Masquerade *** (1965, Cliff Robertson, Jack Hawkins, Charles Gray, Bill Fraser, Marisa Mell, Michel Piccoli) – Classic Movie Review 12,708

Basil Dearden’s lively tongue-in-cheek 1965 British comedy spy thriller film Masquerade is based on Victor Canning’s novel Castle Minerva, and stars Cliff Robertson, Jack Hawkins, Charles Gray, Bill Fraser, Marisa Mell, and Michel Piccoli.

Director Basil Dearden’s 1965 British thriller film Masquerade is based on Victor Canning’s novel Castle Minerva, and stars Cliff Robertson, Jack Hawkins, Charles Gray, Bill Fraser, Marisa Mell, and Michel Piccoli.

It is a lively tongue-in-cheek comedy spy thriller, with American David Frazer (Robertson) involved with British secret agent Colonel Drexel (Hawkins), who abducts the young heir to an Arab state – for the sake of peace in the Middle East, of course.

The complex plot from Victor Canning’s 1954 novel Castle Minerva spoofs other thrillers while still being exciting itself, and ensuring there is a ripping action climax. Writer William Goldman helps producer Michael Relph to carve out the effective script, and Relph’s film business partner Dearden deserves an equal share of the credit as director. The classy cast are another asset.

Also notable in the cast are John le Mesurier, Christopher Witty, Tutte Lemkow, Roger Delgado, Felix Aylmer, and Ernest Clark.

Filming started on 3 June 1964 at Pinewood Studios, England, under the title The Shabby Tiger but the production then moved to Madrid.

Cliff Robertson replaced Rex Harrison, who dropped out. It is the first screen credit for novelist William Goldman, hired to provide American dialogue for Robertson, who had just hired Goldman to adapt Flowers for Algernon into a screenplay, which became the 1968 film Charly.

The Hitchcock-style title may have interested Hitch in filming a Victor Canning novel, which he did in Family Plot.

The film has no relation to Bob Swaim’s 1988 film Masquerade.

The cast are Cliff Robertson as David Frazer, Jack Hawkins as Colonel Drexel, Marisa Mell as Sophie, Michel Piccoli as George Sarrassin, Bill Fraser as Dunwoody, Charles Gray as Benson, John Le Mesurier as Sir Robert, Felix Aylmer as Henrickson, Ernest Clark as Minister, Tutte Lemkow as Paviot, Keith Pyott as Gustave, Christopher Witty, and Roger Delgado.

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,708

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