Dead Run

I certainly would NOT include this,the English-language title of which is DEAD RUN, among any top list of Eurospy classics; however, its witty tone, nice locations and interesting camera work, and impressive acting from Georges Gerret (as a small-time pickpocket who steals some secret papers more important than he could imagine), Peter Lawford (using his old charm and wit once again, as a CIA agent so informal that I doubt the REAL CIA would ever employ him!), and familiar German faces such as Horst Frank (chilling!), Wolfgang Preiss, and Werner Peters make it worth watching and above average. Director Christian-Jacque had a diverse career--directing the odd but fun LEGEND OF FRENCHIE KING with Bardot and Michael J. Pollard, doing uncredited direction on the bloated but entertaining MARCO THE MAGNIFICENT with Horst Bucholz and Orson Welles (and the unnerving angular composition of so many shots in DEAD RUN shows that Mr. Jacque is a BIG Welles fan!!), directing BABETTE GOES TO WAR, the film that proved Bardot was more than just a cheesecake star, and helming one of the segments of the war anthology THE DIRTY GAME. He also made a few excellent films with Jean Marais in the mid-60s. Much of what is good about DEAD RUN comes from Jacque's interesting and stylish direction, as the story is cliche-ridden and not really memorable. Overall, though, if you like an espionage drama with the sense of class and visual style that only the French bring to a film, with a number of strong performances, you might want to find DEAD RUN.