Our Man Harry(Michael Caine)gets suckered back into espionage thanks to crooked pal, Leo(Karl Malden)who wishes to make a big pay day off of some virus-infected eggs. Leo takes commands from a robotic device that is merely an extension of a much larger brain located in Texas under the supervision of Commie-hating oil magnate General Midwinter(Ed Begley, just a house-of-fire exploding MW's furious patriotic pride against the Russian commies and their stranglehold over Latvia). Leo's in love with the mysterious Anya(Françoise Dorléac)whose motives seem to be at servicing her man his every corrupt desire. Meanwhile, the British want Palmer back working for them. In an interesting stab at irony, the enemy actually lend Harry a helping hand through various problems by the way of Russia's own Colonel Stok(Oskar Homolka)who warns Harry that he should get out of this situation while he's still out of danger. Yet, Harry needs that flask which contains the virus eggs and will have to coerce Leo into helping him infiltrate Midwinter's computerized compound in Texas so that not only can he see what the mad general's overall plans are, but to catch his "pal" in a moment of weakness.
The Harry Palmer series is clearly an alternative to the James Bond saga with Harry often finding himself stuck in the middle of a few very difficult situations with the filmmakers taking creative license in order for him to escape without real harm. It is quite far-fetched, but these spy thrillers often are. The cast is great with Begley just playing Midwinter over-the-top bonkers as the leader of men he believes will rise up against the Soviets and their Communist regime. Malden is good at playing the smiling con-artist and Caine is quite fun at playing Harry reserved and calm despite the chaos and horrifying possible circumstances that might derive from a crazed patriot with way too much money and technology. Dorléac is sexy in a rather limited role and the always-smiling Homolka is a hoot as the Colonel who knows a lot more than others realize thanks to secret connections.
The Harry Palmer series is clearly an alternative to the James Bond saga with Harry often finding himself stuck in the middle of a few very difficult situations with the filmmakers taking creative license in order for him to escape without real harm. It is quite far-fetched, but these spy thrillers often are. The cast is great with Begley just playing Midwinter over-the-top bonkers as the leader of men he believes will rise up against the Soviets and their Communist regime. Malden is good at playing the smiling con-artist and Caine is quite fun at playing Harry reserved and calm despite the chaos and horrifying possible circumstances that might derive from a crazed patriot with way too much money and technology. Dorléac is sexy in a rather limited role and the always-smiling Homolka is a hoot as the Colonel who knows a lot more than others realize thanks to secret connections.