The Assassin

Another British Noir, with the same faults that seem to have afflicted this genre: dislocation of culture and customs in a foreign country. Dennis Price was lost in Alpine Italy, now Richard Todd is just as lost in Venice. I can't take the plot seriously, as I suspect few could when the film was first released. There are some attractive interiors (sets built at Pinewood), and a terrific ending with a chase over the roofs around St Mark's. I should compliment the director Ralph Thomas for this chase sequence; I didn't expect it from the director of the endless series of Doctor films.