Handsome Alain Delon is "Scorpio" in this 1973 spy film starring Burt Lancaster and Paul Scofield, and featuring John Colicos, Arthur Hil and Joanna Linville. Cross (Lancaster) is an old CIA agent who assassinates foreign officials the U.S. needs out of the way. His some time parter is Jean Laurier, aka Scorpio, a freelancer. Scorpio is given the order to kill Cross - the agency feels he knows too much. Cross is very clever, but Scorpio knows him well enough to anticipate some of his moves. The two men play an international game of cat and mouse, and along the way, there are casualties.
This is a compelling if somewhat slow thriller, very typical of the spy films one saw in the '60s and '70s. What makes this one is the locations - having been to Vienna, I sat across from the opera house in the exact place where one scene was shot. The streets, the hotel lobbies and the rooms were unmistakably European. The cast is excellent, with Lancaster doing a great job - and his own stunts at the age of 59 - as a down to earth, tired agent. Scofield is effective as Zharkov, a Communist friend who helps Cross, and John Colicos is very good in a typical role for him as Cross' cold-blooded boss. Delon isn't quite in the league of these actors - he brings a kind of lethargy to his role and is almost too internalized, plus his accent is quite thick, so some of his dialogue is difficult to understand. You can't beat him for eye candy, though.
I've enjoyed other spy films better, but this one, written by David Rintels (my cousin's brother-in-law) is good with the right atmosphere and some dandy performances.
This is a compelling if somewhat slow thriller, very typical of the spy films one saw in the '60s and '70s. What makes this one is the locations - having been to Vienna, I sat across from the opera house in the exact place where one scene was shot. The streets, the hotel lobbies and the rooms were unmistakably European. The cast is excellent, with Lancaster doing a great job - and his own stunts at the age of 59 - as a down to earth, tired agent. Scofield is effective as Zharkov, a Communist friend who helps Cross, and John Colicos is very good in a typical role for him as Cross' cold-blooded boss. Delon isn't quite in the league of these actors - he brings a kind of lethargy to his role and is almost too internalized, plus his accent is quite thick, so some of his dialogue is difficult to understand. You can't beat him for eye candy, though.
I've enjoyed other spy films better, but this one, written by David Rintels (my cousin's brother-in-law) is good with the right atmosphere and some dandy performances.