Anthony Quayle Movies
When Anthony Quayle appeared in films about war and espionage, he performed brilliantly, earning critical acclaim. And no wonder. Quayle had served as a spy in Albania during World War II, snooping around corners into Nazi business and rising to the rank of major for his contributions to the allied effort. His war experience primed him well for roles in such productions as The Battle of the River Plate (1956), The Guns of Navarone (1961), Operation Crossbow (1965), and 21 Hours at Munich (1976). In time, he gained a reputation as one of the 20th century's best-trained character actors, performing in productions in virtually every genre and in every medium -- stage, film, television, and audiocassette. But being well prepared for acting roles was nothing new for Quayle. As a young man, he had trained long and hard to hone his thespian skills, attending the best schools and apprenticing with the best acting companies. Quayle was born on September 7, 1913, in Ainsdale, Sefton, England, where his father was a lawyer. After attending the Rugby secondary school, he received further training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, then performed in minor roles in stage and film productions before his military service. After the war, he appeared on-stage in Dostoyevksy's Crime and Punishment with John Gielgud and Edith Evans, then joined the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre company at Stratford-upon-Avon. In 1948, he played Marcellus in Laurence Olivier's Academy award-winning film production of Hamlet. Between 1948 and 1956, Quayle served as director of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, laying the groundwork for the founding of the famed Royal Shakespeare Company. Quayle went on to perform in some of the best-known films of all time, many of them historical epics, including Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), and Anne of the Thousand Days (1969), in which he earned an Academy award nomination for his portrayal of Cardinal Wolsey, lord chancellor of England under Henry VIII. He also played major roles in important TV miniseries such as Great Expectations (1974), Moses the Lawgiver (1975), The Story of David (1976), and Masada (1981). In addition, Quayle narrated films, wrote two books (Eight Hours From England and On Such a Night), made audiocassettes, and continued to perform in stage productions in London and New York. What made Quayle special was his discipline and intensity. Watch him in any of his films and you will see a man consumed by his role, a man who abandons his own identity to assume another's. In performance, he is always busy, preoccupied, his brow furrowed by the concerns of his character. Fittingly, he was pronounced a knight of the realm in 1985 for his acting achievements. Four years later, on October 20, 1989, he died of cancer in London. He had been married to Dorothy Hysen (1947-1989) and Hermione Hannen (1934-1941). ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
The Klassix-13 series explores the life and work of the world's most revered composers. Episodes blend costume dramatizations, music video, and compelling story lines to provide insightful profiles of each artist. The video, Klassix-13: Schubert, unveils the undisputed genius of the Austrian-born composer Franz Peter Schubert, who is considered by many to be a master of the symphonies. Film highlights explore the artist's sources of inspiration, from the site where he worked to the Viennese nightlife he enjoyed. Viewers are also provided with an intriguing and intimate glimpse into Schubert's creative environment. Other videos in this series cover the lives of Beethoven, Mozart, and Brahms. ~ Sally Barber, All Movie Guide
- 1936
Anthony Asquith evokes a vivid impression of Russia in 1916 in I Stand Condemned. The story follows handsome Russian officer Captain Ignatoff (Laurence Olivier), who is carried into a hospital in a delirious condition from severe war wounds. When he comes to his senses, he sees the beautiful Red Cross nurse Natasha (Penelope Dudley-Ward) staring down at him and he is immediately smitten. Although she feels the same way about Ignatoff, she is unhappily engaged to Brioukov (Harry Baur), a middle-aged war profiteer who has paid off the mortgage on her parent's home. Since she owes so much to Brioukov, she is reluctant to leave him and take up with the comely captain. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Baur, Laurence Olivier, (more)
Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller star in Anthony Asquith's and Leslie Howard's classic version of George Bernard Shaw's satiric comedy. Henry Higgins (Howard) is an upper class phonetics professor who encounters low-class guttersnipe Eliza Doolittle (Hiller) and bets his friend Colonel Pickering (Scott Sunderland) that he can pass her off as a duchess within three months. Pickering accepts Higgins' bet, with Eliza readily agreeing to the proposal, since she will get to live in Higgins' fancy home. Once in Higgins' house, Eliza is subjected to intensely repetitive phonetics lessons in an effort to transform her Cockney accent into the speech of proper English. Things are a bit rocky at first, with Eliza blurting out "Not bloody likely" at a tea party. But when Eliza is presented at the Ambassador's Ball, she is not only accepted as a princess but is the talk of the ball, everyone in attendance commenting on her charm, beauty, and poise. Relishing his success, Higgins abruptly dismisses her. But Eliza has fallen in love with Higgins and is aghast at her cursory treatment by him. She tells him, "I sold flowers. I didn't sell myself. Now you've made a lady of me, I'm not fit to sell anything else." When Eliza leaves, Higgins realizes that he loves her too, but Eliza has announced to Higgins that she plans to marry high society playboy Freddie Eynsford-Hill (David Tree). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wendy Hiller, Leslie Howard, (more)
Although criticized by Shakespeare devotees upon its release because of director, producer, and star Laurence Olivier's decision to excise large portions of the text, his cinematic version of Hamlet is widely considered the best out of several dozens (and counting). Hamlet (Olivier) is a medieval Danish prince who's still melancholy over the sudden death of his father and the quick, subsequent remarriage of his mother, Queen Gertrude (Eileen Herlie) to his uncle, Claudius (Basil Sydney). Informed by the ghost of his father that Claudius murdered him, Hamlet schemes to take revenge. Unsure how best to proceed, his delays and the horrible secret burdening him eventually lead to the violent snuffing out of several lives in both his family and that of courtier Polonius (Felix Aylmer), whose daughter Ophelia (Jean Simmons) is in love with Hamlet. Greatly influenced by the inventive camera work in Citizen Kane (1941) and by modern, psychological reinterpretations of Shakespeare's play, Olivier's masterpiece was the winner of four Academy Awards, for Best Picture, Best Actor (Olivier), Best Black and White Art Direction/Set Direction and Best Black and White Costume Design. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Olivier, Eileen Herlie, (more)
- 1948
This lush 18th century period romance, based on historical fact, was the first color film from Britain's famed Ealing Studios, but it proved to be such a box office disappointment that Ealing never attempted such a lavish costume drama again. Sophie Dorothea (Joan Greenwood) is a young woman forced into a loveless marriage with Prince George Louis of Hanover (Peter Bull). George Louis is later crowned King George I of England. Despairing of ever experiencing true love, the depressed queen finds life at court no solace. Sophie then falls for a dashing Swedish soldier of fortune, Count Konigsmark (Stewart Granger). The feeling is mutual, and an affair begins, the couple carefully plotting to flee England to begin a new life together. Disaster strikes when they are overheard by Countess Platen (Flora Robson), a jealous former lover of Konigsmark's who takes her information to the king. Adapted from the Helen Simpson novel, Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948) was an early film for writer Alexander Mackendrick, who would later direct the classic Sweet Smell of Success (1957). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stewart Granger, Joan Greenwood, (more)
- 1955
The ever-adventuresome Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger are responsible for the British musical farce Oh, Rosalinda! Set in postwar Vienna, the film stars Michael Redgrave as Colonel Eisenstein, a military officer who because of a little legal misunderstanding must serve a few months in prison. While sitting alone in her sumptuous house, the colonel's wife Rosalinda (Ludmilla Tcherina) is romanced by American officer Alfred Westerman (Mel Ferrer). When the guard assigned to escort Rosalinda to prison marches in, Westerman, hoping to save Rosalinda from disgrace, claims that he's her husband, and winds up in the pokey himself. Later on, Rosalinda attends a costume ball, where she flirts outrageously with her own husband. Sound familiar? It should: Oh, Rosalinda is a modernized version of Johann Strauss' comic opera Die Fledermaus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Redgrave, Mel Ferrer, (more)
- 1956
