Once again, it's a mod, mod, mod, mod world for Bette Davis who pretends to be a Gale Sondergaard like aging dragon lady in this ridiculously strange spy drama. If you like Bette at her baddest, this is it, and she chews it all up like the last egg roll on the plate. Davis's evilly dressed world criminal has her assistant Denholm Elliott kidnap good guy spy Robert Wagner for a secret mission, and brings him into her art deco world to explain it. If you find yourself losing track of what's going in, you are not the only one transfixed by what looks like left over sets by the "Dr. Philbes" movies. Bette smokes and cackles and talks in that clipped speech that is equally transfixing.
It's funny, however, that Davis talks and talks over and over...about nothing. All of a sudden, she blurts out what she wants him to help her with, and says it like she just wants a dinner companion. But of course, it's a lot more than that, and the needs of a map, diagram or scorecard to figure what this supposed elderly Asian lady is up to. It's obvious that there is great affection between Davis and Wagner, having recently worked together on TV. This was seen as a movie of the week in the states, but it was released theatrically overseas which is reflected in a 90 minute version with 15 minutes additional to the broadcast. The lush location photography would certainly play well on the big screen, but unfortunately it's just not very good.
It's funny, however, that Davis talks and talks over and over...about nothing. All of a sudden, she blurts out what she wants him to help her with, and says it like she just wants a dinner companion. But of course, it's a lot more than that, and the needs of a map, diagram or scorecard to figure what this supposed elderly Asian lady is up to. It's obvious that there is great affection between Davis and Wagner, having recently worked together on TV. This was seen as a movie of the week in the states, but it was released theatrically overseas which is reflected in a 90 minute version with 15 minutes additional to the broadcast. The lush location photography would certainly play well on the big screen, but unfortunately it's just not very good.