Mainly a TV star ("Have Gun, Will Travel"), and mainly a Western star in his movies, Richard Boone gives one of his rare contemporary film performances in "The Kremlin Letter" and just about saves the picture. His trademark moustache shaved and his dark hair bleached an alarming white-blond, Boone does a deadpan, deadly good ol' boy of a spymaster with crackel barrel charm and ice cold menace. He simply cannot read a line wrong; check out the scene near the end where he tells "hero" Patrick O'Neal that he's going to Paris. Director John Huston frames the shot to catch Boone's always expressive hand movements as Boone delivers a long speech with delightful vigor and spin.
The movie is a disappointing Huston film and really pretty awful in general, but of some historic importance. The new ratings code was in place since 1968, "R" and "X" ratings were in, older directors like Huston felt the need to sex up their movies. "The Kremlin Letter" astonishes in the depravity of its characters. Message: spying is a dirty business, with no loyalties, and anything goes: prostitution, drug pushing, kidnapping of innocents, blackmail, torture, murder.
Along with the great, underrated Boone, this was among the last films for the elegant George Sanders and the interesting Nigel Green. Along with sweet-faced, mean-voiced Dean Jagger ("White Christmas"), these actors demonstrate just how deadly an "over-the-hill-gang" of old secret agents can be.
Not a good movie, not a coherent movie, but worth seeing for: Boone, Sanders, Green, Jagger -- and Huston's desperate attempt to get sexually trendy as the New Hollywood of the 70's kicked in. Problem: hard to see. Is it even available on tape?
