The Wilby Conspiracy (1975)

Powerful

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The Wilby Conspiracy is the second of Sidney Poitier's three films about apartheid in South Africa. In 1952 he had appeared under Canada Lee in the slow but rewarding Cry, The Beloved Country. Fast forward to 1997 and he's playing Nelson Mandela to Michael Caine's F.W. de Klerk in a pretty decent TV movie.It's Caine he stars with here, getting top billing after his career was somewhat resurrected by Uptown Saturday Night. It's an overlooked film, with some great comic chemistry between them and some genuinely witty lines. Stories of how Poitier's Shack Twala was electo tortured in prison are rendered blackly comic by their telling, with Poitier showing more genuine comic flair than he ever did mugging opposite Bill Cosby.For such serious subjects the film flirts closely with the line between gallows humour and overt comedy, but the wit of the script always keeps it from going overboard. At one point Twala explains how, at school, he discovered Marx and Lenin instead of Mark and Luke and from there "had absolutely no difficulty getting into jail." Handsomely shot with Kenya doubling for South Africa, it's only the rear projection for car/helicopter scenes in Pinewood Studios that detract.As the film progresses, the events do start to become more fantastical, and it's difficult to know what's more unbelievable about Persis Khambatta's character... her motivation or the Indian incidental music that follows her around wherever she goes. (A rare sex scene for Poitier sees African drums take over, his own music dominating hers as they become entwined). Similarly, Prunella Gee starts out with a very sensible character but ends up being sexualised more and more as the film progresses. Fortunately it manages to pull the whole thing together with a very good series of twists at the end.Ultimately this well packaged picture is a strong vehicle for Caine- Poitier and deserves to be more than to be a forgotten entry on both men's resumes.

This little movie is a combination of political thriller , comedy and adventure movie. Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine have really good chemistry together . It's a well working duo which has to overcome their differences to survive. The way how they begin to trust and care about each other is believable.The story is simple and moves quite fast , which isn't usual for 70's movies. The movie is mostly entertainment with apartheid being an issue in the background. The people who are expecting something deep might be disappointed . Personally I think that this movie sends a clear anti-apartheid message without being preachy or sappy. There is also a reflection about human greed and sacrifice .Watch out for Rutger Hauer in small episode of pilot Blane . I also have to compliment the performances of Prunella Gee , Saeed Jaffrey and Persis Khambatta . The movie is both funny and dramatic and there are some beautiful landscapes here.I give it 6/10.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Poitier made "The Defiant Ones" about a black man and a white man on the run together and "Something of Value" about the strife between Great Britain and its colonies in Africa. Here he takes part in a sort of cross between the two, a story about a South African rebel who is thrust together with a British playboy, both of whom have to fight for their survival on a 900 mile trek to Johannesburg. Having just been released from prison on prior rebellion-related charges, Poitier is immediately targeted and mistreated, causing Caine (the boyfriend of Poitier's attorney) to step in and help. Thanks to oppressive law enforcement officials, the pair must flee the area and attempt to escape the country entirely. There's more to the story, however, as British Major Williamson locates them, yet allows them to keep traveling, perhaps having a grander scheme in mind. When Caine and Poitier reach Johannesburg, they become embroiled in a plot to unearth some decade-long buried diamonds with the aid of Caine's girlfriend Gee, shifty Indian dentist Jaffrey and his attractive assistant Khambatta. The story continues to turn and develop, eventually involving Gee's estranged husband Hauer, until Williamson's intentions are finally made clear. Poitier is intense and committed but not without a hint of humor. He also plays a scrappier character than he often was permitted to play rather than the immaculately tailored and clean ones he frequently portrayed. Caine does an excellent job and has good chemistry with Poitier. He's given more sarcastic or otherwise funny lines to deliver and does so adeptly. His ne'er do well character begins to display some deeper sense of feeling as the film progresses. Gee is, at times, unbearable. Sporting an unflattering shaggy wig (in all but one scene) and overemphasizing her lines obnoxiously, she comes close to messing up the film several times. Fortunately, she has a few lower key scenes that help somewhat. Williamson is excellent and provides plenty of interest as well as menace. De Gooyer makes for a very nasty little sidekick. Jaffrey is amusing and sad all at once while Khambatta is sultry and surprisingly dangerous. Hauer, looking impossibly young and blonde, plays a perfect jerk. Possessing a decidedly blunt point of view, some viewers may find it unpalatable at times, but it remains fascinating nonetheless. Some of the broader comedy aspects might have been better left out or toned down as they sometimes spoil the tension. Some technical ineptitude (including a heavy reliance on questionable rear projection and a downright ridiculous use of speeding up the film) mars the production slightly. There is a wince-inducing sequence involving a power saw in a machine shop. Another impressive scene includes an entire section of a town working together to smuggle supplies onto a bus. The film is at its best when it focuses on the relationships between Poitier and Caine and that duo against Williamson. It falters a little when shoddy effects and the inappropriate acting of Gee take center stage. Filming took place in Kenya rather than in South Africa itself. Khambatta, a former Miss India, would soon appear (with shaved head) in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture."

I wish they extend the time period by another 5 to 10 minutes on the love scene that occur between Sidney Poitier and Persis Khambatta with more intimate lovemaking action. They did that with Kevin Costner in the movies Dances with Wolves and Bull Durham and Eric Roberts and Pamela Gidley in the movie Freefall. They also did that in the TV show NYPD where David Caruso made love with his cop girlfriend. I think they should have made the love scene in the attic instead of the closet. The attic look like it had a lot more room and enough space to place a small boxspring and bed mattress and some bed sheets so the characters could make more intense, detailed love scenes. It seems to me that there should be a firm rule that films like the Wilby Conspiracy should be at the minimum 2 hours long whether it is shown at the theater, on VHS, DVD or CD.