The Marseille Contract
The Marseille Contract
PG | 04 December 1974 (USA)
The Marseille Contract Trailers

An important drug lord settled in Marseille is suspected of having ordered the killing of an American agent, but it is impossible to impute him due to his political influences, so the dead agent's boss decides to hire the services of a hitman to kill him.

Reviews
WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.
Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.
Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
Armand clichés of genre. good actors. not the best performances but convincing. many sketches for relationship between characters. the old flavor. and a not bad story. a film who, far to be great, reminds the rules of genre in correct manner. use a high cast. and has every ingredients for crime. a sketch itself, at the first sigh, it is seductive for the tension and for the memories with many other films about same theme, for the sensitivities illustration of period, for the dust and landscapes and the tricks and the presence of actors. a film for remember the flavor of an old cinema more than entertainment. fact who could be a virtue. because it is, in many senses, a trip in time. and delight for the fans of Anthonz Quinn, James Mason or Michael Caine.
JasparLamarCrabb A bland film starring Anthony Quinn as a US narc in Paris trying unsuccessfully to take down ruthless drug lord James Mason. He brings in hit-man Michael Caine to do the job. Although there's plenty of action, the movie is really too drab to be recommended. Director Robert Parrish tries every camera angle imaginable in an effort to breathe life into this hokum. Quinn dominates the first half of the film with a very forceful performance as the world weary government man and Caine takes over for the second half. They're both terrific, but Mason is really miscast. Who ever thought he'd make a convincing drug peddler? Clearly it's a tip of the hat to THE FRENCH CONNECTION's dapper drug pusher Fernando Rey. The oddball supporting cast includes Alexandra Stewart, Maurice Ronet and, in a cameo, former JFK crony Pierre Salinger (as Quinn's crusty superior).
bob the moo Police officer Steve Ventura has tried and failed to catch Jacques Brizard – a respectable businessman who deals drugs. In his frustration he hires a hitman to kill Brizard – the hitman turning out to be old friend John Deray. As Deray starts to get close to Brizard, Ventura strengthens his case.I watched this back to back with another Michael Caine movie – Without a Clue. In that his presence lifted an average film into something better….however here he can't manage it. In fact, three big names can't do it. The plot is straightforward and is similar to many other 1970's thrillers. The action and the characters could also be in any other of hundreds of cheap thrillers. There are few scenes that make the film interesting – Deray showing how ruthless he is on top of a building site is one of the highlights, the car chase/romance is also interesting as it was copied (but extended) for Mission: Impossible 2.Caine appears to be in a different movie from Quinn – he's happy go lucky, enjoying romantic dinners etc while Quinn is gritting it out on the streets with informers etc. It creates a split feel to the movie – but it's better when the two come together. Neither are good enough to make the film better than average – nor is James `The Voice' Mason, who looks like he's asleep for most of it.Overall, there are plenty of good 1970's thrillers out there that contain these actors separately (Quinn in Across 110th Street for one) – here the three can't manage to lift this out of being average and a bit dull.
franzi Since the beginning it appears that the director has a good knowledge and ability in the "noir" gender. The actors (mainly Quinn) give the impression that a classic, perfect movie is going on. Unfortunately after a few scenes the script shows its weakness. The story is acceptable, even if not original. But the dialogues reveal soon a number of commonplaces and the director seems not to be really convinced about the movie. A very good performance by Anthony Quinn, while Michael Caine plays below its average.