Widely regarded as one of the best and most intelligent British war dramas of the 1950s, The Battle of River Plate is the story of Britain's first significant naval victory in WW2. John Gregson heads the cast as Captain Bell, skipper of the Exeter, one of several vessels engaged in pursuit of the "indestructable" Geman battleship Graf Spee. Taking refuge in the neutral harbor of Montevideo, the Graf Spee is covertly protected by the Uruguayan government. Eventually, however, German captain Langsdorff (Peter Finch) is faced with a difficult decision: either stand his ground and fight a losing battle against the Exeter and its sister ships, or scuttle the Graf Spee and save the lives of his crew. Battle of the River Plate was released in the US as Pursuit of the Graf Spee. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Gregson, Anthony Quayle, (more)
Director Alfred Hitchcock lets us know from the outset that The Wrong Man is a painfully true story and not one of his customary fabricated suspense yarns, through the simple expedient of walking before the camera and telling us as much (this introductory appearance replaced his planned cameo role as a nightclub patron). The real-life protagonist, musican Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero, is played by Henry Fonda. Happily married and gainfully employed at the Stork Club, Balestrero's life takes a disastrous turn when he goes to an insurance office, hoping to borrow on his wife's (Vera Miles) life insurance policy in order to pay her dental bills. One of the girls in the office spots Balestrero, identifying him as the man who robbed the office a day or so earlier. This, and a few scattered bits of circumstantial evidence, lead to Balestrero's arrest. Though he's absolutely innocent, he can offer no proof of his whereabouts the day of the crime. Lawyer Frank O'Connor (Anthony Quayle) does his best to help his client, but he's up against an indifferent judicial system that isn't set up to benefit the "little man". Meanwhile, Balestrero's wife becomes emotionally unhinged, leading to a complete nervous breakdown. As Balestrero prays in his cell, his image is juxtaposed onto the face of the actual criminal-who looks nothing like the accused man! Utilizing one of his favorite themes-the helplessness of the innocent individual when confronted by the faceless bureaucracy of the Law-Hitchcock weaves a nightmarish tale, all the more frightening because it really happened (the film's best moment: Fonda looking around the nearly empty courtroom during his arraignment, realizing that the rest of the world cares precisely nothing about his inner torment). Hitch enhances the film's versimilitude by shooting in the actual locations where the real story occured. His only concession to Hollywood formula was the half-hearted coda, assuring us that Mrs. Balestrero eventually recovered from her mental collapse (she sure doesn't look any too healthy the last time we see her!) Watch for uncredited appearances by Harry Dean Stanton, Bonnie Franklin, Tuesday Weld and Charles Aidman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Fonda, Vera Miles, (more)
- 1956
Irregularly scheduled on NBC from 1954 through 1957, Producers' Showcase was a series of lavish, full-color 90 minute specials, bringing the best of Broadway to the 21 inch screen. The series' April 2, 1956 presentation was Guthrie McClintic's adaptation of Rudolf Besier's 1931 Broadway hit The Barretts of Wimpole Street. Repeating her celebrated stage role as the fragile, invalided poetess Elizabeth Barrett was McClintic's wife, Katherine Cornell, in her first television appearance. Set in London in 1845, the play recounts the familiar story of the romance between Elizabeth and the dashing, much-younger poet Robert Browning (Anthony Quayle), who is determined to rescue Elizabeth from the autocratic grip of her domineering father, Edward Moulton-Barrett (Henry Daniell), who holds the rest of the grown Barrett children in tyrannical thrall in their home at 50 Wimpole Street. Previously filmed by Hollywood in 1934 with Norma Shearer, Fredric March and Charles Laughton, The Barretts of Wimpole Street would again go before the cameras one year after this well-mounted Producers' Showcase production, this time with Jennifer Jones, Bill Travers and John Gielgud. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katharine Cornell, Margalo Gillmore, (more)
- 1957
Based on a popular British television drama, this 1957 film features a riveting performance from Yvonne Mitchell as a housewife who can't keep house. Mitchell plays Amy Preston, who after 25 years of marriage still hasn't mastered the domestic arts necessary to sustain a traditional 1950s-style marriage. Her long-suffering husband Jim (Anthony Quayle) finally gets fed up with Amy's unpalatable dinners, her slovenly dress, and the messy home. He takes up with Georgie Harlow (Sylvia Sims), a young woman at his workplace and realizes that he will soon have to choose between the two women. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yvonne Mitchell, Sylvia Syms, (more)
