The British secret service hire a WWII veteran to voluntarily kidnap and smuggle a 13-year-old Arab prince into Spain. Once there, a gullible American mercenary is hired to protect him, but ... Read allThe British secret service hire a WWII veteran to voluntarily kidnap and smuggle a 13-year-old Arab prince into Spain. Once there, a gullible American mercenary is hired to protect him, but greed threatens to spoil the operation.The British secret service hire a WWII veteran to voluntarily kidnap and smuggle a 13-year-old Arab prince into Spain. Once there, a gullible American mercenary is hired to protect him, but greed threatens to spoil the operation.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Army Officer
- (uncredited)
- Ahmed Ben FaÃfffÃf'Ã'¯d
- (uncredited)
- Bishop
- (uncredited)
- Self
- (uncredited)
- Photographer
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
In addition to more location work than was usual at the time, it boasted a roster of stars that was incredible.
Cliff Robertson was young then and had STYLE, Marisa Mell was all leggy and gorgeous, Jack Hawkins was in his element, Michel Piccoli was bizarrely menacing, Bill Fraser was normally associated with British sitcoms, but excelled here in a dramatic role. Then you had British stalwarts Charles Gray, John Le Mesurier, Felix Aylmer and Ernest Clark, all topped off with Tutte Lemkow.
Philip Green's music was fantastic and Basil Dearden's direction quirky and atmospheric.
The film takes a whole reel to lift off, but when it does, it's a classic.
But since seeing it at the cinema and couple of times on the telly in the Seventies, this minor epic has VANISHED. And to add salt to the wound, there are other, LESSER films with the same title (which is annoying if your satellite listings magazine only lists films' TITLES).
So where the hell IS IT??? I can find no trace of a DVD - or even a VHS. There is scant mention of it anywhere and even THIS esteemed service has little additional info.
Is it a "lost film"? Anyone?
The story gets confused, you don't understand what is going on, on which side everyone is.
The kid is a bloody pain in the arse, an arrogant brat who thinks he owns everybody. I would give him a jolly good spanking.
Spain is portrayed as a third world country.
The baddies are a bunch of weirdos; what is a dwarf doing there?
A total misfire. It's hard to believe that this was made by the same man who directed "Victim", presenting gays as normal human beings in a time when homosexuality was a crime.
Robertson was born in 1923, so he certainly was of an age to serve in the Second World War. He also looks far too young for the role, in his early 30s at the latest. Still, he does a good job, as does everyone, even though this busted caper movie is not terribly engrossing. The satirical edge is a little weak.
I suspect the story got a bit muddled. It was originally intended for Rex Harrison, but he was busy, so they got in Hawkins, and decided they needed an American. Sometimes a lot of rewrites polish a script. Sometimes it makes it worse.
You think that the film is going to get better but it just gets a lot worse.
Poor old Jack Hawkins is there smoking himself to death. How can you believe that Cliff Robertson served with him in World War2.
Did you know
- TriviaJack Hawkins and Charles Gray appear together. After Hawkins lost his voice due to throat cancer in 1966, Gray was one of the actors used to dub his voice in later films.
- GoofsAs Frazer is being taken to Madrid, their Rolls Royce is forced off the road by the "smugglers". When the driver of the Rolls climbs from the wrecked car he draws his gun, but one of the criminals throws a knife & kills him. Instead of a fake knife throw, the actor actually throws the knife, but he throws high over the driver's head. The driver reacts out of fear by ducking his head forward. Then as the scene cuts, the knife is in the driver's chest & his head is leaning back.
- Quotes
Prince Jamil: [showing the book he's been reading - "Goldfinger" by Ian Fleming] Rather far-fetched, wouldn't you say?
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- A Shabby Tiger
- Filming locations
- Villajoyosa, Alicante, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain(Casco Antiguo)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime
- 1h 42m(102 min)
- Sound mix