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IMDbPro

Scorpio

  • 19731973
  • PGPG
  • 1h 54m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
4.7K
YOUR RATING
Scorpio (1973)
During the Cold War, the CIA orders free-lance operative Scorpio to assassinate his former CIA mentor Cross and a deadly cat-and-mouse game ensues.
Play trailer2:22
1 Video
61 Photos
  • Action
  • Drama
  • Thriller
During the Cold War, the CIA orders free-lance operative Scorpio to assassinate his former CIA mentor Cross and a deadly cat-and-mouse game ensues.During the Cold War, the CIA orders free-lance operative Scorpio to assassinate his former CIA mentor Cross and a deadly cat-and-mouse game ensues.During the Cold War, the CIA orders free-lance operative Scorpio to assassinate his former CIA mentor Cross and a deadly cat-and-mouse game ensues.
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
4.7K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Michael Winner
  • Writers
    • David W. Rintels(screenplay)
    • Gerald Wilson(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Burt Lancaster
    • Alain Delon
    • Paul Scofield
Top credits
  • Director
    • Michael Winner
  • Writers
    • David W. Rintels(screenplay)
    • Gerald Wilson(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Burt Lancaster
    • Alain Delon
    • Paul Scofield
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 33User reviews
    • 37Critic reviews
    • 57Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:22
    Official Trailer

    Photos61

    Scorpio (1973)
    Scorpio (1973)
    Scorpio (1973)
    Scorpio (1973)
    Joanne Linville in Scorpio (1973)
    Joanne Linville in Scorpio (1973)
    Joanne Linville in Scorpio (1973)
    Joanne Linville in Scorpio (1973)
    Joanne Linville in Scorpio (1973)
    Alain Delon in Scorpio (1973)
    J.D. Cannon in Scorpio (1973)
    Alain Delon in Scorpio (1973)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Burt Lancaster
    Burt Lancaster
    • Cross
    Alain Delon
    Alain Delon
    • Jean Laurier
    Paul Scofield
    Paul Scofield
    • Sergei Zharkov
    John Colicos
    John Colicos
    • McLeod
    Gayle Hunnicutt
    Gayle Hunnicutt
    • Susan
    J.D. Cannon
    J.D. Cannon
    • Filchock
    Joanne Linville
    Joanne Linville
    • Sarah Cross
    Mel Stewart
    Mel Stewart
    • Pick
    • (as Melvin Stewart)
    Vladek Sheybal
    Vladek Sheybal
    • Zemetkin
    Mary Maude
    • Anne
    Jack Colvin
    Jack Colvin
    • Paul Milney
    James Sikking
    James Sikking
    • Harris
    Burke Byrnes
    • Morrison
    William Smithers
    William Smithers
    • Mitchell
    Shmuel Rodensky
    Shmuel Rodensky
    • Lang
    Howard Morton
    • Heck Thomas
    Celeste Yarnall
    Celeste Yarnall
    • Helen Thomas
    Sandor Elès
    Sandor Elès
    • Malkin
    • Director
      • Michael Winner
    • Writers
      • David W. Rintels(screenplay) (story)
      • Gerald Wilson(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film crew had to obtain a special authorization before shooting in the CIA building. Burt Lancaster asked Senator John V. Tunney, who then asked a CIA head director to authorize the shooting. Although filming and recording was not allowed in the building, Michael Winner did it anyway. Plus, no identification of any kind was asked for the crew members, but they had to wear badges made by the CIA especially for them, and with a scorpion on them. Those badges had to be destroyed after the shooting.
    • Goofs
      In the alley just prior to the rear-ending of the tail car the tail says "I can't see him, he must have got out and run" yet Cross' car's brake lights are clearly on, meaning somebody is in the car with their foot on the brake pedal.
    • Quotes

      Cross: There's a room just down the hall from McLeod's office where grown men play a game. It's a bit like Monopoly, only more people get hurt. There's no good and no bad. The object is not to win, but not to lose - and the only rule is to stay in the game.

    • Connections
      Referenced in The Transgressor (1974)
    • Soundtracks
      Hannibal Brooks
      (uncredited)

      Music by Francis Lai

    User reviews33

    Review
    Top review
    5/10
    Paranoia film that's pretty typical of the early 70s
    In the 1960s, disenchantment among the Western populations led to the hippie movement and a new questioning of authority. Combining this with the Watergate scandal and you set the context for movies like SCORPIO and THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR. Both films view our own government with great suspicion--particularly the CIA. Such films probably would NOT have been accepted by the public just a decade earlier, but in the 70s paranoia of this type was fashionable. So was the moral relativism that implied that the US and Soviet governments were pretty much the same.

    In some ways, the plot to SCORPIO is pretty interesting--a CIA agent (Burt Lancaster) is perceived to be a double agent and is ordered to be killed. Oddly, Alain Delon, a Frenchman, is given this task but Lancaster seems too slippery and skilled to be easily taken. Unfortunately, after a while the film both becomes rather dull and is rather hard to believe. As one reviewer pointed out, the way that Lancaster and Scofield knew each other didn't really make sense, as an American serving with the Spanish Republicans would have been seen as an extreme leftist--not exactly a person you'd expect to later be in the CIA. Of course, this DID help the moral relativism being pushed in the film.

    Aside from watching the acrobatic Lancaster do his own stunts and Scofield overact (in a fun way), this is a very low energy film--and you'd not expect this would be the case for an espionage thriller. It just seemed very detached and uninvolving. Overall, it's a passable film, but not one you should go out of your way to see.
    helpful•16
    10
    • planktonrules
    • Apr 5, 2008

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 19, 1973 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • MGM
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • German
    • Also known as
      • Dangerfield
    • Filming locations
      • Palmenhaus Schönbrunn - Schonbrunn Palace Palm House, Schönbrunn Palace Park, Vienna, Austria
    • Production companies
      • The Mirisch Corporation
      • Scimitar Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $4,000,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 54 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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