The High Commissioner

An air of mystery permeates this Cold War thriller, set mostly in London. Rod Taylor plays Scobie Malone, a rough and tough, and slightly uncultured Australian security man. His assignment is to bring back to Sydney a VIP diplomat named Sir James Quentin (Christopher Plummer), charged with the murder of a young girl many years earlier, long before he became The High Commissioner.

Initially, the question the plot asks is: what kind of man would kill a young woman, then vanish, then later turn up as a government diplomat? Is there some twist here? Maybe the diplomat was not really the murderer. Or, maybe he did it, but his personality has changed.

Sir James agrees to return to Sydney with Malone, but first wants to wrap up an important peace conference, to which Sir James seems genuinely devoted. His work on behalf of world peace seems conspicuously inconsistent with the mindset of a murderer. Malone agrees to the delay, but quickly learns that someone, or some entity, is trying to kill Sir James. The plot then switches to the vexing question: who wants to bump off Sir James, a man intent on fostering world peace?

Less spy adventure than elegant mystery, "Nobody Runs Forever" keeps viewers guessing, both about Sir James' past and about the threat that now surrounds him.

My only real complaint is that the motivation of Sir James' enemy (or enemies) is glossed over. Very little is actually explained at the end, except for the specific question of whodunit.

Otherwise, this is a fine mystery. The haunting, vaguely depressing score by Georges Delerue enhances the cloak and dagger atmosphere. Casting and acting are above average. I especially like the performance of Lilli Palmer as Lady Quentin. And dazzling Daliah Lavi is quite beautiful. Costumes are expensive and regal.

I'm baffled as to why this film is so seemingly obscure. It's not that old. It certainly does not lack for star power. And it's a quality production, all the way. Maybe its because the IMDb title is inconsistent with what U.S. viewers remember as "The High Commissioner".

Not terrible but not good either. "Nobody Runs Forever" is a 1968 British thriller involving international politics and murder in a reasonably tortuous plot. It's also a Betty Box/Ralph Thomas picture which means it was never likely to set the world on fire; workmanlike is about the best you can say for it. What distinguishes it is the cast. The usually reliable Rod Taylor is the Australian policeman sent to London to arrest Christopher Plummer's Australian High Commissioner for the murder of his first wife and finding, when he gets there, that Plummer isn't the villian he's been painted. Lilli Palmer is Plummer's current wife. (she's the best thing in the picture), Camilla Sparv is his secretary and Daliah Lavi, a very fatale femme. Franchot Tone even pops in for a cameo appearance as does an uncredited Leo McKern. It's not particularly exciting and it is rather far-fetched and it will never rank in any list of decent conspiracy thrillers but at least it passes an entertaining couple of hours.

An Australian detective (Rod Taylor) is sent to London to bring back the High Commissioner (Christopher Plummer) for a possible crime in 1951, but he's involved in delicate peace talks for the UN, not to mention dealing with a leaker and assassination attempts.

"The High Commissioner" (1968) is also known as "Nobody Runs Forever" and works well enough if you're interested in a way more believable, dialogue-driven substitute to the 007 flicks with Sean Connery. Clive Revill is entertaining as a grumpy butler while suave Calvin Lockhart is notable as an American involved in the diplomatic proceedings.

Exotic-looking Daliah Lavi stands out on the feminine front. Her character is involved in an unconvincing romantic sequence, which wasn't in the 1966 novel (the creators obviously wanted to spice up the story for moviegoers). Camilla Sparv and Lilli Palmer are also on hand.

There's something too mechanical about the movie. The director described himself as a "hired hand" and brushed it off as "okay." I wouldn't pay top dollar at the cinema to see it, but it's enjoyable enough for home entertainment if you're in the mood for a talky 60's big city drama/thriller with lots of political intrigue and a quality cast.

This was the first of two movies featuring Aussie detective Scobie Malone; the other came out in 1975 and was titled "Scobie Malone," minus Rod Taylor in the role.

It runs 1 hour, 41 minutes, and was shot at Pinewood Studios, west of London, as well as in the city, including Wimbledon. There are also shots of Sydney and the opening sequence appears to have been shot in the Outback.

GRADE: B/B-

This is certainly not a bad film: the script maintains an air of uncertainty as to who is and who is not in the conspiracy to kill Plummer, there are some frantic fight scenes, a nice elegiac score, the performances are fine, putting in more emotion than usual for the genre, and the Goddess-like Daliah Lavi & the beautiful Camilla Sparv more than fill out the required "babe quotient" (as I've said before, these 60's spy thrillers are almost always a sure bet if you want to see some incredibly beautiful women). However, there is not much here that you have not seen before. Perhaps it says something about the greatness of Hitchcock that even one of his widely considered "lesser" pictures ("Topaz") is still better than this movie. (**1/2)

Taylor and Plummer work well together in a very underrated, now forgotten thriller. They play off each other very well. Taylor plays an Australian cop and of course excels. He's a human wrecking ball surrounded by dumb Bobbies and even dumber British secret agents. There's no actor today like Taylor although Hugh Jackman might come close.