The Internecine Project (1974)

Former secret agent Robert Elliot (Coburn) will be promoted to government advisor. In order to make sure no-one will ever know about his dirty past, he has invented a very ingenious plan to... See full summary »

Director:

Ken Hughes

Writers:

Barry Levinson (screenplay), Jonathan Lynn (screenplay),

Stars:

James Coburn, Lee Grant, Harry Andrews

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Coburn	...	Robert Elliot
Lee Grant	...	Jean Robertson
Harry Andrews	...	Albert Parsons
Ian Hendry	...	Alex Hellman
Michael Jayston	...	David Baker
Christiane Krüger	...	Christina Larsson
Keenan Wynn	...	E.J. Farnsworth
Terence Alexander	...	Business tycoon
Philip Anthony	...	Eliott's secretary
Julian Glover	...	Arnold Pryce-Jones
Mary Larkin	...	Jean's secretary
Ewan Roberts	...	Lab technician
David Swift	...	Chester Drake
Rolf Wanka	...	Art dealer
Ray Callaghan	...	TV producer

Storyline

Former secret agent Robert Elliot (Coburn) will be promoted to government advisor. In order to make sure no-one will ever know about his dirty past, he has invented a very ingenious plan to get rid of his four helpers: he gets them all to unknowingly kill each other in the course of a single night.

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Plot Keywords:

shower | nude woman murdered | based on novel | independent film

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Taglines:

Who will be alive when the hands stop?

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Genres:

Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK West Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 July 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cinayet zinciri

Filming Locations:

Alembic House - 93 Albert Embankment, Vauxhall, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hemisphere Pictures, Lion International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The last cinema film of Terence Alexander.

User Reviews

Deserves to be better known...

This largely forgotten film from the darkest days of the British film industry probably deserves to be better known, if only for the fact that it manages to make a long sequence in which one man sits alone in a room waiting for the phone to ring quite suspenseful.

James Coburn plays Robert Elliott, a former secret agent who must erase all evidence of his dirty past before taking a job as adviser to the US president. That past comes in the form of four former colleagues – nervy diabetic Ian Hendry, misogynistic cat-lover Harry Andrews, scientist Michael Jayston and call-girl Christiane Kruger. Eliot hits upon the ingenious idea of getting each of his intended victims to do the deed for him, leaving him completely unconnected to the murders. It's a fairly unique idea, and quite well-handled with some quirky characters thrown in (not of least of which is Harry 'A *woman*, Sir?' Andrews), and it is to writer Barry Levinson's credit that he manages to stretch what is a fairly thin plot over a reasonable running time without losing the viewer's interest.

The ending belongs in a James Bond movie – although given the recent murder of a dissident Russian journalist, maybe that's not quite true – but it is a delicious pay-off and a fitting fate for an urbane character who is totally lacking in scruples.