Russian Roulette (1975)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Lou Lombardo

Writers:

Stanley Mann (writer)
Arnold Margolin (writer)

Release Date:

20 August 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

An RCMP officer is ordered to discreetly take a Russian immigrant into custody in advance of a state visit by the Soviet premier. When his prisoner is kidnapped, the officer is drawn into a complicated assasination scheme. |

Plot Keywords:

Rcmp | Assassination Plot | Human Bomb | KGB | Based On Novel

Cast

George Segal	...	Cpl. Timothy Shaver
Cristina Raines	...	Bogna Kirchoff
Bo Brundin	...	Col. Sergi Vostick
Denholm Elliott	...	Commander Petapiece
Gordon Jackson	...	Hardison
Peter Donat	...	Insp. Peter McDermott
Richard Romanus	...	Raymond Ragulin
Nigel Stock	...	Ferguson
Val Avery	...	Rudolph Henke
Louise Fletcher	...	Midge
Graham Jarvis	...	Bension, RCMP
Constantine Gregory	...	Samuel (as Constantin de Goguel)
Jacques Sandulescu	...	Gorki, KGB Goon
Wally Marsh	...	Taggart
Hagan Beggs	...	Kavinsky

Runtime:

Finland:87 min | USA:93 min

Country:

Canada | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Netherlands:12 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Bulldog

Engaging and quirky thriller

'Russian Roulette' is one of the plethora of Anglo-Canadian co-productions from the mid-seventies and probably the best. The Anglo contribution is mainly supporting parts (a typically seedy Denholm Elliott, an unconvincingly accented Nigel Stock, Gordon Jackson) and behind the camera, with centre-stage taken by George Segal's disgraced Mountie (plain clothes, thankfully) caught up in a plot to assassinate the Russian premier during a visit to Canada.

The plot ticks along nicely enough but it's the quirky touches along the way that really stand out, with memorable little character moments putting a memorable spin on the conventional scenes we've seen in this kind of film a thousand times before (a tour guide reading her badly memorised shtick to Segal's sole cable car passenger, Segal accidentally killing a crook who's just about to spill the beans, Denholm Elliott stealing papers and putting his drinks on other people's tabs, a sweet little old lady having trouble memorising a message about the KGB). Directed by Peckinpah and Robert Altman's legendary editor Lou Lombardo, who was apparently as high as a kite throughout filming and only directed one more film (the finale was apparently largely the work of an uncredited Anthony Squire), it's a neat little movie rather than a great one, but that's more than enough here. But it's hard to guess what attracted then recent Oscar-winner Louise Fletcher to a bit-part as a telephone operator.