When a reclusive , sinister millionaire called Victor Danemore dies suddenly of a heart attack on the Riviera, his press agent , Dave Bishop (Robert Mitchum) discovers his deceased body , but not even his enigmatic young wife (Genevieve Page) knows anything about her husband's background or how he earned his richness . As Bishop starts investigating and races from Stockholm to Vienna to the Riviera. As in Stockholm, a blonde (Ingrid Thulin) offered him an invitation: "Is it secrets you want to buy... Or Me!" . In Vienna, a master spy offers him an ultimatum: "I've been paid to kill you, can you better the price?" On the Riviera, a back-ally ambush drenched the cobblestones in blood! . Only one bullet ahead of half the secret agents of Europe . Robert Mitchum is the hunted . . . Europe is the hunting ground !. The most startling spy-hunt ever filmed! .Yesterday he held the world in the palm of his hand... Now it was about to explode in his face!.. And still he wouldn't let go of the deadliest secret a man ever carried!. A world in which a bullet fired in a Vienna slum is heard in London's Foreign Office... where a blonde's warm promise in Stockholm turns to cold on the Riviera... where you can hold the world right in the palm of your hard one minute - and have it explode right in your face the next!
Intriguing and surprising flick with decent performances , atmospheric cinematography and exciting score . A nice thriller with a show-world of traitors-for-hire , several surprises , suspense shattering the screen , twists and turns . A simple and plain premise becomes more and more confuse and twisted when starring carries out deep investigations and becomes romantically involved with two suspect women resulting in treachery . Being well-paced by writer/producer/filmmaker Sheldon Reynolds who in the 60s decade he produced and directed several films . Fine interpretation from trio of protagonists , as Robert Mitchum as the stubborn secretary who begins to investigate his employer's shady past and finds a large number of tracks leading an unexpected revelation . And introducing the attractive Genevieve Page and Igorgeous ngrid Thulin , along with the ordinarily effective secondaries, though they're really unknown.
It packs an adequate cinematography in Panavision by cameraman Bertil Palmgrenas shot on location in Riviera , Vienna , Stockholm , as well as atmospheric and thrilling musical score by Paul Durand. The motion picture was professionally written/produced/directed by Sheldon Reynolds, though it has some flaws , gaps and unfinished conclusion . He produced and directed some episodes about ¨Foreign Intrigue¨ series (1951-1955) that seems to be a precedent to this 1956 film . And about ¨Sherlock Holmes¨series , as he acquired a license to produce and direct adaptations of the Arthur Conan Doyle stories, and successfully formed a consortium which acquired the rights at auction. Reynolds also filmed a Western titled ¨A place called Glory¨ and some thrillers as ¨Assignment kill¨ , ¨Carnival's killer¨ and ¨Foreign intrigue¨.