- 1957
Anna Neagle steps down from her expensive musical extravaganzas to play a recognizable human being in No Time for Tears. She plays the dedicated director of a busy children's hospital, battling red tape, family hassles and public indifference. A large and stellar cast appears in this episodic tale, dramatizing the triumphs and tragedies of pediatrics. An unfortunately predictable happy ending sends the filmgoers home without trauma. No Time for Tears came close to the end of Anna Neagle's starring career; she would appear in two more films, and produce two additional features, before returning to the stage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Neagle, Anthony Quayle, (more)
- 1958
The British Ice Cold in Alex was released in the US as Desert Attack. John Mills stars as Captain Anson, a grumbling alcoholic sent on a WW2 mission to Alexandria. Travelling to his destination by ambulance, Anson becomes acquainted with his fellow passengers, nurses Sister Diane Murdoch (Sylvia Syms) and Sister Denise Norton (Mary Clare) and South African officer Captain Van Der Poel (Anthony Quayle). One of these worthies is a German spy-and only two of the passengers will survive until the fade-out. For its American release, Ice Cold in Alex was not only given a new title, but was also trimmed from 132 minutes to 79. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Sylvia Syms, (more)
- 1958
Tarzan's Greatest Adventure stars Gordon Scott in his fourth screen appearance as Edgar Rice Burrough's lord of the jungle. Jane is absent from the proceedings, Cheetah the chimp is reduced to a bit part, and Tarzan himself is given a sophisticated vocabulary (in keeping with the Burroughs original). The storyline concerns a murderous diamond hunter (Anthony Quayle), an old enemy of Tarzan's who threatens to despoil the Ape Man's jungle domain. Among the villain's entourage is a young Sean Connery, playing a nasty chap who meets a nastier demise. While perhaps not as great as the title proclaims, Tarzan's Greatest Adventure is one of the most consistently exciting entries in the Tarzan series, and worth a second glance today due to its top-drawer supporting cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gordon Scott, Anthony Quayle, (more)
- 1958
The Man Who Wouldn't Talk was coproduced by husband-and-wife Herbert Wilcox and Anna Neagle, with Ms. Neagle filling the role of Queen's Council representative Mary Randall. The title character is American scientist Frank Smith, played by Anthony Quayle, who is honeymooning in London with his new bride Eve Trent (Zsa Zsa Gabor). What the authorities don't know is that Frank and Eve are secret agents, bound and determined to pick up germ-warfare information from Hungarian scientist Horvad (Leonard Sachs). By prearranged agreeement, Smith will relay this information, and the purpose of his mission, to one man and one man only. His self-enforced silence proves to be a severe handicap when Eve is murdered and Smith is unable to provide an alibi for himself. It is up to lady lawyer Mary Randall to defend the close-mouthed Smith in court. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Neagle, Anthony Quayle, (more)
- 1959
A false accusation divides a town and destroys a clergyman's career in this adaptation of the Philip King stage play of the same name. Anthony Quayle stars as Reverend Howard Phillips, a new arrival in a small town that's become overrun with punk kids. Trying to make a difference and improve the town's fortunes, Phillips earns the respect and love of Hester Peters (Sarah Churchill), a spinster and the daughter of the previous vicar. Unfortunately, Phillips runs afoul of Larry Thompson (Andrew Ray), leader of the delinquents running roughshod over the town. A nasty piece of work, Thompson has murdered one person and doesn't hesitate to concoct a false story that Phillips made an unwelcome homosexual advance toward him that turned into an assault. Instead of rallying to his defense, the narrow-minded town elders simply backbite and gossip. Director Terence Young went on to direct three of the first four James Bond films, Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), and Thunderball (1965). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Quayle, Sarah Churchill, (more)
Jayne Mansfield, Marilyn Monroe's blond competition in the late '50s and early '60s, stars in this crime melodrama as Billy, the leader of a gang of thieves. She charms Jim (Anthony Quayle), a widower with a young daughter, into joining the group effort on a particular robbery. After the heist, Jim personally stashes away their stolen loot while she leads the police off in another direction. But the unfortunate new recruit ends up in the clinker for five years while the others go free. Once out of jail, Jim is brought up short -- Billy has allied herself with another man and her gang has money to spare -- though not enough money, they decide. Against Billy's wishes, the gang takes drastic measures to get at Jim's hidden cache of loot from the robbery that sent him to jail. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jayne Mansfield, Anthony Quayle, (more)
