L'attimo della violenza

I really wish I could be more enthusiastic about this film. In theory the story of a South American coup and a race against time to get the deposed president to safety across the border looks exciting but in reality this is a deadly dull and dreary affair. Anthony Asquith, indisputably one of our greatest directors, is so quintessentially English as to be totally unsuited to this kind of material. His direction is leaden and the film totally devoid of tension, suspense and momentum. Even the scene in the swamp fails to impress! The script by John Mortimer is weak and Benjamin Frankel's score ineffectual. As for the cast, James Robertson Justice never disappoints, there is a telling cameo from Ian Hunter and lovely Leslie Caron is I'm afraid, rather annoying. David Niven's next film 'Captive City' was even worse than this but all was not lost. Just around the corner were the helping hands of Sir Arthur Robertson and Sir Charles Lytton, the notorious Phantom!