Assignment To Kill (1968)

A ruthless and at time unethical private detective (Patrick O'Neal) is hired by an insurance company to investigate a shipping tycoon (John Gielgud) who may be responsible for sinking his own ships. Written and directed by Sheldon Reynolds (FOREIGN INTRIGUE), this is one of those international thrillers so popular in the 1960s set in attractive locations (in this case, Switzerland) and with a convoluted plot. I'm rather partial to the genre myself so I may be more tolerant of this movie than others. Even when it's over, I'm not sure I grasped the details of the treachery and double crosses but it's a fun ride if you're not too demanding (I wasn't). O'Neal is a good actor but he's never been leading man material. A star like Michael Caine or even a Roger Moore might have helped give the movie some needed pizazz. Fortunately, there's the appealing Joan Hackett as the slightly ditzy female lead and Herbert Lom as the elegant villain to compensate. The film's amiable journey turns unpleasant when it kills off the one decent character in the movie. With Oscar Homolka, Peter Van Eyck, Eric Portman, Kent Smith, Leon Greene and Cynthia O'Neal.