The guns of Navarone are huge Nazi cannons, installed on an Aegean island behind enemy lines. Anthony Quayle is the officer assigned by the British to lead a task force to put the guns out of commission. When Quayle is injured, the mission winds up in the relatively inexperienced hands of Gregory Peck. There's little love lost between Peck, explosives expert David Niven and Greek patriot Anthony Quinn, especially when it becomes known that there's a traitor in their midst. Resistance leader Irene Papas weeds out the traitor, but there's still those guns to take care of. Filmed on location in Rhodes and distinguished by Oscar-winning special effects, Guns of Navarone (based on Alistair MacLean's best-seller was a major box-office hit of 1961; less successful was the pared-down 1977 sequel, Force Ten From Navarone. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Peck, David Niven, (more)
Damn the Defiant! is an 18th-century seafaring drama from director Lewis Gilbert. Alec Guinness plays the stern but compassionate captain of a British warship, engaged in the Napoleonic wars. Guinness is popular with his men, which is more than can be said for his new second-in-command Dirk Bogarde. When Guinness tries to modify Bogarde's sadistic adherence to discipline, Bogarde responds by mistreating Guinness' cabin-boy son, knowing that the captain cannot intervene under the edicts of British maritime law. During an incipient mutiny, Bogarde is accidently killed, and Guinness knows that the crewmen responsible must hang once they reach shore. But after these same men perform courageously in battle, Guinness suffers a crisis of conscience: How can he condemn these fearlessly patriotic men to death, as he knows he must? Based on the novel Mutiny by Frank Tilsley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Guinness, Dirk Bogarde, (more)
This sweeping, highly literate historical epic covers the Allies' mideastern campaign during World War I as seen through the eyes of the enigmatic T. E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole, in the role that made him a star). After a prologue showing us Lawrence's ultimate fate, we flash back to Cairo in 1917. A bored general staffer, Lawrence talks his way into a transfer to Arabia. Once in the desert, he befriends Sherif Ali Ben El Kharish (Omar Sharif, making one of the most spectacular entrances in movie history) and draws up plans to aid the Arabs in their rebellion against the Turks. No one is ever able to discern Lawrence's motives in this matter: Prince Feisal (Alec Guinness) dismisses him as yet another "desert-loving Englishman," and his British superiors assume that he's either arrogant or mad. Using a combination of diplomacy and bribery, Lawrence unites the rival Arab factions of Feisal and Auda Abu Tayi (Anthony Quinn). After successfully completing his mission, Lawrence becomes an unwitting pawn of the Allies, as represented by Gen. Allenby (Jack Hawkins) and Dryden (Claude Rains), who decide to keep using Lawrence to secure Arab cooperation against the Imperial Powers. While on a spying mission to Deraa, Lawrence is captured and tortured by a sadistic Turkish Bey (Jose Ferrer). In the heat of the next battle, a wild-eyed Lawrence screams "No prisoners!" and fights more ruthlessly than ever. Screenwriters Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson used T. E. Lawrence's own self-published memoir The Seven Pillars of Wisdom as their principal source, although some of the characters are composites, and many of the "historical" incidents are of unconfirmed origin. Two years in the making (you can see O'Toole's weight fluctuate from scene to scene), the movie, lensed in Spain and Jordan, ended up costing a then-staggering $13 million and won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. The 1962 Royal Premiere in London was virtually the last time that David Lean's director's cut was seen: 20 minutes were edited from the film's general release, and 15 more from the 1971 reissue. This abbreviated version was all that was available for public exhibition until a massive 1989 restoration, at 216 minutes that returned several of Lean's favorite scenes while removing others with which he had never been satisfied. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, (more)
- 1964
