brilliant actors, brilliant editing

Awesome Movie

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The story of "The Last Chance" (a rather poor title, by the way; the original Italian one - "International Chess" - is much better) is so murky that, even after having watched the movie twice, I'm still not sure I've got everything straight. Several plot points are sketchy at best (the captain had five security men protecting him as he was entering the American Embassy in Rome, but he was all alone when he came out?), and one sequence in particular (with three - or are they two - people talking on the phone in some sort of code) is totally puzzling. But the movie has its moments as well: the sequence where the music stops and Liz Barrett is about to enter her husband's study, terrified of what might have happened to him, is very well done, and the ending is quite unconventional. There is also a memorable train vs. car collision, though how the hero, who was trapped inside the car, manages to survive it is anybody's guess! As for Daniela Bianchi, her role for the most part is so thankless (the jealous wife) that you're thinking that either they have completely wasted her, or there must be a big (and obvious) twist about her character. One of those options is indeed true, but let's not spoil it for the few who might be interested in seeing this obscure spy movie. ** out of 4.

This was Tab Hunter's only spy movie, thank goodness. He's a lousy actor, even flubs his lines at one point, so it's fortunate for us that this aging beach bum didn't find more work in the genre. The film is very convoluted and doesn't make much sense in the end so it's hard to give a damn about Tab anyway. Tab's a journalist who prints a story that neither the good guys not the bad guys like very much. Hence, he's marked for death by bad spies and framed for murder by the good spies. He can't win.There are a few good things about this general failure of a film. Daniela Bianchi is a big plus. Two more actors help to ease the pain of watching too much Tab. Umberto Raho and Franco Ressel aren't given enough to do here but their presence will help keep you awake. Both are good guys in this film, a rare treat in itself.The score by Carlo Rustichelli (conducted by Bruno Nicolai) is one of the best things about the film but frankly you won't be missing much if you skip this one.