...and Millions Die! (1973 TV Movie) User Reviews (2)

Pour on the cheese

[JohnSeal · 4/10 · 13 July 2006]

If you've ever wanted to see Leslie Nielsen play a bad guy so bad he can get a Hong Kong call girl to scrub his back in the bathtub at the click of a finger, this is your film. Nielsen plays Jack Gallagher, a money hungry villain peripherally involved with Nazi war criminal Franz Kessler (Joseph Furst), who has managed to relocate to Hong Kong with his stash of deadly nerve gases intact. Dr. Douglas Pruitt (an over-emoting Richard Basehart), the head of supranational organisation 'E Force' (Environmental Force Authority), is on the trail of the bioweapons in an attempt to keep them out of the hands of freedom fighters/terrorists such as the 'People's Liberation Army'. Though And Millions Will Die! was shot on location in the Far East, the film can't disguise it's small screen roots, whether through Leslie Martinson's bland direction or Laurie Lewis's connect the dots score, which unsuccessfully attempts to blend elements of John Barry, Henry Mancini, and Lalo Schifrin. A pilot for a TV series that never was, this is an occasionally entertaining thriller with some pretty mild thrills.

Even Admiral Nelson can't redeem this mess

[danzeisen · 4/10 · 28 February 2023]

Richard Baseheart was once asked to compare his role on "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea." His reply was that the characters written by Shakespeare had more depth than an actor could ever portray. The challenge with his role as Admiral Nelson was in making something out of nothing. And so he did.

But even Basehart can't redeem this mess of a tv movie. For me the most jarring aspect was the music. It was truly awful, contrived and derivative of several artists, while having none of their virtues. It was almost like throwing ingredients together and expecting a cake to jump out. The score detracted from scenes instead of enhancing them.

The directing was flat and pretty much lifeless. It was almost a "Going thru the motions" effort. There were times when it was almost comical, such as the foor chase involving Leslie Neilson and Basehart. They both came across as not trying too hard. And when Neilson gets away he doubles back and punches Basehart risking capture. Really?

There are more cliches in this movie than you can throw a stick at. That somewhat characterizes the whole film, imho. They didn't bring anything new to the genre, they just threw a lot of stuff on the wall to see if anything worked. It didn't, this was a failed effort at spawning a TV series, and it didn't really deserve a second chance.