Now Over 5500 Reviews and (near) Daily Updates!

WELCOME! Use the search engines on this site (or your own off-site engine of choice) to gain easy access to the complete MAKSQUIBS Archive; more than 5500 posts and counting. (New posts added every day or so.)

You can check on all our titles by typing the Title, Director, Actor or 'Keyword' you're looking for in the Search Engine of your choice (include the phrase MAKSQUIBS) or just use the BLOGSPOT.com Search Box at the top left corner of the page.

Feel free to place comments directly on any of the film posts and to test your film knowledge with the CONTESTS scattered here & there. (Hey! No Googling allowed. They're pretty easy.)

Send E-mails to MAKSQUIBS@yahoo.com . (Let us know if the TRANSLATE WIDGET works!) Or use the Profile Page or Comments link for contact.

Thanks for stopping by.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

THE COUNTERFEIT TRAITOR (1962)

Solid WWII spy drama stars William Holden as a compromised Swedish-based American businessman who is blackmailed into working undercover for the Allies. The deeper he gets in, the more he begins to care about his mission, especially when he falls in love with his main contact in Germany, Lilli Palmer. (Holden looks as worn as Palmer looks radiant, and they use the difference for honest dramatic effects.) The talkative script from megger George Seaton tends to spell everything out for us (in his long career he rarely let his visuals run the dramatic action), but he’s at his best here. In addition, Seaton gets a lot of help from an exceptional production design and, especially, the sophisticated lensing from Jean Bourgoin, just off Jacques Tati’s MON ONCLE. The last act, with Holden exposed & on the run, has suspense, pace & momentum. And from George Seaton!

No comments: