Masquerade (1965) User Reviews (11)

Seems Straightforward Enough

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 28 February 2013]

Masquerade is an interesting film considering the energy situation today and the political atmosphere in those Moslem oil producing countries. The United Kingdom has been seeing country after country slip out from under their influence and this little country in North Africa is not going to be another if they can help it.

Young Christopher Witty is the king of said country, but as he is not 14 yet the country has been ruled by his uncle who has been cozying up to the Communist bloc. The uncle will rule in name as well as fact if the young king does not ascend the throne by whatever means.

Knowing that the UK government dispatches Lawrence Of Arabis type war hero from the second World War, Jack Hawkins to kidnap the young king and hold him until his majority. Hawkins in turn selects Cliff Robertson an American who worked for him during World War II.

Seems straightforward enough, but in the end everybody's got their own ideas of what to do with the kidnapped king. The only one not in it for anything is Robertson other than the salary he's been promised. All this intrigue going on around him and Robertson's just trying to stay alive and collect his dough.

Masquerade is a stylish little caper film that one can readily get into and doesn't tax us too much with too many unexpected twists. Hawkins is particularly good in this. Imagine Lawrence Of Arabis with back alimony problems. Casting Hawkins himself who was in Lawrence Of Arabia was someone's idea of an inside joke.

I'd check this out if you're a fan of Hawkins or Robertson.

A spy thriller

[lora64 · 7/10 · 18 June 2001]

Lots of intrigue in this plot about kidnapping a ruling dignitary in the Near East. My main reason for watching is to see Jack Hawkins whom I always admired. There's some violence of course, and a shootout, but it's to be expected in this kind of movie. A good show.

I can't believe more people haven't seen this

[bensonmum2 · 7/10 · 7 May 2017]

A down-on-his-luck American, David Frazer (Cliff Robertson), is recruited by a British fellow he knew during the war to assist with mission. It seems that a Middle Eastern Prince will assume power in just a few weeks. Until then, the boy's uncle is in power. The British government is worried that the uncle will attempt to assassinate the Prince to keep power. And, the British government can't have that. The young Prince seems likely to grant Britain oil concessions in his country. Anyway, Frazier is recruited as part of a plot to kidnap the Prince and hide him in Spain until he comes of age. Quite naturally, there are any number of people who would like to get their hands on the Prince - whether to kill him or for ransom. Can Frazier keep the boy alive?

After writing that rather lengthy plot summary, I realize that I should have just said that Masquerade is the story of a man who is double crossed at every turn. That's what makes this thing so fun. Just when you think Frazier has found someone he can trust, they double cross him. At times, it's hard to tell who is on who's side. Frazier finds himself in all sorts of predicaments - bonked on the head and dumped in a wine truck, scaling the narrow ledges of a castle, part of a clown show in a circus where he is rolled in a carpet and kidnapped, and locked in an animal cage with the beautiful Marisa Mell (tough job). There's just so much going on.

Another big plus for Masquerade is the cast. In addition to Robertson and Mell, Jack Hawkins, Michel Piccoli, Bill Fraser, Charles Gray, and John Le Mesurier are on hand to lend their considerable talents. I was especially impressed with Hawkins. What a great actor.

I'm amazed that Masquerade only has 217 votes on IMDb. I can't believe more people haven't seen this. It seems to me it would appeal to fans of 60s comedies, Eurospy fans, or anyone looking for a bit of fun. It's got plenty of action, comedy, espionage, and other good stuff. It's even got a dangling rope bridge that looks suspiciously like the one in Indiana Jones. I enjoy Masquerade more and more each time I see it. I'm giving it a very strong 7/10.

Life Is A Masquerade, Old Friend, Come To The Masquerade

[boblipton · 5/10 · 9 May 2020]

There's an assassination and a change of power in a Middle East country. Suddenly the British oil rights are at risk. So they get Jack Hawkins to kidnap the prince, and he hires old WWII associate Cliff Robertson to help him out. As usually happens in these caper movies, things don't go according to plan.

Robertson was born in 1923, so he certainly was of an age to serve in the Second World War. He also looks far too young for the role, in his early 30s at the latest. Still, he does a good job, as does everyone, even though this busted caper movie is not terribly engrossing. The satirical edge is a little weak.

I suspect the story got a bit muddled. It was originally intended for Rex Harrison, but he was busy, so they got in Hawkins, and decided they needed an American. Sometimes a lot of rewrites polish a script. Sometimes it makes it worse.

Good actors, bad script.

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 9 November 2021]

"Masquerade" stars Cliff Robertson, Jack Hawkins, Charles Gray and several other excellent actors. With this cast, the film can't help be good....if it had a good script. Sadly, it doesn't have a decent script and characters simply defy beliavability.

