The Defector (1966)
5/10
Meandering & Mediocre Spy Film…Monty Fans May Want to Respectfully Decline
28 June 2015
A Very Dry Spy Film from an Era Populated with Such Pictures, This is Notable as Monty Clift's Last Movie. It is a Slow Moving, Meandering Story of East West Infiltration and Deception.

Clift, in Very Bad Health During Filming Looks Sunken and Seems to Have Trouble Moving with Any Ease (although He insisted on doing His own stunts and that's Him in the river climax).

His Closeups May be Painful to Watch for Fans of the Popular Method Actor as His Good Looks Have Abandon Him and the Camera Can't Hide the Sickness Within. He Does Manage to Give a Performance and, Like Always is a Trooper to the Last.

However, the Film's Story is Lackluster Even for the Cold War. An Inspired Mind Experiment in the Middle is Shot with Some Style but Most of the Movie is Motionless.

Overall, it is Worth a Watch for Clifts Curtain Call and a Few Scenes of Intrigue, but Be Advised, if You Want to Remember Monty Clift as a Dedicated and Handsome Actor and You're Not a Completest, it Might Be Best to Pay Tribute by Respectfully Declining.
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