The Assassination Bureau (1969)

A woman causes a group of assassins to face their greatest challenge.

Director:

Basil Dearden

Writers:

Michael Relph (screenplay), Jack London (unfinished novel)

Stars:

Oliver Reed, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Oliver Reed	...	Ivan Dragomiloff
Diana Rigg	...	Sonya Winter
Telly Savalas	...	Lord Bostwick
Curd Jürgens	...	Gen. von Pinck (as Curt Jurgens)
Philippe Noiret	...	Monsieur Lucoville
Warren Mitchell	...	Herr Weiss
Beryl Reid	...	Madame Otero
Clive Revill	...	Cesare Spado
Vernon Dobtcheff	...	Baron Muntzof
Annabella Incontrera	...	Eleanora Spado
Kenneth Griffith	...	Monsieur Popescu
Jess Conrad	...	Angelo
George Coulouris	...	Swiss Peasant
Katherine Kath	...	Mme. Lucoville
Olaf Pooley	...	Swiss Cashier

Storyline

The Assassination Bureau has existed for decades (perhaps centuries) until Diana Rigg begins to investigate it. The high moral standing of the Bureau (only killing those who deserve it) is called into question by her. She puts out a contract for the Bureau to assassinate its leader on the eve of World War I.

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Plot Keywords:

bureau | assassin | assassination | castle | publisher | 

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Taglines:

HE falls out of a zeppelin. SHE catches a live bomb. HE's trapped in a coffin. SHE's caught in a bordello. And it's all the start of a beautiful romance.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

M

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English French Italian

Release Date:

23 April 1969 (France)

Also Known As:

The Assassination Bureau Limited

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Heathfield,Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film has no less than 5 James Bond film alumni-- Diana Rigg and Telly Savalas started together in the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Curd Jurgens would go on to play Bond baddie Stromberg in The Spy Who Loved Me, which also featured Milton Reid and Vernon Dobtcheff.

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Goofs

When Ivan Dragomiloff is poisoned, he knocks over the cup he drinks from onto the marble floor. The sound it makes is not of metal such as gold, maybe plastic.

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Quotes

Miss Winter: Ivan!
Ivan Dragomiloff: Sir Ivan, if you please. Virtue, it seems, has been rewarded.

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Soundtracks

Students' Pledge Song
(uncredited)
Music by Ron Grainer
Lyrics by Hal Shaper

User Reviews

Stylish; Beautiful; Colorful Hilarious and Action-Filled; Classic Satire

If the awestruck viewer of this lovely, spacious-looking and delightful satire can get past the multiple locales, the elaborate and often-sumptuous style and the sheer colorfulness of the goings-on, there is a solid and interesting plot line under propping the entire gorgeous edifice. Behind the overwhelming "stylishness" that first greets the eyes, and it is a wonderfully varied and colorful production, Jack London's fascinating story of the "assassination bureau" has been updated by writer Robert L. Fish to be an "ethical" idea gone wrong. The basic premise is that the pragmatic and cynical end of the 19th Century with its pseudo-Christian thug-like monarchs, dynasts and empire-builders was unjust to individual victims. because this situation led some to wish the worst offenders removed from their tyrannies and interferences, Ivan Dragomilov's father created the Assassination Baureau, Ltd. However, an instrument designed to remove the worst offending baddies from an imperfect world has now become a murder-for-hire problem. Enter Diana Rigg, who finds out how to hire the Bureau to take a contract on--Ivan Dragomilov, played intelligently by Oliver reed. He accepts the contract, recognizing what his father's "noble instrument" has been allowed to become. The remainder of the film's scenes then feature a long and fascinatingly funny duel between Rigg and Oliver and the bureau's chiefs, against whom Reed has declared war. These stalwarts include stalwarts such as the great Curt Jurgens in Germany, Cilve Revill in Italy, Telly Savals in London and others in Paris and elsewhere. Sweeping scenes such as the French bordello scenes, the German Restaurant duel, the hilarious Italian caper, the flaming-lighter escape on the train trick and others lead to the climactic race to save London from Savalas's explosive plot. The lovely mounting of the production is highlighted by Basil Dearden's wonderful ability with actors, blocking, and camera-work, Art Director Michael Relph's award-level contributions, magnificent costumes luminous lighting and many other achievements. Many other actors including Beryl Reed, Philippe Noiret and pretty Annabella Incontrera contributed; Ron Grainer's music is a great asset also. But I believe what sets this satirical thriller apart is its realistic ethical dimension; the fact that the Age of Empire was an age of evil governments and unethical pretensions by state tsars has not even now been recognized. This long and intensely-diverting film is a beautiful-polished needle that pricks a much-needed hole in the gasbag of public-interest-tyranny's post modernistic pretensions. It is a film that deserves to be laughed with, applauded and considered carefully for its positive sense-of-life and all-around sparkling wit, dialogue and spirit of adventurous fun.