Overrated

A different way of telling a story

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The problem is Laurence Harvey:not only he is rather ugly dyed in blond but he is also not really able to create a "second man.";it is like a puppet theater where you can see the string man's hands everywhere;the screenplay should insist on this second identity :thus Harvey's best scene is when he sees his reflection in the water and cannot stand it ;but anyway he is better cast as a victim ("the Manchurian candidate" " of human bondage") than when he is a cynical crook ;besides,the long flashback ,when Remick is sleeping, seems like padding Having said that ,the movie is entertaining,Remick is as talented as usual and very good -looking;Bates gives an ambiguous mysterious performance:are we sure he works in paint?Note Bnuelian Fernando Ray in a small part of a cop.

For those who have criticized Harvey's Aussie accent, remember, he's not playing an Aussie. His character, who I think it's safe to assume has not been schooled in proper accents, is putting on an Aussie accent. He's an amateur. Therefore it makes perfect sense that the accent would be amateurish. Whether it was a conscious choice or not, realistically, the accent should be bad. I'm an actor and when I try to put on an Aussie accent it's laughable. I could make it better if I practiced. Doubtless, Rex Black (Harvey's character)had no such practice.The movie itself is lower grade Carol Reed. The problem is you never get to know the characters. If Harvey's character had been fleshed out, maybe his decent would be somewhat moving. Remick is lovely but also a cardboard character. Bates, later a truly great actor, seems lost or playing ambiguity merely to serve the false suspense the story creates. The settings are beautiful, the music fat too bombastic.

This was shown recently on Channel 4.I always liked Lee Remick so i thought that i would give it a go.What a clinker.A ridiculous script full of coincidences and perhaps one of the worst performances ever by a leading man in a British film by Laurence Harvey.Just listen to his supposed Aussie accent when he is impersonating the sheep farmer.It goes from oz to Mayfair and back again in a trice.He looks like he has just come out of an ad for suntan lotion.He obviously fancied himself!Alan Bates turns up in Malaga.Why most people at the time had never heard of the place let alone been there.I would suggest that you give this one a miss.

excellent thriller about man and wife who plan a scam to swindle the insurance company for a large amount of money after being turned down after a legitimate claim was turn down earlier and the deception begins and they go on the run in Spain where life's fine until the insurance man turns up in the same places, thats where the fun and tension begins.there's great camera work & direction by carol reed and a edgy script by john Mortimer,lots of colour and location works very well as does the three actors,Harvey is at his reptilian and charming best with Remick quite stunning as the not so wife and bates as the dogged insurance man.a delightful diverting film for a Sunday afternoon.