Even though it's more confusing than Espionage In Tangiers, Assassination In Rome is a pretty entertaining movie and rounds off the double bill on this disc quite nicely.
—the Kommandant
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