While this has been likened to a James Bond adventure (which star Roger Moore was still four years away from first tackling), it actually plays more like a tenth-rate copy of an Alfred Hitchcock suspenser and, specifically, NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)-meets-THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956).
In fact, Moore is an advertising executive who unwittingly runs into a person involved in deadly political games model Claudie Lange (who, amusingly, is depicted as being constantly famished!). Incidentally, her equally attractive aunt (Martha Hyer) is revealed to be the chief villainess of the piece (along with Bond-Moore's future superior 'M' himself, Bernard Lee!) intent on assassinating a visiting South African leader as always in the most public of places (in this case, Hyde Park) and synchronized to take place during the customary 21-gun salute. Two other very obvious borrowings from NORTH BY NORTHWEST are a helicopter chase (imitating the legendary crop-dusting sequence) and the rather funny disruption of a church wedding recalling the auction scene in the Hitchcock classic where Cary Grant was similarly drawing attention to himself in order to stall his pursuers!
Also in the cast are Alexis Kanner as a would-be decadent lord who actually advocates peace and ultimately emerges to be on the side of the good guys, as well as Hammer regular Francis Matthews playing a hit-man for Hyer {sic}. Moore having just come off "The Saint" (a series in which director Rakoff was also involved), this still has that bland TV look to it despite the rather incongruous Swinging London backdrop. The film includes mild dollops of style, wit, sexiness, action and suspense all of which were prime features of NORTH BY NORTHWEST in particular, but which were also part and parcel of the Bond saga. In the long run, taken on its own merits, CROSSPLOT is a harmless time-waster but one that has added value if seen as a transition between Moore's trademark personae i.e. Simon Templar aka "The Saint" and James Bond aka 007.
In fact, Moore is an advertising executive who unwittingly runs into a person involved in deadly political games model Claudie Lange (who, amusingly, is depicted as being constantly famished!). Incidentally, her equally attractive aunt (Martha Hyer) is revealed to be the chief villainess of the piece (along with Bond-Moore's future superior 'M' himself, Bernard Lee!) intent on assassinating a visiting South African leader as always in the most public of places (in this case, Hyde Park) and synchronized to take place during the customary 21-gun salute. Two other very obvious borrowings from NORTH BY NORTHWEST are a helicopter chase (imitating the legendary crop-dusting sequence) and the rather funny disruption of a church wedding recalling the auction scene in the Hitchcock classic where Cary Grant was similarly drawing attention to himself in order to stall his pursuers!
Also in the cast are Alexis Kanner as a would-be decadent lord who actually advocates peace and ultimately emerges to be on the side of the good guys, as well as Hammer regular Francis Matthews playing a hit-man for Hyer {sic}. Moore having just come off "The Saint" (a series in which director Rakoff was also involved), this still has that bland TV look to it despite the rather incongruous Swinging London backdrop. The film includes mild dollops of style, wit, sexiness, action and suspense all of which were prime features of NORTH BY NORTHWEST in particular, but which were also part and parcel of the Bond saga. In the long run, taken on its own merits, CROSSPLOT is a harmless time-waster but one that has added value if seen as a transition between Moore's trademark personae i.e. Simon Templar aka "The Saint" and James Bond aka 007.