I Watch Films: The Assassination Bureau
Sonya Winter (Diana Rigg), Edwardian lady journalist, discovers the existence of the Assassination Bureau and hires Ivan Dragomiloff (Oliver Reed) to kill the head of the Bureau, himself. He agrees to the commission, but turns it around; he offers the other heads of the bureau a chance to kill him in order to refresh the membership. An ethical assassin, he felt they had lost sight of their moral cause (to only kill those who deserve death)in favour of financial reward.
This is endorsed by Lord Bostwick (Telly Savalas), who is both vice-chairman of the bureau and the proprietor of the newspaper Sonya Winter works for. He plans to make a fortune by buying stock in arms industries then starting a war by killing European heads of state. Winter and Dragomiloff head on a European tour of murder and plotting.
It’s a comedy.
Anyway it’s based on an unfinished Jack London novel (which was finished in the 60s by Robert L Fish), and has some fun scenes. No one’s motives really come together and although most of the maps are period correct, on at least one occasion Bostwick is looking at one which includes Poland, very wrong for this time.
Watch This: For an amusing period romp with some interesting set pieces
Don’t Watch This: For a film that makes sense or takes murder seriously.
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