In this adventure, set in 19th-century India when the British were attempting to stop the slave trade against the Sudanese Moslems, a brave trooper and a new lieutenant must help a governess and her charge get to safety. The two soldiers despise each other. The experienced trooper has little tolerance for the naive bumblings of the lieutenant. As they travel, they encounter a variety of adventures including bouts with wild animals, dangerous geography, and Moslem guerrillas. The two men begin to respect each other. The older soldier also falls in love with the governess. Eventually, the rag tag travelers end up blowing an arsenal sky-high and rescuing several British soldiers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Quayle, Sylvia Syms, (more)
Though Fall of the Roman Empire is now infamous as the epic which destroyed the cinematic "empire" of producer Samuel Bronston, the film is actually an above-average historical drama, attempting to make sense of the political intrigues which resulted in the dissolution of the Glory That Was Rome. The film begins with wise, diplomatic emperor Marcus Aurelius (Alec Guinness) calling together the various representatives of the many nations within the Empire as a means of securing peace and prosperity for all involved. When Marcus intimates that he intends to turn over his crown to adopted son Livius (Stephen Boyd) rather than the logical successor Commodus (Christopher Plummer), he is poisoned by one of Commodus' cronies. Marcus' daughter Lucilla (Sophia Loren) tries to get Livius to claim the throne, but he wants no part of it; thus, the fate of the empire is in the incompetent hands of the preening Commodus. Despite efforts by cooler heads to save Rome from ruin, Commodus vainly declares himself a god and kills anyone who poses a threat to him. When he learns that Lucilla actually has a stronger claim to the throne than he does, Commodus condemns her to be burned at the stake. Only then does Livius intervene, slaying Commodus and promising to try to pick up the pieces of the disintegrating empire. Attempting to find a common ground between history buffs and action fans, Fall of the Roman Empire has come to be regarded as a classic. Alas, audiences in 1964 had grown weary of epics (especially after the highly touted but disappointing Cleopatra), and failed to turn out in sufficient enough numbers to justify Fall's exorbitant cost. Virtually wiped out, Samuel Bronston would not be able to return to filmmaking until 1971, and then only on a much smaller and more pinchpenny scale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Guinness, Sophia Loren, (more)
This big-budget, big-studio espionage film is set in the last years of World War II. George Peppard, Tom Courtenay and Jeremy Kemp parachute into Germany, with orders to destroy the Nazis' V-1 rocket base at Peenemunde. Given the order of billing, guess which special operative survives the longest. This being an MGM production, Peppard has time to commiserate with Sophia Loren, the wife of the Nazi collaborator whom Peppard is pretending to be. If you're wondering about the film's outcome, remember who won the war. Operation Crossbow failed badly in its first release; MGM, deciding that the title misled moviegoers into thinking that the picture was a "Robin Hood" derivation, cleared up matters by renaming the film The Great Spy Mission. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, George Peppard, (more)
- 1966
A man learns that his lily-white son isn't quite so blameless when his other son admits that he has taken the blame for both of the siblings' wrongdoing. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stefano Colagrande, Simone Gianozzi, (more)
- 1966
This exciting adventure provides an interesting look into the manufacture and trafficking of opium and heroin. The original story was written by Ian Fleming who died shortly before he was to pen the screenplay. The story is set in Iran and opens as an American undercover agent is murdered in the desert while attempting to buy opium. Two more agents are sent to Teheran to investigate the death and stop the powerful drug ring behind the smuggling. Once there, they run into the dead agent's girlfriend, who soon after suddenly disappears. Unfortunately, they cannot find her and so focus on their other job. To figure out where the drugs are going (and hopefully get a lead on the missing girl) they steal a bunch of opium and lace it with radioactive tracers so they can track it with Geiger counters. They then follow the drugs as they are slowly dispersed throughout Europe. After many twists, turns and blind alleys, the agents eventually succeed. This film was originally made for TV and contains cameos from many stars who worked for little pay because they strongly supported its anti-drug message. Those stars include Grace Kelly (who introduces the film) Omar Sharif, E.G. Marshall, Eli Wallach, Marcello Mastrioanni, and many more. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Senta Berger, Stephen Boyd, (more)
