The Sell-Out (1976)
"The Sell Out" (original title)

While vacationing in Lebanon, a former secret agent finds he has been marked for assassination.

Director:

Peter Collinson

Writers:

Murray Smith (screenplay), Judson Kinberg (screenplay),

Stars:

Oliver Reed, Richard Widmark, Gayle Hunnicutt

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Oliver Reed	...	Gabriel Lee
Richard Widmark	...	Sam Lucas
Gayle Hunnicutt	...	Deborah
Sam Wanamaker	...	Harry Sickles
Vladek Sheybal	...	Dutchman
Ori Levy	...	Major Benjamin
Peter Frye	...	Kasyan
Assi Dayan	...	Lt. Elan (as Assaf Dayan)
Shmuel Rodensky	...	Zafron
Fanny Lubitsch	...	Zafron's Wife (as Fanny Lubitch)
Miguel Pedregosa	...	Mercedes Man
Yossi Virginsky	...	2nd Mercedes Man (as Yossi Verjansky)
Thelma Ruby	...	School Teacher
Heinz Bernard	...	Laboratory Officer
Yossi Graber	...	Coroner

Storyline

The KGB and the CIA have struck a bargain to eliminate former agents who might prove embarrassing to either of their espionage organizations. The chief of the CIA mission in Lebanon names Gabriel Lee as the next agent it wishes to have liquefied. Lee is vacationing in Israel when the assassins fail at their first attempt to kill him and he turns to his former mentor, also a retired agent, for assistance.

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Plot Keywords:

cia | kgb | israel | espionage | lebanon | 

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Taglines:

Buying... selling... and zapping your friends... It's all part of the game.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Israel Italy UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Sell-Out

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amerfilm, Oceanglade, Hemdale Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min 101 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 5 (1998)

User Reviews

A Puzzle With Missing Pieces

A pretty good cast with lots of delightful bad guys. But what's the point. Who's who and what do they want? That's the problem. This is a mishmash of intrigue and espionage where we can't tell the characters without a program. We assume we are pulling for Richard Widmark and Oliver Reed, but we can't be sure. What makes a real spy story work is knowing the real milieu that is put forward. If everyone is flip-flopping back and forth within the story and if we don't have an identifiable end, we can't sense the suspense. I just couldn't get into this film. I like Reed and Widmark; they are two wonderful actors, but this must have been thrown together. The pyrotechnics are laughable. They use the old rule, if you can't come up with a plot, use a bunch of car chases. When all is said and done, who are these people answerable to. Is he CIA corrupt or is there a visible entity for us to fear. If there is, it's never brought forward in this film.