Review of The Cape Town Affair

Jacqueline Bisset is always a warrant for a good performance, and that's why I was attracted by this inefficient attempt of a remake of the brilliant "Pickup on South Street" of 1953 with no Richard Widmark and no Jean Peters but with a young and fresh Jacqueline Bisset at least and a rather brutal and boorish James Brolin but with Claire Trevor as the only real character of the film, which is only worth watching for the sake of her and Jacqueline. The overall impression is that of amateurs, the script is lousy, the other characters are all clichés, and even the story, like all characters, lack any credibility. The music is interesting, and the sight-seeing of Cape Town is an attraction, but all the rest is cheap pulp fiction. Even the direction is somewhat awkward all the way, and you will be astonished to see only one coloured person in the entire feature and only for a brief moment, as if the film was something of a nostalgic tribute to "the good old days of apartheid". This film cannot be recommended except perhaps as a curiosity to some odd exclusives interested in having a look at Cape Town of +50 years ago.