1/10
Another one to tick off the list for anyone interested in E.J. Fancey
17 January 2019
Theodore Bikel returned to his native Vienna to make this cheapjack second-feature for E.J. Fancey, possibly utilising some sort of sponsorship deal, a ploy he had used before (see "London Entertains" and "Calling All Cars" among others). The dismal "thriller" lumbers along for an hour without the encumbrance of a plot. Bikel is a Hungarian scientist who wants asylum in the west. Will he get it and did anyone care one way or the other? Two things hang in the air: Cold War paranoia and fond memories of "The Third Man." It appears that everything was grabbed by a scratch crew that evidently didn't include a sound recordist. The entire film, apart from a couple of scenes shot in the UK, is post-synchronised, evidently in someone's bathroom. "Adrienne Scott". Fancey's daughter, is a non-speaking extra in the pre-credits sequence but is still billed 5th. Bikel looks as though all he's thinking about is his imminent escape not to the UK but Hollywood. A poster in a cafe indicates that the film was made in 1954. By the time it was released Bikel was long gone, no doubt with memories of dross like this fading fast.
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