The Liquidator

Not serious enough to be an action movie, not funny enough to be a comedy. Apparently they were going for a James Bond-type spy movie and missed spectacularly. I'm not sure if there is a plot, if there is, it isn't interesting enough to make the viewer care. Rod Taylor has all the intrigue of a mall shoe salesman. Watching this movie is sheer tedium. I recorded it on Turner Classic Movies and tried three times before I was able to complete it. Save yourself 119 minutes and avoid it at all costs. At least it answers the question, "What would James Bond be like if he was a dullard?". Of course, this probaly means Hollywood is working on a remake but it's hard to imagine it could be even worse.

Tanker Sergeant Boysie Oakes (Rod Taylor) trips and shoots two men trying to kill British Intelligence officer Mostyn (Trevor Howard) in WWII Paris. Mostyn assumes that Boysie is a skilled killer. Some two decades later, British intelligence is struggling with a media leaker. The Chief orders Mostyn to recruit an outside assassin to eliminate the leak. Mostyn lures Oakes into the job. The non-killer Oakes is stuck as Agent L, The Liquidator. Iris MacIntosh (Jill St. John) is Mostyn's secretary.

This really needs to try harder to be a spoof of Bond rather than being a lesser Bond. Rod Taylor is wrong for the part. He's too much the Bond type. They need an overweight bumbling fool comedian. The concept has that potential. This is just wrong-headed.

MASTER PLAN: Assassinations. More assassinations. There was only one Liquidator film, unlike the duo of 'Flint' films and the Matt Helm film series, but it preceded both of them in jumping on the super spy spoof trend of the sixties - a trend instigated by none other than James Bond. This one even has the familiar teaser, a quirky origin skit for the hero, followed by a bombastic song over the titles which is quite evocative of the standard Bond style - and well it should be, for the song is belted out by Shirley Bassey, she who did sing the famous "Goldfinger" song. The plot sort of re-imagines the way Bond might have started in the spy/license-to-kill business: the title character (Taylor) sort of stumbles into the killing trade at the end of the war (the Big One, in Paris), making a long-lasting impression on his future boss (Howard). Despite this supervisor's long experience in espionage, reading people and so on, his assessment of the soldier, womanizing Boysie, is completely off-base. He's convinced that the man is a killing machine when, in fact, the soon-to-be code-named L hates even the thought of killing anyone. The whole thing's a more direct satirical jab at the secret agent genre than the later spoofs because the central 'hero' is a total fraud, unlike, say, Matt Helm, who may indulge in too much booze, but can still kill effectively and even effortlessly. Unfortunately for the relatively harmless Boysie/soon-to-be-known-as-L, the head of British Intelligence, years later, abruptly decides on a new policy: dispense with the standard bureaucracy and simply eliminate enemies of the state (Queen & Country) behind-the-scenes, without the usual rules. Such a new radical procedure needs the skills of a particular individual, someone in the blunt instrument/James Bond-mold. They couldn't have selected a more inappropriate fellow.

Now, the actor Rod Taylor is actually better suited for straight action roles; he comes across as genuinely rough-&-tumble and I remember him from quite a few effective tough-guy roles in the sixties. Even here, though he's a nice, inoffensive guy, he can still beat up bad guys if he has to. But, he also projects a likable if slightly-dopey persona and you find yourself buying into this clumsy, somewhat goofy character he creates here. After the groundwork is laid out, as far the hero's new digs and requisite, if brief, training, the story really diverts into outrageous territory when the supposedly lethal L gets the idea to subcontract his assignments to a real assassin (who doesn't look nearly as heroic). Though this may be a sly commentary on the overly-involved nature of shadow operations in government, the story also slows down to a crawl, with much of the focus on L's attempts to make time with his boss's secretary (Jill St.John). Things pick up when the new couple go away to Monte Carlo for R&R and still get involved in spy intrigue. There's an amusing sequence after L is captured & locked up, and then the villains are forced to let him escape, but one of the henchmen isn't in on this change of plan. The comedy is also gallows in nature, pretty dark, since intense espionage usually involves death. The climactic action also features a revelation about who a criminal mastermind really is, though the finale also lacks any grand set-pieces, further diverting from the expected over-the-top fantastic endings of such thrillers. I admit I was disappointed when I saw this many years ago, probably because it was such a sharp deviation from an expected formula, but this film has grown on me and I thoroughly enjoy much of it now, mostly Taylor's and Howard's performances, as well as Tomlinson as a sneaky villain. Hero:8 Villain:7 Femme Fatales:6 Henchmen:7 Fights:6 Stunts/Chases:6 Gadgets:4 Auto:6 Locations:6 Pace:6 overall:6+

Rod Taylor is "The Liquidator" -- well, his superiors think he is, anyway -- in this 1965 spoof of the spy genre, directed by Jack Cardiff.

The '60s was certainly an interesting time for films - spy films, spoofs of spy films, caper films, big historical films, and sex comedies. Here we have a spoof of the James Bond films, with Rod Taylor playing Boys Oaks, a war acquaintance of Colonel Mostyn (Trevor Howard). The British Security Services is frustrated and embarrassed as they have a number of spies in their midst. It's time to liquidate them, so The Chief (Wilfrid Hyde-White) orders Mostyn to find someone.

Mostyn remembers Boys and his impressive actions during the war and drafts him. Of course, he doesn't exactly tell Boys what he wants. He offers him a gorgeous apartment, beautiful women who hang around, a nice car, and after Boys signs his life away, Mostyn drops the bomb. Boys tries but he fails in his first assignment and instead saves the subject from the train tracks he was just about to throw her onto. The other thing is all the travel - Boys really doesn't like to travel. So Boyd has to come up with a solution or lose the perks.

I thought this was an okay comedy, nothing special. Jill St. John plays Mostyn's beautiful, sexy secretary, Wilfrid Hyde-White plays the bureau chief; the film also features Akim Tamiroff. There are some funny moments and I like the premise. Entertaining.

Okay, so The Liquidator could be described by purist fans of the James Bond franchise collection as a compliment to the previous years 1964 release of James Bond's "Goldfinger" right down to having the classy Shirley Bassey singing the introduction score of both films as only Shirley Bassey can.

But The Liquidator does more than an admirable job of standing the test of time over the past 52 years such that Rod Taylor and Jill St. John's performances should always be remembered for being the feature stars of this tongue in cheek ode to the spy genre.

I really enjoyed it and I will be sure to be purchasing a copy of this grand action and fun filled film for my personal viewing pleasure so that I don't have to wait a few more years for TCM to re-run a series of all the Rod Taylor classic films that were box office successes.

Rod Taylor plays something of a combination of a poor man's James Bond who enjoys romancing a variety of beautiful women and even a funnier man's Inspector Clouseau with both charm and candor and a whole lot of gullibility. This film provides for fans of Rod Taylor why this Australian born actor could not be stereotyped as just a leading man, or as a dramatic actor in suspenseful roles as in THE BIRDS, or as a captain of a spaceship or as a cowboy. No, Rod Taylor is much like a chameleon who can change color or acting style as the film requires of him.

Ann-Margret also does an excellent job playing Iris MacIntosh, the administrative assistant to the Colonel Mostyn, played by Trevor Howard. The film is filled to the brim and overflowing with plot, romance, action and most importantly much humor and wit by Rod Taylor.

I liked The Liquidator and I believe you will too. I give this 52 year old film a very strong 8 out of 10 rating and I for one will be sure to be watching it again as this spy genre spoof has held up very well thank you.