Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Yazmin Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Allen J. Duffis (sataft-2) One reviewer here wrote that this film was a poor excursion for the lead actor, Rod Taylor. I do honestly believe it to be one of his best comedy outings in his career. True, the film does lag a bit about two thirds of the way through, but its premise is solid.One simply has to regard the film in the light of the the times it represents; which is the social environment of the late 1940's to the mid 1970's when the Cold War eventually ended. And one has to have some sense of how the Cold War era was, in itself, an exercise in the futility of bringing a major war to an end on a slow boil.Therefore, I regard such claims as it not being humorous, or a lame attempt at such, being the inability of someone too young to have experienced the times.Keep in mind that my generation (born in 1939) participated in 'take-cover' drills in our elementary classrooms, as serious protection from a nuclear bomb blast.When given the signal, we kids were instructed to dive under our classroom desks, and to cover our heads with our hands until the all clear was given.In reality, if the bomb was indeed dropped anywhere nearby, all 'take -cover would have accomplished was to yield - all gone! Yes, it was taken seriously by just about everyone.Knowing this, it is easily understood why actual spy agencies on our side, and behind the Iron Curtain countries actually generated such extremes as history reveals of this era - as serious exercises.Knowing this, simply sit back, relax your serious muscles, expose your humor muscles and enjoy this delightful film in the vein it was intended.

Bogmeister MASTER PLAN: Assassinations. More assassinations. There was only one Liquidator film, unlike the duo of 'Flint' films and the Matt Helm film series, but it preceded both of them in jumping on the super spy spoof trend of the sixties - a trend instigated by none other than James Bond. This one even has the familiar teaser, a quirky origin skit for the hero, followed by a bombastic song over the titles which is quite evocative of the standard Bond style - and well it should be, for the song is belted out by Shirley Bassey, she who did sing the famous "Goldfinger" song. The plot sort of re-imagines the way Bond might have started in the spy/license-to-kill business: the title character (Taylor) sort of stumbles into the killing trade at the end of the war (the Big One, in Paris), making a long-lasting impression on his future boss (Howard). Despite this supervisor's long experience in espionage, reading people and so on, his assessment of the soldier, womanizing Boysie, is completely off-base. He's convinced that the man is a killing machine when, in fact, the soon-to-be code-named L hates even the thought of killing anyone. The whole thing's a more direct satirical jab at the secret agent genre than the later spoofs because the central 'hero' is a total fraud, unlike, say, Matt Helm, who may indulge in too much booze, but can still kill effectively and even effortlessly. Unfortunately for the relatively harmless Boysie/soon-to-be-known-as-L, the head of British Intelligence, years later, abruptly decides on a new policy: dispense with the standard bureaucracy and simply eliminate enemies of the state (Queen & Country) behind-the-scenes, without the usual rules. Such a new radical procedure needs the skills of a particular individual, someone in the blunt instrument/James Bond-mold. They couldn't have selected a more inappropriate fellow. Now, the actor Rod Taylor is actually better suited for straight action roles; he comes across as genuinely rough-&-tumble and I remember him from quite a few effective tough-guy roles in the sixties. Even here, though he's a nice, inoffensive guy, he can still beat up bad guys if he has to. But, he also projects a likable if slightly-dopey persona and you find yourself buying into this clumsy, somewhat goofy character he creates here. After the groundwork is laid out, as far the hero's new digs and requisite, if brief, training, the story really diverts into outrageous territory when the supposedly lethal L gets the idea to subcontract his assignments to a real assassin (who doesn't look nearly as heroic). Though this may be a sly commentary on the overly-involved nature of shadow operations in government, the story also slows down to a crawl, with much of the focus on L's attempts to make time with his boss's secretary (Jill St.John). Things pick up when the new couple go away to Monte Carlo for R&R and still get involved in spy intrigue. There's an amusing sequence after L is captured & locked up, and then the villains are forced to let him escape, but one of the henchmen isn't in on this change of plan. The comedy is also gallows in nature, pretty dark, since intense espionage usually involves death. The climactic action also features a revelation about who a criminal mastermind really is, though the finale also lacks any grand set-pieces, further diverting from the expected over-the-top fantastic endings of such thrillers. I admit I was disappointed when I saw this many years ago, probably because it was such a sharp deviation from an expected formula, but this film has grown on me and I thoroughly enjoy much of it now, mostly Taylor's and Howard's performances, as well as Tomlinson as a sneaky villain. Hero:8 Villain:7 Femme Fatales:6 Henchmen:7 Fights:6 Stunts/Chases:6 Gadgets:4 Auto:6 Locations:6 Pace:6 overall:6+