Robertson plays David Frazer, an American who is somehow convinced to work for the British government. His job will be to keep watch over an obnoxious young man to is about to become the leader of his North African country. Why does the British government care? Well, they want a British company to secure the rights to the oil from this guy's nation.

While this plot doesn't sound bad at all, it is problematic because again and again and again, bad guys become good guys and vice-versa...to the point of absurdity. And all this plotting and scheming becomes tedious after a while and there really isn't any sort of a payoff by the end of the film. A big misfire.

Interesting

[grnhair2001 · 5/10 · 12 April 2017]

There is some terrific writing in the script. The politics is sophisticated, and all these years later illuminating. The number of twists will keep you guessing. Hawkins is wonderful. All the British actors are.

However. Robertson is boring, not charismatic, not sexy, not funny . In the hands of a more appropriate actor this movie really could've been something.

From the film summary, you might be expecting more of a Ransom of Red Chief -type story , but it is not that . It is all about the adults and their shenanigans.

Good story marred by poor choice of lead actor and sluggish pacing, possibly the editor's fault.

Still, worth a watch.

I can't believe William Goldman's name is on this film

[malcolmgsw · 2/10 · 18 July 2022]

Nor Michael Relphs for that matter. The script is an incoherent mess.

You think that the film is going to get better but it just gets a lot worse.

Poor old Jack Hawkins is there smoking himself to death. How can you believe that Cliff Robertson served with him in World War2.

"Life Is A Masquerade, In Which A Hundred Different Parts Are Played. You Play The Hero Or A Fool, There Is No Golden Rule, It's Just A Masquerade..."

[morpheusatloppers · 9/10 · 23 June 2009]

I love this film. It was sold as yet another Bond-spoof (like Bond NEEDED spoofing) but was so much more.

In addition to more location work than was usual at the time, it boasted a roster of stars that was incredible.

Cliff Robertson was young then and had STYLE, Marisa Mell was all leggy and gorgeous, Jack Hawkins was in his element, Michel Piccoli was bizarrely menacing, Bill Fraser was normally associated with British sitcoms, but excelled here in a dramatic role. Then you had British stalwarts Charles Gray, John Le Mesurier, Felix Aylmer and Ernest Clark, all topped off with Tutte Lemkow.

Philip Green's music was fantastic and Basil Dearden's direction quirky and atmospheric.

The film takes a whole reel to lift off, but when it does, it's a classic.

But since seeing it at the cinema and couple of times on the telly in the Seventies, this minor epic has VANISHED. And to add salt to the wound, there are other, LESSER films with the same title (which is annoying if your satellite listings magazine only lists films' TITLES).

So where the hell IS IT??? I can find no trace of a DVD - or even a VHS. There is scant mention of it anywhere and even THIS esteemed service has little additional info.

Is it a "lost film"? Anyone?

A mess.

[Rueiro · 3/10 · 19 April 2022]

I watched it to see Robertson, Hawkins and Mell in a thriller, directed by Basil Dearden, and was very disappointed.

The story gets confused, you don't understand what is going on, on which side everyone is.

The kid is a bloody pain in the arse, an arrogant brat who thinks he owns everybody. I would give him a jolly good spanking.

Spain is portrayed as a third world country.

The baddies are a bunch of weirdos; what is a dwarf doing there?

A total misfire. It's hard to believe that this was made by the same man who directed "Victim", presenting gays as normal human beings in a time when homosexuality was a crime.

"Cheer up, fellow failure!"

[clanciai · 8/10 · 15 October 2021]

The title and its introductory headline tells the whole story: everyone here is a fake, and the only innocent ones are stupid enough not to see them through but to just follow their tricks like sheep into a slaughterhouse. Although the dialog to start with is excellent, but the intrigue is constantly getting weaker and cheaper, almost like turning into a bad James Bond copy yarn of tiresome exertions. The intrigue starts to falter when the lady enters the plot and the agent doesn't see what should have been obvious from the start: if there is anyone you cannot trust in a political thriller game, it's an acting woman. That's elementary. The circus people turn out to be surprisingly honest after all, and it's a pity that Tutte Lermkow had to be shot. Michel Piccoli delivers the ultimate comment to the dirty business: "I hope they all kill each other." At least they try, but they all turn out more or less professional failures.

Boredom!

[RodrigAndrisan · 7 October 2021]

Marisa Mell, Michel Piccoli and Jack Hawkins were my reasons for seeing the film. Disappointment! All three are wasted in a banal, uninteresting, predictable story. Just a waste of time.