Something So Easily Burned Can Cause a Lot of Trouble
Cold War espionage cinema amounts to a genre by itself. All English language films I've seen in this area present the viewpoint of "the West" versus the Soviet Union and/or the People's Republic of China, mostly the former. The Cape Town Affair (1967), shot on location in Cape Town, South Africa, has one scene featuring an apparent Chinese agent shopping for the film's McGuffin, a three or four inch strip of microfilm with coded language consisting of seemingly random numbers and letters.
This microfilm is being delivered in an envelope inside Jacqueline Bisset's purse as she takes a double decker bus back to her flat where she'll meet with a Communist shit named Joey (John Whiteley). They're lovers, apparently, at least as a matter of convenience. James Brolin is a pickpocket who happens to open her purse and snatch the microfilm, not knowing what it is, a bit off his game because a little girl watches him do it. He doesn't know, too, that Bisset is being followed by the police in connection with government agents. The microfilm's significance, though never explained, is much sought after by "the Communists." It will fetch a hefty price. People will die because of it. Young James Brolin is very handsome, Jacqueline Bisset is luscious.
The two run into each other again, since Joey sends Jackie after James at his shack by the waterfront. The police are on to James because of an informer, Sam (Claire Trevor very solid and capable in her penultimate film), who has a soft spot for James, but also needs to make a living being the watchful eyes on the street. Jacqueline gets wrapped up in Sam's life, too, and inadvertently gets her killed, when Joey shows up at Sam's with murder in his mind as a strong option. After blasting Sam in the head, Joey's life is on a short tether and then the film covers a lot of picturesque 1960s Cape Town, with only three brief shots showing Black people. Otherwise, it looks like Los Angeles with lots of upscale Whites and high end backgrounds. The mountains in the distance, though, are distinctive and beautiful, adding an exotic flavor to some of the images, although having British or American actors in the story's foreground robs the film of its locality, somehow. There are only a few real South African accents, and those uttered by minor characters.
Even so, it's an entertaining movie; Brolin is good, and Jacqueline Bisset, though her career then was young and she still had much improvement as an actress ahead of her, is a treat for the eyes, if you're into beautiful women. She was the Elizabeth Hurley of the 1960s.
Vic Neptune
Cold War espionage cinema amounts to a genre by itself. All English language films I've seen in this area present the viewpoint of "the West" versus the Soviet Union and/or the People's Republic of China, mostly the former. The Cape Town Affair (1967), shot on location in Cape Town, South Africa, has one scene featuring an apparent Chinese agent shopping for the film's McGuffin, a three or four inch strip of microfilm with coded language consisting of seemingly random numbers and letters.
This microfilm is being delivered in an envelope inside Jacqueline Bisset's purse as she takes a double decker bus back to her flat where she'll meet with a Communist shit named Joey (John Whiteley). They're lovers, apparently, at least as a matter of convenience. James Brolin is a pickpocket who happens to open her purse and snatch the microfilm, not knowing what it is, a bit off his game because a little girl watches him do it. He doesn't know, too, that Bisset is being followed by the police in connection with government agents. The microfilm's significance, though never explained, is much sought after by "the Communists." It will fetch a hefty price. People will die because of it. Young James Brolin is very handsome, Jacqueline Bisset is luscious.
The two run into each other again, since Joey sends Jackie after James at his shack by the waterfront. The police are on to James because of an informer, Sam (Claire Trevor very solid and capable in her penultimate film), who has a soft spot for James, but also needs to make a living being the watchful eyes on the street. Jacqueline gets wrapped up in Sam's life, too, and inadvertently gets her killed, when Joey shows up at Sam's with murder in his mind as a strong option. After blasting Sam in the head, Joey's life is on a short tether and then the film covers a lot of picturesque 1960s Cape Town, with only three brief shots showing Black people. Otherwise, it looks like Los Angeles with lots of upscale Whites and high end backgrounds. The mountains in the distance, though, are distinctive and beautiful, adding an exotic flavor to some of the images, although having British or American actors in the story's foreground robs the film of its locality, somehow. There are only a few real South African accents, and those uttered by minor characters.
Even so, it's an entertaining movie; Brolin is good, and Jacqueline Bisset, though her career then was young and she still had much improvement as an actress ahead of her, is a treat for the eyes, if you're into beautiful women. She was the Elizabeth Hurley of the 1960s.
Vic Neptune
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