Wonderful character development!

Very well executed

Powerful

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

The Cape Town Affair is a remake of the classic Pickup on South Street. In this one, without realizing what he's doing, a pickpocket named Skip (James Brolin) steals some microfilm from a woman named Candy (Jacqueline Bisset). Candy didn't really know what she had - she was just working as a go-between. Pretty soon, Skip and Candy have secret agents from both sides trying to get the microfilm. And at least one of them doesn't play nice.My advice - skip The Cape Town Affair and look for the original. The problem with the remake is that much of it is just plain old dull. I blame a lot of that on Brolin. Richard Widmark was a big part of making the original as entertaining as it was. Brolin is no Widmark. And if Brolin's not to blame, then surely director Robert D. Webb is. The direction is uninspired leading to a lifeless film. Webb is no Samuel Fuller.Because I didn't rate it lower than a 4/10, there's obviously something here I did enjoy. First, if nothing else, watching The Cape Town Affair is like opening a time capsule. I've seen thousands of movies in my life, but I've never seen one that did a better job of documenting what Cape Town actually looked like in the 60s. Very interesting. Second, Jacqueline Bisset is worth at least a point in the rating. I think that all I need to say is that I was 14 years old when I saw The Deep in the theater. If you've seen the movie, you'll understand my fascination with Ms. Bisset.

The opening sequence of "The Cape Town Affair", with James Brolin stealing the wallet of Jaqueline Bisset in a crowded bus and a little girl noticing what is happening but not quite understanding it, is a good one. And the film has a quintessentially 1960s music score. Unfortunately, that score is pretty much the only thing that places the film in the 1960s - production-wise, it looks like a cheap B-movie from the 1940s, when the actors simply moved from studio set to studio set, and huge chunks of dialogue had to try to cover up the almost complete lack of action. But the dialogue, even in the cheapest 1940s crime dramas, was usually witty, something that cannot be said for most of the dialogue in "The Cape Town Affair" (some of it cannot be heard in current DVD prints anyway). This is a dreary movie, with Brolin proving that it was a correct decision that he never got the James Bond role (despite coming close to it), Bisset looking beautiful (especially when she's wet with beer), and Claire Trevor chewing the scenery in a supporting part. *1/2 out of 4.

Remake of Sam Fuller's 1953 noir "Pickup On South Street" takes place, for no discernible reason, in South Africa! Jacqueline Bisset is the clueless courier for a Communist spy ring--carrying secret microfilm in her purse--whose career is derailed after a pick-pocket snatches her loot on the bus. New faces at the time, Bisset and James Brolin look terribly unsure (and unhappy) throughout. Distributed by 20th Century-Fox, the film doesn't look terrible, but is overrun with outdated clichés, inept direction and writing, and a music score from Bob Adams and Joe Kentridge that never sets a proper mood (with a whistled theme that faintly recalls "Baby Elephant Walk" to boot!). Unnecessary, forgettable spy stuff may be useful as a cure for insomniacs. NO STARS from ****

Great for pre-integration scenes of Cape Town (look for one black person and you won't find them!), this remake of Pick Up on South Street (1953) is missing several things, notably Richard Widmark as the film noir villain that makes the whole thing work. This film is the exact opposite of film noir. It's too clean and crisp to be suspenseful. The colors reek of a British comedy ala the Pink Panther or something with Alec Guiness. The whole thing plays like a poor man's "Man From U.N.C.L.E." without the savoir faire of Robert Vaughn. James Brolin, a few years shy of Marcus Welby, M.D., has yet to learn how to act and Jacqueline Bisset is not worth the trip. See the original.