Hugh Terry All the elements seem to be in place to make The Liquidator a success: a witty script, a strong cast, an over-the-top Shirley Bassey theme song, crisp cinematography in glorious 1960s Technicolor. But having said that, the whole package doesn't quite come off.The basic idea is a clever one: to take the familiar secret agent movie premise and subvert it by making the central character a reluctant assassin who "wouldn't hurt a fly". The problem is, Rod Taylor is just too "straight" for the role. Like the Royal Air Force's new top secret spy plane, Taylor often seems to be running on automatic pilot.The comic elements here should have been exploited for much greater effect. Comparisons with Connery's James Bond are wide of the mark, since this film does not aspire to match the serious thrill quotient of a Bond movie. But it does contain some delicious irony, and a couple of neat twists that even surpass the usual formula at times. The scene in which Taylor, imprisoned in a cellar with his captor's floozy, is openly encouraged to escape, is neatly handled - until the poor girl is needlessly gunned down by another member of the gang to "silence" her. This provokes a cliff-top chase that culminates in a dangling moment of rare high tension, evoking the original Italian Job.Younger fans of the Austin Powers series may enjoy seeing what actual swinging '60s films were really like. But where Mike Myers' films take the tiniest germ of a funny idea and magnify it over and over, The Liquidator does the reverse: a potentially promising humorous situation tends just to be left hanging in the air.For connoisseurs of British pictures of the period, there are little treats on offer too, in the appearance of familiar faces like Trevor Howard, Eric Sykes, Wilfred Hyde White and Richard Wattis - although again, their talent is mostly wasted. The delightful Jill St. John (who would go on to do the "real thing" in Diamonds Are Forever) is eminently watchable throughout, and her performance raises the whole tone; indeed she and Howard are the best things on view here.Overall then, whilst The Liquidator is certainly an enjoyable film, with the right leading actor, or perhaps a director with a keener eye for comic possibilities, it could have been a much funnier romp through contemporary spy film clichés. So while it must go down as something of a missed opportunity, for me it's better fun than Casino Royale - either the new version or the 1967 one.

ShadeGrenade 'The Liquidator' was based on the first published novel by John Gardner, whom years later continued the literary James Bond saga. Embarrassed by a number of high-profile spy scandals, 'The Chief' ( Wilfrid Hyde-White ) of the Department of Special Security orders his second-in-command 'Mostyn' ( Trevor Howard ) to recruit a new agent - to be codenamed 'L' ( guess what that stands for? ) - to eliminate potential security risks. The man Mostyn selects is ex-army sergeant 'Brian Ian Oakes', who goes by the bizarre nickname of 'Boysie' ( Rod Taylor ). Boysie enjoys the high living and lots of pretty girls cross his bedroom floor, but he is not a cold-blooded killer and has to hire a cheap hit-man - 'Charlie Griffin' ( Eric Sykes ) to do the killing for him. Directed by cinematographer Jack Cardiff, this is a lot of fun, and benefits from good location shooting in Nice as well as a top-notch cast. Future 007 girl Jill St.John is 'Iris Macintosh', Mostyn's secretary, whom Boysie tempts overseas for a dirty weekend, thereby breaching Department guidelines. It is a far more interesting character than 'Tiffany Case', the one she played in 'Diamonds Are Forever'. John is given strong competition in the glamour department from sultry Gabriella Licudi, who plays 'Corale', the girl intended to lure Oakes into a trap. Villainy is provided by Akim Tamiroff and John Le Mesurier. The always reliable David Tomlinson appears in the role of 'Quadrant'. In smaller roles are familiar faces of the calibre of Colin Gordon, Derek Nimmo, Alexandra Bastedo ( of 'The Champions' ), Vernon Dobtcheff, and Ronald Leigh-Hunt. Peter Yeldham's script is faithful to the novel, and the film as a whole does not make the mistake of trying to be a pseudo-Bond clone. You will not find any hollowed-out volcanoes or gadget-ridden cars here. As Boysie, Taylor gives a likable, amusing performance ( I disagree with those who claim he was miscast ). The powerful title song performed by Shirley Bassey would not have disgraced a real Bond movie. It is a shame that there were no sequels ( 'Understrike' and 'Amber Nine' were both crying out for celluloid ). Like 'Where The Spies Are' starring David Niven, this was to be a one-off big screen outing for its leading character.