Sadly Over-hyped

Load of rubbish!!

A different way of telling a story

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

One of the main interests in films of this sort is the game of star-spotting, and it is to the scriptwriters' credit that they have found good spots for each of the many, many stars at their disposal, from Amedeo Nazzari and Barry Sullivan through to Trini Lopez and Yul Brynner! I particularly liked Gilbert Roland's performance as the villain!Terence Young's direction is not always at his most inventive (I strongly disliked all the tedious close-ups of E.G. Marshall), but Young generally keeps the story moving and makes good use of his actual Iranian locations.

Many big names in this film but an actor who doesn't play a central role, steals the movie. If you haven't guessed yet, is Eli Wallach. And there is also an actress who steals it too, she's also in a supporting role, Rita Hayworth. They are the best thing of the whole movie which, is boring. Despite the fact that it has many elements of a James Bond film: director Terence Young, writer Ian Fleming, actor Harold Sakata (Oddjob in Goldfinger). The other actors, though big names, they do not excel with anything, the roles are weak, in a low and very predictable scenario: Senta Berger, Stephen Boyd, Yul Brynner, Angie Dickinson, Georges Géret, Hugh Griffith, Jack Hawkins, Trevor Howard, E.G. Marshall, Marcello Mastroianni, Amedeo Nazzari, Omar Sharif. Only Anthony Quayle is also very good in another supporting role. And, Jean-Claude Pascal(Galam Khan) is credited.

"The Poppy Is Also A Flower" AKA "Operation Opium" AKA "The Opium Connection" AKA....well, it goes by many names, is a rather forgotten film today, despite its once-in-a-lifetime cast and the participation of three James Bond veterans (author Ian Fleming, director Terence Young, and Harold "Oddjob" Sakata as - what else? - a brutal henchman). Leonard Maltin dismisses it as a BOMB, but I wouldn't go quite that far. It's true that the film is mostly unexciting, and possibly frustrating when the curiosity value wears off and you realize that many of the big names in the cast either pop up only for extended cameos (Omar Sharif, Marcello Mastroyanni, etc.), or are wasted - sometimes in both senses of the term (Rita Hayworth). But the script does take a daring and unexpected turn in the middle, and near the end Terence Young stages not one, but two hand-to-hand fights on a speeding train, recalling his own "From Russia With Love". The best character in the film is Angie Dickinson's strong and mysterious "widow", but like many others, she is underused. And a sign of how much times have changed: this US co-production ends with a "Thank You" credit to the government and the people of Iran - you could hardly imagine that happening today! ** out of 4.

I really don't care that the majority of people didn't enjoy this film. I thought it was a very watchable escapism film. Nothing complicated or confusing. I think the appeal is more for the 60+ crowd who grew up with the many international stars appearing. The sexy Angie Dickinson was in a featured role. I can't think of a better bad man than Harold Sakata (Goldfinger fame). The international locations and seeing Iran as it use to be.The version I have runs a tad over 84 mins. The VHS picture quality is quite good. When I first saw this film on the big screen, it ran longer. From my fading memory, the original film had an excellent female mud wrestling scene, something I had never seen before. Well, that scene is gone, not fitting for TV around 1970. Much like the gypsy fight scene in From Russia With Love is mostly cut for TV.During the film, the UN investigators spiked the opium with a radioactive dose to help follow the shipment. What happens to the ultimate users who ingest this cocktail? Never explained in the film.At any rate, for us oldsters, seeing all of these stars in one film is a treasure. If you are too young to know these people, then take a pass. This is not a high brow boring film. Just check your brain at the door and enjoy.