Just perfect...

Charming and brutal

Better Late Then Never

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

****SPOILERS**** Professional hit-man Marty Brill and his partner Dave Harris are hired by members of a Middle-Eastern country to knock off it's former exiled prime minister Gourem-Nara who's been planning to make a comeback and throw those who kicked him out of office behind bars or even worse. The two hit-man who already knocked off the country's UN ambassador in exile Singh back in NYC now plan to do in the ex-prime minster as he borders a plane at LAX airport and use the home of Hal Parker an air traffic controller at LAX to do it.In a violent home invasion of the Parker residence the two hit-man hold Parker as well as his wife June hostage setting up a high powered rife with explosive or fragmented ammunition to hit Gourem-Natra's plane in the gas tank as it's about to take off and kill him as well as all the passengers and crew on it. Complications soon arrive with Jene's sister Betty and her beach boy boyfriend Herbie arrive who are also taken hostage and smacked around by the pair of hit-men who now have the person who paying them for the hit on Gourem-Nara Ipara joining them.****SPOILERS****Tense final with Brill & Harris together with their partner in crime Ipara's plan to knock off the ex prime minister fall apart when Parker who's to set Gourem-Nara up-by directing Harris to shoot by radio transmission from the air control tower-turns the tables on them. That by him risking the lives of all those including agent Ray McGuire who's been shot,with his partner agent Ben Scanlon killed, by the Brill whom their holding hostage. Taking the chance of losing his wife sister in law and her boyfriend as well as FBI agent McGuire by having a plane of some 70 innocent people burned to a crisp Parker did what he felt was right in alerting the plane and it's crew to what both Brill & Harris planned for them. And as things turned out he ended up making the right decision!

Not having seen this 1960 B type film, we had a chance to take a look when it showed itself on cable. Directed by Edward L. Cahn, a man who could churn several pictures a year and must have been a reliable source of the genre during the time where he was active in the 1950s and 1960s.The story in not exactly original. It appears to be a composite of other films in which Mr. Cahn was involved. "Three Came to Kill" is a semi documentary account of how a big shot from a Middle East country, secretly living in the USA is targeted for elimination before he returns to his country. Paid assassins are assigned to do the job which involves breaking into a house near LAX airport, kidnapping the air traffic control and his family to gain an advantage to do the deed as the plane the foreign dignitary is taken will be dealt with.The best thing in the film is a super kinetic Cameron Mitchell who is seen as Marty Brill. The direction of Mr. Cahn does nothing to get rid of the amateur feeling the production got under his direction. The film must have been shot in a secondary air strip near Los Angeles as in 1960 the airport in that city did not look the way it shows in the picture with its ridiculous control tower.

When I saw "Three came to kill", starring Cameron Mitchell, I had the feeling that I saw "Inside the mafia " again. Mobsters taking hostages - a good American family - in order to kill some important personality. Cameron Mitchell plays in both movies. These two are written by the same screenwriter, produced by the same company, and directed by the same man.Manufactured product. But I like that very much. Little grade B thriller.I forgot to say that both are shot in semi documentary style, with off voice explaining the situations and the efforts made by the police and government forces to fight against crime.In fact, I do not remember if there is off voice for "Inside the mafia". Anyway, you have it in many Edward L cahn movies.