The Venetian Affair (1966)

Former CIA man, Bill Fenner, now a downbeat, loner journalist, is sent to Venice to investigate the shock suicide bombing by an American diplomat at a peace conference.

Director:

Jerry Thorpe

Writers:

E. Jack Neuman (screenplay by), Helen MacInnes (based upon the novel by)

Stars:

Robert Vaughn, Elke Sommer, Felicia Farr

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Robert Vaughn	...	Bill Fenner
Elke Sommer	...	Sandra Fane
Felicia Farr	...	Claire Connor
Karlheinz Böhm	...	Robert Wahl (as Karl Boehm)
Luciana Paluzzi	...	Giulia Almeranti
Boris Karloff	...	Dr. Pierre Vaugiroud
Roger C. Carmel	...	Mike Ballard
Edward Asner	...	Frank Rosenfeld
Joe De Santis	...	Jan Aarvan
Fabrizio Mioni	...	Russo
Wesley Lau	...	Neill Carlson
Bill Weiss	...	Goldsmith

Storyline

After an American diplomat inexplicably explodes a bomb during an international peace conference in Venice, killing himself and everyone in the room, CIA boss Frank Rosenfeld calls ex-agent Bill Fenner in on the case. Fenner is forced to find his ex-wife and save her from the clutches of both the good guys and the bad guys, while still obtaining the Vaugiroud report and uncovering the bombing conspiracy.

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Plot Keywords:

espionage | psychotronic film | spy | kgb | reference to mi 5 | 

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Taglines:

enjoy the Fine Arts of Venice...murder! spies! women!

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

The two movies that Italian actress Luciana Paluzzi starred in straight after the James Bond film Thunderball (1965) were also both spy films, this picture and The One Eyed Soldiers (1967).

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Goofs

At the beginning of the film Pennyman wipes glass-sweat off of his desk after Fenner places his drink there. The glass had no ice in it, and would not have produced any condensation.

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Quotes

Frank Rosenfeld: You want her killed? I didn't think so. But, some of her playmates are trying to do just that.
Bill Fenner: You bastard.

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Connections

Referenced in Italy's in Season (1967)

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Soundtracks

Our Venetian Affair
Words by Hal Winn
Music by Lalo Schifrin
Sung by Julius LaRosa

User Reviews

slow moving

An American diplomat sets off a suicide bomb in a peace conference. It's a confounding case. The Americans and the Soviets are nominally working together but both suspect each other. CIA chief Frank Rosenfeld (Ed Asner) recruits former agent Bill Fenner (Robert Vaughn) to investigate. Bill's ex-wife Sandra Fane (Elke Sommer) is a suspected communist and the CIA has her filmed suggesting involvement in the case. The cause may be connected to Dr. Vaugiroud (Boris Karloff).

After an explosive start, this slows down to a crawl. Despite some interesting espionage material, this movie is stagnate. The tone is hushed and lacking in kinetic energy. It generates no tension. The filmmaker is not injecting any intensity into the picture. It's basically a casual stroll through an espionage park with some interesting scenery. It's also interesting to see Karloff nearing his end but everything moves too slowly including the story.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

10 February 1967 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

The Venetian Affair

Filming Locations:

Venice, Veneto, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jerry Thorpe Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min 89 min (Turner library print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1