Scorpio (1973)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Michael Winner

Writers:

David W. Rintels (screenplay) and
Gerald Wilson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

19 April 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

When Scorpio wants you... there is no place to hide!

Plot:

Cross is an old hand at the CIA, in charge of assassinating high-ranking foreign personalities who are an obstacle to the policies of the USA...

Plot Keywords:

CIA | Vienna Austria | Running | Cold War | Cynicism

Cast

Burt Lancaster	...	Cross
Alain Delon	...	Jean Laurier, a.k.a. Scorpio
Paul Scofield	...	Zharkov
John Colicos	...	McLeod
Gayle Hunnicutt	...	Susan
J.D. Cannon	...	Filchock
Joanne Linville	...	Sarah
Mel Stewart	...	Pick (as Melvin Stewart)
Vladek Sheybal	...	Zemetkin
Mary Maude	...	Anne
Jack Colvin	...	Thief
James Sikking	...	Harris
Burke Byrnes	...	Morrison
William Smithers	...	Mitchell
Shmuel Rodensky	...	Lang

Runtime:

114 min | Germany:110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Iceland:16 | West Germany:16 (nf) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Ireland:12 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:12 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Mirisch Corporation, The

Trivia:

Burt Lancaster, who was a circus acrobat, performed his stunts in the film during the chase scene.

Goofs:

Continuity: Lancaster disarms two agents by putting his car into reverse and slamming into their car in a narrow alley. Then he pulls forward and does it again. But on his second pass, there's a shot of the back of his car completely undamaged before it makes the second hit. (In that final shot, the car is damaged as it should be.)

Quotes:

Cross: There's a room just down the hall from McLeod's office where grown men play a game. It's a bit like Monopoly, only more people get hurt. There's no good and no bad. The object is not to win, but not to lose -- and the only rule is to stay in the game.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The She-Creature (#9.8)" (1997)

In the best tradition of Le Carre

Whereas Ian Fleming and Robert Ludlum tended toward the super-hero approach to international espionage, John Le Carre preferred it's more-realistic side: the tawdry shadow-world of betrayal, futility, and the brutal exploitation of human weakness. It looks like screenwriters Daniel W. Rintels and Gerald Wilson and director Michael Winner took a page from the Le Carre playbook when crafting this 1973 thriller.

Scorpio ranks with The Spy Who Came In From The Cold and The Looking Glass War as one of the best espionage flicks ever made. Burt Lancaster displays subtle depth as a veteran CIA agent who might be turning to the other side. Alain Delon excels as the young French assassin tasked with the liquidation of his old friend and mentor. Paul Scofield, John Colicos, and a young James Sikking all turn in fine supporting performances.

Scorpio is a lesser-known yet very satisfying classic from the Anti-Hero/Anti-Establishment era of the 1970's.