Killer's Carnival (1966) Poster

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4/10
Weak spy pastiche
gridoon202422 June 2008
In the middle of the night, a man wanted by the police for multiple murders breaks into the house of a professor and holds him captive at knifepoint. The professor tries to convince him to give himself up, by telling him three stories about how criminals always get caught in the end. In the first story, set in Vienna, Stewart Granger (who was too old for his role here) is a suave and shady character investigating the death of a reporter who was tracing a drug ring around the world; in the second story, set in Rome and, unlike the other two, played mostly as a slapstick comedy, Pierre Brice is a secret agent trying to deliver some important documents to his boss while being chased by a gang led by a woman with a whip; in the third story, set in San Francisco and Rio, Lex Barker is a private detective trying to stop a political assassination plot by posing as the assassin himself. In the end, there is a major plot twist that tries to tie everything together, but the film ends up making even less sense than before! Some of the "names" in the cast (Klaus Kinski, Karin Dor of "Topaz") have very limited screen time, and although the film does boast a variety of international locations, the three episodes generate little excitement or (if that was the purpose of the second story) laughter. For 60's spy-movie completists only. (*1/2)
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6/10
Apart from the Granger ep, just a weak spoof!
JohnHowardReid8 January 2017
Warning: Spoilers
This German portmanteau movie contains four stories, one of which serves as a frame for the other three. Alas, only the Stewart Granger episode is any good! It's well acted, deftly directed, and brought to a nice polish with excellent film editing and good sets, It also features very attractive photography and an inventive music score. Alas, the second episode with Pierre Brice playing himself is the most wearisome. It's just a weak spoof of James Bond. The third ep pits Lex Barker against would-be presidential assassins in Rio. It's really no better than number two, but it does seem slightly more engaging – maybe because it appears to be slightly shorter. Nevertheless, the film was evidently made on a considerable budget, with location shooting in Frankfurt, Rome and Rio – although all of this is largely wasted by clumsy direction. Weak writing, assisted by heavily Teutonic "wit" doesn't help either!
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5/10
STRANGE STORY trying to be a EURO-SPY.
larryanderson24 March 2020
Three stories about killers that is shot in many locations. I have watched it twice in German and still can't see the point of making this movie other than to see the great stars (of the time). Pier Angeli, Lex Barker, Pierre Brice, Stewart Granger, Karen Dor and Margaret lee all shown in limited bits. They do take us for a tour of Rio. Made only for Euro-Spy fans.
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