ma-cortes
April in Paris is a time for lovers , but for a ruthless drug baron called Jacques Brizard (James Mason) is the smuggling season and for the destructors it's the killing time . When a US intelligence agent , Steve Ventura (Anthony Quinn) , is unable to bring a heinous kingpin to justice , he resorts to hiring and is put in contact with a likable contract killer , John Deray (Michael Caine) , who results to be a former friend . These Three Great Protagonists Anthony Quinn , Michael Caine , James Mason Live the Sweet Life But They Play a Game of Sudden Death.Nice Paris-located crime drama with intrigue , suspense , thrills , car pursuits , twists and turns . The picture succeeds because of the thriller , tension , as well as an intelligent written script written by Judd Bernard delving into a twisted intrigue dealing how to chase an extreme villain . It packs an exceptionally fine camera work , attractive sequences and car crashes on the metropolitan streets , in Paris and Marseille . This thrilling picture mingles action-packed , drama , exciting pursuits , suspense , cross and double-crosses as well as spectacular sequences though won't mean much on little screen TV . Pulse-quickening thriller movie but plenty of clichés and lots of violence , shootouts and killings . Anthony Quinn is top-notch as US drug agent to stop a nasty kingpin , being helped by a hired killer who turns out to be an old friend . An animated Michael Caine stands out as the sympathetic assassin . And James Mason is perfect , as usual , as a drug lord who belongs to aristocracy of underworld . This excellent main cast is supported by an adequate support cast , such as : Maurice Ronet , Alexandra Stewart , Maureen Kerwin , Marcel Bozzuffi , Catherine Rouvel and the eternal secondary Vernon Dobtcheff . Colorful cinematography by Douglas Slocombe , shot on location in Gare d'Orsay, Grotte, Parc des Buttes-Chaumont , Paris , Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, and Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France . Stirring and lively musical score by Roy Budd . This film also released as "The Destructors" was professionally directed by Robert Parrish , though it has some flaws and gaps . Robert was an Academy Award-winning film editor who also realized and acted in movies . As an editor he won an Academy Award for Body and soul (1947), the 1947 Robert Rossen film that starred John Garfield as a money-grubbing, two-timing boxer on the make. Parrish also worked on All the King's Men (1949), an account of the rise and fall of a Louisiana politician that won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Parrish then moved on to direct films during the 1950s and 1960s . Among his best received works was the brooding western ¨Saddle the Wind¨ (1958) , a Noir film titled ¨Cry danger¨, a Sci-Fi picture titled ¨Journey to the far side of the sun¨, the wartime movie ¨Purple plain¨ that resulted to be one of the best films and other strange Western called ¨A town called Bastard¨ . And of course , this his final film , the exciting thriller titled ¨The Marseille Contract¨ .
Bladerunner101
The plot sounds intriguing and we know Caine can play a hit man, but he lacks any of the bite we saw as Harry Palmer. It was his mega busy period, and this was appears to have been just another gig.James Mason is underused, having little to do,and Anthony Quinn, despite sharing several scenes with Caine, appears to be in a different film. He looks ill at ease throughout, and a nonsensical plot twist undermines his honest cop routine.Considering the salary bill for just these three the studio could surely have hired a director who could breath some sort of life into the limp script, hang on, why was it green lighted with that script at all? A waste.
vostf
My main reason for tracking this poorly rated 70s flick was Roy Budd's score. Unfortunately there is almost nothing from his beautiful work in the final soundtrack, so don't lose time with this very bad movie, get Budd's score instead! Or if you're looking for a better euro gritty 70s crime movie starring Michael Caine and making good use of a Budd score, try The Black Windmill.Mostly The Marseille Contract suffers from a story that succeeds in being both pedestrian and erratic. (Routine) Action happens and just doesn't add up. Michael Caine is barely guest-starring, getting his buoyant gig while Anthony Quinn's main/gloomy story is suddenly demoted to the background. James Mason simply says his uninteresting lines as requested, and the girls are great.Too bad Roy Budd didn't get to unleash his talent for excellent movies. For me Get Carter is just OK-cool thanks to Budd + Caine, but they are both underused in The Marseille Contract.François de Roubaix also wrote magnificent scores for lame movies but you can watch them just to enjoy the music in context; and often his scores inflated movies above their mediocre boilerplate qualities. And he also scored fine movies, even during the seventies.
franzi
Since the beginning it appears that the director has a good knowledge and ability in the "noir" gender. The actors (mainly Quinn) give the impression that a classic, perfect movie is going on. Unfortunately after a few scenes the script shows its weakness. The story is acceptable, even if not original. But the dialogues reveal soon a number of commonplaces and the director seems not to be really convinced about the movie. A very good performance by Anthony Quinn, while Michael Caine plays below its average.
