Interesteg What makes it different from others?

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

DKosty123 Rod Taylor play the exact reverse of James Bond here. The film starts with him doing an F-Troop style rescue of a British Spy in Paris liberation during World War 2 (in black and white no less). Then we move to modern day (1965) type British Spys where the guy he rescued is now a handler of spies.His Chief (the underused here) Wilfred Hyde White orders him to come up with a professional assassin to kill the other sides spies without causing media scandals. This is where Trevor Howard (Mostyn) remembers Taylor (Boysie Oakes) who rescued him. So he comes to America and finds him not doing much in a back water store he runs with an attractive woman. Somehow he convinces Boysie to come to London and sign on as an assassin. Boysie then crosses up Motyn by sub contracting out his hits. (Yes, another 1960's example of Americans practicing free trade). After 12 successful contracts, Boysie decides to take a week-end off and take Iris, Mostyn secretary (Jill St. John) on a week-end jet trip to France and Monacco.This is where complications happen. Seems Boysie (Code named L) has developed a 12 accident contract killing reputation and some folks think he is in France for reason other than whop-pee with Iris posing as his wife.When the MGM Logo starts the credits and Shirley Bassey kicks up the theme song, it reminds one much of the Bond movies it is spoofing. The cast is pretty top notch and considering John Gardener wrote the script and would later take over writing the Bond novels, to confusion is complete. The difference is Taylor plays the Bond who is totally not aware of what is going on around him.Plenty of girls and plenty of fun here. Watch for one of Dudley Moore's ex-wives in the cast of women's flesh. At the end credits, there is a Bond Type Eye and a deflated gun in it. As Shirley sings the ending, the viewer has found a pleasant film and since it was filmed in England under MGM, it does feel like a true Bond spoof though a little shorter than many of the Bond films.

bkoganbing Unfortunately his back was turned when Trevor Howard was helped out of a bad jackpot during the liberation of Paris by Rod Taylor. If he had actually seen just how Taylor saved his life, he might never have thought of him as a perfect candidate for being The Liquidator.It's what British Secret Service needs as Wilfrid Hyde-White tells his number 2 who is now Howard and 20 years later after the end of World War II. At that time the British government was getting embarrassed routinely with the number of defections and the number of spies caught. The answer is forget those democratic trivialities like due process. When you have a suspect, just shoot them, no questions asked. And Howard thinks is wartime savior is the perfect candidate for the job.Not that Taylor is all that hip to the idea. He's a bar owner in some rural part of the United Kingdom. But he reads those James Bond novels and sees those movies and he knows what perks come with being an operator. Certainly Howard knows them too and he provides generously even overlooking the fact that his secretary Jill St. John is being tapped by Taylor. Taylor finds an interesting way of subcontracting the work which I won't go into. But in the end he finds he's being beautifully set up for a major score by the other side. If the bad guys succeed the United Kingdom will really learn what embarrassment is all about.In the James Bond tradition with title song sung by Shirley Bassey, The Liquidator is an amusing spy spoof. Howard does a nasty slow burn in the tradition of Edgar Kennedy. Jill St. John who is also a Bond girl in good standing is just as beautiful with a role a lot more substantive.Folks who like the espionage genre should like The Liquidator.

Robert J. Maxwell Rod Taylor is always a likable actor, with his curled-up ears, big rolling eyes, and cocky demeanor. Like Cary Grant or Sean Connery, he's a little hard to take seriously. And there's a good supporting cast in this spy spoof as well -- Wilfred Hyde-White, Trevor Howard, David Tomlinson, the succulent Jill St. John.Taylor is recruited as a temporary James Bond figure, so outside the usual frame of spyhood that he must be trained from the start. Certainly no one would suspect him of anything except hustling young ladies.There's an amusing scene at the climax with a terrified Taylor all alone at the controls of a British bomber, knowing nothing of flying, and being talked down by a droll Richard Wattis. It was all directed by Jack Cardiff too.Yet it fails. Maybe it seemed still fresh in 1964. But there have been so MANY send ups of James Bond since the early 60s, and after all, with Sean Connery as the central figure, the series was bound to be a spoof of itself. Some of the imitations were relatively earnest and were entertaining in themselves, like Charles Vine in "The Second Best Secret Agent In The Whole Wide World." But then there was an argosy of others like "Our Man Flint." By 1967, the genre seemed to have run its course and the green-lighters gave up and came out with the frankly absurd and sometimes hilarious "Casino Royale," with a dozen different Bonds. The original franchise continues to gasp and lurch unsteadily forward, a marathon runner out of steam, refreshed by the occasional draught of viewers too young and too incurious to know they're watching the spectacle of a living corpse.I like Rod Taylor, but this just isn't worth it.

ShadeGrenade 'The Liquidator' was based on the first published novel by John Gardner, whom years later continued the literary James Bond saga. Embarrassed by a number of high-profile spy scandals, 'The Chief' ( Wilfrid Hyde-White ) of the Department of Special Security orders his second-in-command 'Mostyn' ( Trevor Howard ) to recruit a new agent - to be codenamed 'L' ( guess what that stands for? ) - to eliminate potential security risks. The man Mostyn selects is ex-army sergeant 'Brian Ian Oakes', who goes by the bizarre nickname of 'Boysie' ( Rod Taylor ). Boysie enjoys the high living and lots of pretty girls cross his bedroom floor, but he is not a cold-blooded killer and has to hire a cheap hit-man - 'Charlie Griffin' ( Eric Sykes ) to do the killing for him. Directed by cinematographer Jack Cardiff, this is a lot of fun, and benefits from good location shooting in Nice as well as a top-notch cast. Future 007 girl Jill St.John is 'Iris Macintosh', Mostyn's secretary, whom Boysie tempts overseas for a dirty weekend, thereby breaching Department guidelines. It is a far more interesting character than 'Tiffany Case', the one she played in 'Diamonds Are Forever'. John is given strong competition in the glamour department from sultry Gabriella Licudi, who plays 'Corale', the girl intended to lure Oakes into a trap. Villainy is provided by Akim Tamiroff and John Le Mesurier. The always reliable David Tomlinson appears in the role of 'Quadrant'. In smaller roles are familiar faces of the calibre of Colin Gordon, Derek Nimmo, Alexandra Bastedo ( of 'The Champions' ), Vernon Dobtcheff, and Ronald Leigh-Hunt. Peter Yeldham's script is faithful to the novel, and the film as a whole does not make the mistake of trying to be a pseudo-Bond clone. You will not find any hollowed-out volcanoes or gadget-ridden cars here. As Boysie, Taylor gives a likable, amusing performance ( I disagree with those who claim he was miscast ). The powerful title song performed by Shirley Bassey would not have disgraced a real Bond movie. It is a shame that there were no sequels ( 'Understrike' and 'Amber Nine' were both crying out for celluloid ). Like 'Where The Spies Are' starring David Niven, this was to be a one-off big screen outing for its leading character.