Darker Than Amber

Outstanding action film that builds up like movies used to in the 70s. Unfortunately the DVD version is cut for television so the fight scenes are missing.

I did manage to see a poor, uncut version with Dutch subtitles burned into it a few years ago, but that's about the closest you'll find to it. Not the best shape but you can see the fight scenes in all their bloody glory.

I'm hoping somebody like Vinegar Syndrome will issue a remastered uncut version of it someday. Here's hoping that will happen.

2 for cut version 7 for uncut version.

PS: I heard Taylor actually hurt Smith in the fight scene. That's very possible, it's that brutal.

I've never read any of the novels by MacDonald so I can't comment on book to film accuracy.On the other hand,I'm a huge fan of both Rod Taylor and William Smith.It took me almost ten years to get my mitts on a copy of this manly movie masterpiece.It's got some foreign subtitles on it but who cares,this movie's climactic brawl lived up to every bit of it's hype.No goofy chop sockey stuff just good old fashioned, beat the living hell outta the other guy moves.Taylor and Smith use every thing but the kitchen sink on each other.It's true that the only movie fights that come close are From Russia With Love (who doesn't love seeing two football hooligans like Connery and Shaw trying to kill each other but I digress) and the final throwdown between Rod Taylor and Peter Carsten in Dark Of The Sun.This movie is a holy grail for manly movie fans but all the way worth it.Let's hope it finds it's way to DVD in it's pure,unedited form soon,hopefully with commentary by Taylor and Smith.

I saw Darker Than Amber 34 years ago, and it made an indelible impression on me. Perhaps it was because the realistic fast paced action and suspense, which is commonplace today, was a breakthrough at the time. I would compare it with some of the action scenes in Steve McQueen's Bullitt. I was reading John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee novels long before this movie came out, and being a Rod Taylor fan, this was the icing on the cake for me. Taylor brought McGee to life, a no nonsense, tough as nails guy, a Bond without the gadgets and gimmicks. I certainly wish the Production Company/Distributors would put it out on DVD, so everyone else could enjoy it. It could most assuredly become a cult classic.

A great detective film. The usually underrated Rod Taylor gives a gripping performance, holding his own against scene stealer William Smith. The ending features one of the greatest fight scenes ever filmed involving ,basically, only two men. I was not too framiliar with Travis McGee before this film but have since become a fan. And Suzy Kendall is always fun to look at

I saw this movie 30 years and the memory of the Climatic fight is still in my memory banks. Probably because I went back to see it with my friends. Nowadays fights scene like this are commonplace, but back then this fights only close comparison was Bond's fight in From russia with love. I rented it about five years ago and was disappointed to find that it was an edited tv version with the best scenes cut. A restored version of this movie is a time capsule of Florida, fighting and Females in the late 60's. And a darn good yarn.