Russian Roulette (1975)

An RCMP officer is ordered to discreetly take a Russian immigrant into custody in advance of a state visit by the Soviet premier. When his prisoner is kidnapped, the officer is drawn into a complicated assasination scheme.

Directors:

Lou Lombardo, Anthony Squire (uncredited)

Writers:

Tom Ardies (screenplay), Stanley Mann (screenplay)

Stars:

George Segal, Cristina Raines, Bo Brundin

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Segal	...	Tim Shaver
Cristina Raines	...	Bogna Kirchoff
Bo Brundin	...	Colonel Sergei Vostik
Denholm Elliott	...	John Petapiece
Gordon Jackson	...	Brian Hardison
Peter Donat	...	Inspector McDermott
Richard Romanus	...	Raymond Ragulia
Nigel Stock	...	Ferguson
Val Avery	...	Rudolf Henke
Louise Fletcher	...	Midge
Graham Jarvis	...	Benson
Constantine Gregory	...	Samuel (as Constantin De Goguel)
Jacques Sandulescu	...	Gorki
Walter Marsh	...	Taggart (as Wally Marsh)
Hagan Beggs	...	Kavinsky

Storyline

During the 1970s, on the eve of Soviet leader's official visit to Canada, the Soviet Ambassy alerts the Canadian authorities to the existence of a Latvian immigrant who may plan to kill the visiting Soviet leader.The Soviets explain that Latvian immigrant Rudolf Henke is bitter over Latvia's treatment by the USSR and that he may attempt to assassinate the visiting Soviet leader in Vancouver, Canada.The Soviets request that Henke be kidnapped by the Canadian police to prevent him from any wrongdoing.Commander Petapiece of the Special Branch of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police assigns Corporal Tim Shaver to kidnap Rudolf Henke.This seems to be the only solution since the Canadian government fears political backlash from publicly detaining such a high profile political agitator without any concrete evidence of criminal activity from his part.The Canadians want to accommodate the Soviet requests in order to keep good bilateral relations with the USSR.When Corporal Tim Shaver of the RCMP ...

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Plot Keywords:

vancouver british columbia | rcmp | spy | hotel | suicide vest | 

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Taglines:

George Segal hangs tough ... and plays the game with all the chambers loaded !

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the scene where RCMP surveillance officer Shaver breaks into Henke's apartment while Henke is preparing to take a bath, a record player is heard playing Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92, third movement-Scherzo Presto.

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Goofs

When the thug grabs Shaver by the neck and lifts him off his feet outside the Ho Ho Chop Suey restaurant at about 51:30, there's a thin filament visible over his right shoulder in the close-up shot, probably part of the rig used to actually lift George Segal.

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Soundtracks

Yankee Doodle Dandy
(uncredited)
Written by George M. Cohan
Arranged by Michael J. Lewis

User Reviews

You Can Do Far Worse...

...than to invest ninety minutes of viewing on this apparently little-known political/espionage work. (I'd likely have gone 7.5 out of 10 if possible, if 8 might be a bit much.)

Anyway, I wouldn't fully disagree with the more unfavorable reviews already posted here, and I will further grant that there are a few, some not-so-minor, loose plot threads that remain unanswered before curtain, and that the whole finale would never have gone down that way.

Still, overall, I conclude differently. The acting doesn't go overboard, and the writing is about as tight as is reasonably possible, while avoiding over-exposition. So if the plot isn't spoon-fed and in fact takes some time to become clear ("clear"), let's consider that Segal's character is probably in a bit over his head; sure, he's RCMP, but one suspects his billet is not *quite* at the "KGB assassination plot" level. He's been blindsided by the twists and trying to work it all out as he goes along...just like the audience is. I found that pretty enjoyable, actually...

And I appreciated the use of unassuming VFW-class drinkeries, city streets-cum-roller hockey rinks, and interchangeable neighborhood Chinese restaurants as settings, not glittering casinos and ivory tower CEO lairs and the banks of the Riviera. A good RCMP officer would likely have honed his craft on the former, and caught the latter only on the silver screen.

Again, you can do far worse. Don't pay to watch it, but don't avoid it either.

Details

Country:

UK Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 August 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Russian Roulette

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$1,250,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bulldog, ITC Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 86 min (Shout Factory TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1