The Amsterdam Kill (1977)

Former DEA Agent Quinlan, removed from the force some years earlier for stealing confiscated drug money, is hired by Chung Wei, a leader in the Amsterdam drug cartel, who wants out of the ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Clouse

Writers:

Robert Clouse, Gregory Teifer (screenplay),

Stars:

Robert Mitchum, Richard Egan, Leslie Nielsen

Cast

Credited cast:
Robert Mitchum	...	Quinlan
Richard Egan	...	Ridgeway
Leslie Nielsen	...	Riley Knight
Bradford Dillman	...	Odums
Keye Luke	...	Chung Wei
George Cheung
Sing Chen
Stephen Leung
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yuen Biao
Billy Chan
Ching-Ying Lam
Wah Yuen

Storyline

Former DEA Agent Quinlan, removed from the force some years earlier for stealing confiscated drug money, is hired by Chung Wei, a leader in the Amsterdam drug cartel, who wants out of the business. Quinlan's job is to use Chung's information to tip DEA agents to drug busts, thereby destroying the cartel. But when the first two "tips" go awry, resulting in murdered DEA officers, the feds must decide whether to trust Quinlan further...

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Plot Keywords:

drugs | drug enforcement | independent film

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Taglines:

It takes a hard man to control the drugs empire. It takes an even harder man to wipe it out! [UK Video]

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Hong Kong USA

Language:

English Cantonese

Release Date:

26 December 1977 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Amsterdam Kill

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fantastic Films S.A., Golden Harvest Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When shooting was going on (at least in Golden Harvest's Hong Kong studios) the film had two working titles -- 'Kill Him in Amsterdam' and 'The Amsterdam Killing'.

User Reviews

MITCHUM FACES TALL ODDS

Although not listed among favourites of cinema critics, this work, filmed primarily in Hong Kong and Amsterdam, proves to be a very competently made affair, with good performances by such old hands as featured player Robert Mitchum and supporting actors Bradford Dillman, Richard Egan, and Keye Luke. Mitchum, as "Quinlan", a sullied former agent of the Drug Enforcement Agency, is hired by one of his erstwhile targeted criminals: Chung Wei (Luke), a leader of Amsterdam's major narcotics league, to discover who is murdering, on two continents, large scale heroin dealers. During the course of his investigation, Quinlan is re-hired by the DEA in return for supplying the agency, now under the aegis of his former boss "Odums" (Dillman), information concerning major supply locations serving Hong Kong's dope derby. As Quinlan attempts to assist both Chung Wei and the DEA, he discovers that sabotage of his operation stems from an unknown confederate, and he is made to realize that he remains less than popular with the drug enforcement administrators. The film is paced correctly by director Robert Clouse, who controls the many action scenes very well indeed, with his script spending exactly the proper amount of time filling gaps which might betray logic. It is a fair statement that dialogue is of above-average quality for an action production, with one remarkable monologue delivered by Mitchum in his character's Hong Kong hotel room as he propels the plot past a conundrum, a highly accomplished piece of acting. As there are no females in the cast other than extras, the complicated pickle in which Quinlan finds himself is not diluted by the normally obligatory romantic subplot, freeing an audience to concentrate upon a well-told scenario, incidentally marked by Dillman's strong performance and by the creative camerawork of Alan Humes.