mark.waltz This isn't as much of a spy melodrama as it is a glorification of mid 1970's terrorism in the middle east. It was the presence of veteran film noir actor Richard Widmark which got my interest to watch this cheaply made disaster about Russian and American spies in Jeruselam, both unlikable and both involved with the braying Gail Strickland. I had to research several movie books and references to find out what the plot was supposed to be, and what I ultimately determined was that it was nothing more than an excuse for tons of gratuitous violence, car chases and general bad performances. At first, I thought, OK, not so bad, but that changed after 20 minutes. I should have been forewarned about the movie's potential by the presence of Oliver Reed whose best films were ones which required a large ensemble cast (the Oscar Winning "Oliver!" most obviously) and didn't feature him as a leading character. Most of the action sequences suffer from bad lighting. I review this here not just as a warning to the consumer, but a reminder to me of how I once wasted 90 minutes (or more) of my life.

gridoon2018 The potentially memorable screen teaming of Richard Widmark and Oliver Reed (the only one in both of their long careers) turns out to be quite forgettable indeed in this muddled spy thriller. A couple of decent action sequences (mostly car chases) cannot really save the uninteresting script. Both Widmark and Reed seem to be doing this one out of obligation, while the beautiful Gayle Hunnicutt has a pretty thankless role as Widmark's ill-fated wife. Even the Jerusalem setting doesn't give much distinction to the film. Overall, "The Sell-Out" might hold some interest for fans of the leads, but it's almost impossible to recommend it to anyone else. *1/2 out of 4.

MARIO GAUCI Typical (and typically complex) Cold War spy saga, not the best in the genre by far – but still counting among its admirers film-geek supremo Quentin Tarantino! The narrative deals with hounded KGB man Oliver Reed who's wanted by one side and deemed expendable by the other; the only one who can help him is Richard Widmark, recently retired from the C.I.A. and currently living with Reed's ex-flame (Gayle Hunnicutt) in Israel! On Reed's trail are Sam Wanamaker of the C.I.A. and Vladek Sheybal of the KGB; an Israeli agent, who's trying to keep the situation under control, is sympathetic to Widmark but ends up paying for the interest with his life. As a film, It's watchable enough but hardly outstanding, despite a plethora of action sequences set to a pounding score and culminating in a desert trek fraught with peril. Even so, the star combo works surprisingly well (watching them dressed up in Jewish garb "praying" beneath the Weeping Wall is an unintentionally comic highlight), the supporting cast all pull their weight (particularly Sheybal's sleek but ruthless hit-man), and the overly-hysterical Hunnicutt is ultimately exposed as a femme fatale.THE SELL OUT is available on a budget DVD containing two other espionage titles (all under the dubious name of "Great Spy Movies"): these are the obscure THE INSIDE MAN (1984) – which, at least, offers some interest due to the presence in the cast of Dennis Hopper and Hardy Kruger – and the distinctly unappetizing HANGMEN (1987) with Sandra Bullock and Jake LaMotta!

Jonathon Dabell Spy escapades riddled with double crosses and triple crosses were all the rage in the '60s and '70s, and this is Peter Collinson's belated addition to the genre. An uninspired and very routine espionage yarn, set (and filmed) in Israel, The Sell-Out is preposterously hard-to-follow at times but it would be wrong to dismiss it as a complete failure. It may not be especially good, but the performances are competent enough and the climactic chase sequence is moderately exciting. Elderly ex-spy Sam Lucas (Richard Widmark) lives in Jerusalem with the sexy but much younger Deborah (Gayle Hunnicutt). He likes to think he has left the spy business behind, and he now runs a successful antiquities store. However, he is forced back into action when he receives a call for help from his old protege Gabriel Lee (Oliver Reed). Lee defected to the East some years previously, but has now become the target on a clandestine CIA-KGB death list. His only chance of getting out of Israel alive is to plead for the help of his old pal Lucas, even though it will mean re-igniting long-buried tensions and emotions. There have been so many films of this ilk that The Sell-Out struggles to come up with anything fresh or interesting. Widmark is likable as the reluctant hero and Reed gets to put in some moody posturing as the enigmatic defector. Director Collinson cuts back on the hard-hitting violence that characterises many of his earlier films (there's violence in this one, but nothing in the same league as Fright or Open Season). The Sell-Out is a very formulaic film, never so bad that you feel like turning it off but never so good that you feel the urge to watch it again. Everyone involved has done better.... and worse.