A Man Could Get Killed (1966)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Let's be realistic.

I'll tell you why so serious

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

1965s 'A Man Could Get Killed' is a great slice of 60s movie hokum. It has James Garner at his "Basically, I'm just passing through on my way to Australia" best. Added to that, the cream of England's 'old duffer' character actors, Coote, Culver, Parker and Grey. An interesting cameo from the great Irish doctor/actor Niall MacGinnis, as the ships captain. Sandra Dee is as loud as any American tourist in Europe should be allowed to get, but still gorgeous. Tony Franciosa as the pretend Portuguese smuggler is fun and of course the wonderful, and criminally underrated, Melina Mercouri stealing the show. Throw in some diamonds and it all adds up to a not bad 97 minutes of escapism. And with a nice romantic ending to the strains of, probably Bert Kaempfert's greatest tune 'Strangers in the Night'. What's not to like! I saw this film as a young boy, when first released, loved it and have never forgotten it. How this film is not available on DVD is beyond me! It's about time we had a box set of James Garner 60s films with, obviously, this film included.

I like James Garner, but honestly, how he must have squirmed during the making of this movie. An inane plot involving smuggled diamonds, spy vs spy skulduggery and total lack of chemistry between a supposed romance between James Garner and Melina Mercouri. Not only that, the supporting cast of Sandra Dee and Anthony Franciosa makes you wonder just who's playing the lead roles. And the bumbling villains are so incompetent and nonthreatening that they're more of a distraction than anything else. I suspect the studio wanted to reprise the excellent thriller "Charade" made 3 years earlier, but in that they failed dismally. The only thing going for this movie is that the theme song "Strangers in the Night" became such a big hit.

I was shocked when the Academy Award Show mentioned that both Tony Franciosa and Sandra Dee died during the year. They co-starred in one of my favorite movies, A Man Could Get Killed.How the hell could they be dead? They seemed like kids to me. I guess you live long enough most people start to seem like kids. But these were special to me. They gave me pleasure with their performances in an excellent movie.Franciosa especially. I became a fan of his for life. He played a native street hustler/smuggler in Lisbon. His accent sounded believable to me. But then Sandra Dee came along.Wait a minute.Let's start at the beginning.James Garner and Melina Mercouri starred in this comedy/action-adventure. (According to an English website Robert Coote starred. Tell them to take their cooties and go home.) Garner plays an American businessman who is mistaken by everybody for a super-secret British agent on the trail of smuggled diamonds. When Coote, supposedly his liaison at the British Embassy meets him at the Lisbon airport, the car intended for him is blown up. No matter how much Garner protests, all of which are accepted as cover for his actual mission, he is then transported into a world of scheming, dangerous, underworld characters.First among these is the fabulous Melina Mercouri playing the amorous, amoral, ungrieving widow of a recently killed gangster. It is great fun for us to see how much fun she has in this role. She flirts with Garner at the funeral of her husband.Tony Franciosa, totally charming in his guise as a Portuguese hustler, attaches himself to Garner. Sandra Dee, the archetypical Southern California beach girl appears and exposes Franciosa. They had been connected in America. But Franciosa's exposition is that he is an American hustler, not Portuguese. Not much change there.The four of them are then off on a life or death quest to find the smuggled diamonds. It is a fun trip. Garner, straight and proper, is continuously agitated by Mercouri's delightful lack of morals.In one memorable scene, the bad guys tell the two of them to strip so they can be searched. While Garner tries to defend her honor, Mercouri eagerly begins to comply. She begins by removing her false eyelashes.This is a fun romp with charismatic stars and great chemistry between them. Much of the fine background music throughout became the ballad, "Strangers in the Night." See it if you get a chance.And say goodbye to Sandra Dee and Tony Franciosa.

Just wanted to let anyone who might stumble upon this movie to know that it's certainly worth your time viewing. Melina Mercouri is great as the widow of a shadowy underworld figure who entangles James Garner in her search for missing booty. The booty being a small fortune in loose diamonds. The movie has lots of sixties style going for it and is set in beautiful Mediterranean locales. With a great supporting cast of sixties superstars like Sandra Dee and Tony Franciosa the movie entertains with tons of tounge in cheek, cloak and dagger sexy verve. It's a fun in the sun movie with all the stars putting in great performances. One final note, as the credits roll at the end of the movie, Frank Sinatra's rendition of Strangers in the Night provides a fitting and satisfying end.