A Man Could Get Killed

1965s 'A Man Could Get Killed' is a great slice of 60s movie hokum. It has James Garner at his "Basically, I'm just passing through on my way to Australia" best. Added to that, the cream of England's 'old duffer' character actors, Coote, Culver, Parker and Grey. An interesting cameo from the great Irish doctor/actor Niall MacGinnis, as the ships captain. Sandra Dee is as loud as any American tourist in Europe should be allowed to get, but still gorgeous. Tony Franciosa as the pretend Portuguese smuggler is fun and of course the wonderful, and criminally underrated, Melina Mercouri stealing the show. Throw in some diamonds and it all adds up to a not bad 97 minutes of escapism. And with a nice romantic ending to the strains of, probably Bert Kaempfert's greatest tune 'Strangers in the Night'. What's not to like! I saw this film as a young boy, when first released, loved it and have never forgotten it. How this film is not available on DVD is beyond me! It's about time we had a box set of James Garner 60s films with, obviously, this film included.

James Garner arrives in Lisbon. He's on assignment from his bank to conduct a survey on a proposed bond issue for hydro-electric power generation. As soon as he arrives, he is mistaken for a British spy sent to investigate a diamond smuggling ring. Every spy in town, down at the heels since the end of the War thinks he's the man to follow around, including Melina Mercouri. Tony Franciosa is not a spy. He's a simple smuggler, who hopes to get a 5% finder's fee, lumbered with Sandra Dee, who's on the prowl for him.

It's a somewhat cumbersome comedy, lumbered with an unfortunate score by Bert Kaempfert; one of the themes would become the hit song "Strangers in the Night." To hear it swell up, played on the mandolin made me hear Sinatra singing it, and distracted me from what was going on. Garner's irritation at being thought a spy and his unconsummated romance with Miss Mercouri began to pall until the plot began to speed up. Franciosa and Dee, on the other hand, with their blithe nonchalance, were delightful through the end.

A year before we were married, my wife and I went to see this movie on a date. We have not seen it since, yet we still quote a line or two from it all these decades later. I hope we do not have to wait for James Garner's death before it is released on DVD. It is a truly funny motion picture, liked even by someone like me who likes very few comedies. As I recall, the humour in this movie springs from the story, ridiculous though it may be, and that makes for a good amusing film. Robert Coote in particular was superb.

I saw this film several times, and really thought it was great. James Garner put in a superb performance as did Melina Mercouri. In fact, the chemistry between all of the performers seemed natural and lent to making a hilariously preposterous plot all the more believable.

Try as I might, I can't understand why it was never released on VHS or DVD. I thought the film to be very entertaining. It must have been popular, based on the number of times it was later shown on TV. It seemed too, to be an excellent showcase for James Garner's talents as an actor.

If you get a chance to see the film, please don't hesitate. It was not only very entertaining, but it is a fine representation of the movies of the day - original, intelligent, romantic and funny all at once. It had a quality about it that is sadly lacking in films today.

Just wanted to let anyone who might stumble upon this movie to know that it's certainly worth your time viewing. Melina Mercouri is great as the widow of a shadowy underworld figure who entangles James Garner in her search for missing booty. The booty being a small fortune in loose diamonds. The movie has lots of sixties style going for it and is set in beautiful Mediterranean locales. With a great supporting cast of sixties superstars like Sandra Dee and Tony Franciosa the movie entertains with tons of tounge in cheek, cloak and dagger sexy verve. It's a fun in the sun movie with all the stars putting in great performances. One final note, as the credits roll at the end of the movie, Frank Sinatra's rendition of Strangers in the Night provides a fitting and satisfying end.