Despite its prestigious cast, this spy thriller (based on Clive Egleton's novel Seven Days to a Killing)
is a surprisingly humdrum affair which is only just salvaged by the gusto with which Don
Siegel directs it. Michael Caine saunters casually back into
Harry Palmer territory and is clearing having fun bouncing off Donald
Pleasence (suitably cast as a pompous spy master) and John Vernon
(predictably cast as the villain, yawn), although even he struggles to
keep us interested as the convoluted plot gets tied up in its own
intricacies and absurd contrivances. A delectable trio of 1970s
lovelies - Delphine Seyrig, Catherine Schell and Janet Suzman - helps
to sweeten the bitter pill, but the plot is just too ridiculous, the
characterisation too shallow for the film to be taken all that
seriously. After a very effective beginning, which builds the
tension nicely, the story just falls to pieces in its second
half - the whole thing ends with as much dignity as
an overweight octogenarian collapsing from exhaustion whilst
running in the London Marathon. The Black Windmill
is a jolly run-around if you have nothing better too do with your time,
but it's hardly The Ipcress File.
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Next Don Siegel film: The Big Steal (1949)
Film Synopsis
Major Tarrant is a British intelligence officer who is attempting to
infiltrate an arms smuggling ring which is supplying weaponry to
terrorists in Northern Ireland. His mission is compromised when
his infant son is abducted and the kidnappers demand a ransom of half a
million pounds in uncut diamonds from his employers. When his
boss refuses to pay up, Tarrant has no choice but to steal the diamonds
and go after the kidnappers himself. As he does so, his superiors
become convinced that he is a mole working for the very people he is
supposed to be investigating...
Cast: Michael Caine (Maj. John Tarrant),
Donald Pleasence (Cedric Harper),
Delphine Seyrig (Ceil Burrows),
Clive Revill (Alf Chestermann),
John Vernon (McKee),
Joss Ackland (Chief Supt. Wray),
Janet Suzman (Alex Tarrant),
Catherine Schell (Lady Melissa Julyan),
Joseph O'Conor (Sir Edward Julyan),
Denis Quilley (Bateson),
Derek Newark (Monitoring Policeman),
Edward Hardwicke (Mike McCarthy),
Maureen Pryor (Jane Harper),
Joyce Carey (Miss Monley),
Preston Lockwood (Ilkeston),
Molly Urquhart (Margaret),
David Daker (MI5 Man),
Hermione Baddeley (Hetty),
Patrick Barr (Gen. St. John),
Yves Afonso (Jacques)
Country: UK
Language: English
Support: Color
Runtime: 106 min
The very best of the French New Wave
A wave of fresh talent in the late 1950s, early 1960s brought about a dramatic renaissance in French cinema, placing the auteur at the core of France's 7th art.
In the 1940s, the shadowy, skewed visual style of 1920s German expressionism was taken up by directors of American thrillers and psychological dramas, creating that distinctive film noir look.
In his letters to his friends and family, Franz Kafka gives us a rich self-portrait that is surprisingly upbeat, nor the angst-ridden soul we might expect.
From its birth in 1895, cinema has been an essential part of French culture. Now it is one of the most dynamic, versatile and important of the arts in France.