Highly Overrated But Still Good

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

When this movie begins, a man (Fritz Weaver) arrives at a funeral home and inspects two coffins...filled with Tom and Eve Harrison (Don Murray and Inger Stevens). The film then bounces back in time...and you see the Harrisons in their suburban home. They seem like any other couple...at least in this early portion of the film. However, over time you come to realize that Tom is involved in something covert...and he occasionally makes phone calls and utters a code phrase 'Borgia Stick'. Who exactly he is remains a bit vague and he refers to 'the Company'. No...he is not a CIA agent but works for the Syndicate and oversees money laundering. He takes mob money and uses it to buy legitimate businesses.Over time, Tom has two things happen that are unexpected. First, he has fallen for his wife. This might seem pretty normal...until you realize that Eve ALSO works for the Company...and their marriage is a complete shame. The marriage, their names, their identities are all false...all arranged for them by the Company. Second, some stranger (Ralph Waite) recognizes Tom for who he used to be back in Toledo...and it's obvious his cover has been blown. Not wanting to wait to find out who this stranger is, Tom informs his Company contacts of what has happened. They want him to disappear...travel abroad and live an all new life...as well as to forget Eve. Is it as easy as that? And, how will the pair eventually end up at an undertaker?All in all, this is a very intelligently written film...one for folks who want a picture that makes them think. It is not just mindless entertainment but has an unusual depth for a movie. One of the best made for television films I have ever seen...and I've seen a lot. Exciting and riveting throughout.

THE BORGIA STICK is best described in terms of "style" of film instead of genre. I think "genre" tells us only half of what we look for in terms of what film we would want to see.The genre here is loosely "suspense", but also "romance", and more "drama". It is a slow paced film that is tough to watch with my sort of attention deficit problem. To say much more would be sort of a spoiler, because the essence of the story is the drama throughout.However, that's because it is of the style of "important" film. Some films and songs are "important", such as "Matewan" in film, or "Us and Them" in song. Some are "larger than life, such as the Lord of the Rings films and songs like "Mr. Bojangles", making ordinary people into larger than life characters. There are other categories, but these two are the most inspired as a rule.This falls under the "important" category. Don Murray was an up and comer of the era, and is largely forgotten now, but his films were among the best. However, being "important", they would step on the wrong toes, the toes of the control freaks who needed to suppress these sort of movies in favor of those that glorify control freaks.The drama here is the movie, and it is slow paced, so be warned about that, but it is also great drama, and an "important" story.

I saw this film in the late '60. It was made about four decades before Enron. I would have liked to do a plot summary but just don't recall it that well. What I do recall was that the subject matter was quite scary when the McGuffin was finally revealed at the end. Inger Steven and Don Murray were a typical suburban couple caught up into somethings way beyond their understanding. The story revolved around them not having any idea about what it was that they knew. And what did they know? Organized crime having so much money decided to buy into or buy up legitimate corporations and businesses. That wasn't unusual because that seems to be the way of the world in many quarters, but this story had unique twist, i.e., the crime families were going to buy up utilities, railroad, water, etc., to eventually monopolize them. It seemed to me that in the film they discussed that there eventually would be shortages either real or contrived. When that happened, they would be able to set or control the prices of necessities to any amount they wanted and no one could do anything about it. In 2008, the Borgia Stick has proved to be more fact than fiction except that the organize crime people today wear more expensive suits and attend the right schools. It was a great film that need to be out on DVD.

What a great TV movie! Too bad it is not available on video. This is a very fast paced thriller. Excellent performances by all. The story line is tight and really keeps the viewer focused on the next plot twist. Have seen this film 12 to 15 times and would love for it to be issued on video.