Nobody Runs Forever (1968)

I wanted to but couldn't!

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

A powerhouse cast (well, for the time) was put in play for "The High Commissioner" (as I saw it) or "Nobody Runs Forever." Rod Taylor (using his native Australian accent and making it sound phony) chases fugitive (for murder--allegedly) Christopher Plummer, who is now some bigwig politico in London. The catch? Plummer's character has a wonderful new idea for peace in the world and if he goes to jail it may be lost.Taylor and Plummer only scratch the surface. Dahlia Lavi, who seemed to be in every Bond-imitation going (especially the spoofs, since she had a flair for comedy) shows up with lots of decolletage; hers is the only character that gives the piece any life and she seems to have mistaken it for another comedy role. Clive Revill does a turn as a butler whose bona fides may be shaky, but though he has a few good double-takes he doesn't pull out all his stops. Camilla Sparv (who got lots of meaty roles about this time, and always seemed out of her depth in them) plays . . . well, a pretty face who keeps showing up.Unfortunately, the whole shebang is fairly run of the mill, slow and talky with it. Even the explosive climax takes its time to unfold, and it's telegraphed far too early in advance. I saw this in a double feature with Taylor's spy spoof "The Liquidator" and that seems to be the best way to approach it. Hung out to dry on its own, it doesn't amount to as much as it might have been.

The High Commissioner finds Rod Taylor playing as is native Australian for once on screen. He's an Australian cop who is pulled off regular duty by the Prime Minister of New South Wales played by Leo McKern and asked to arrest the Australian High Commissioner in London on an old charge of murder. The High Commissioner is Christopher Plummer and the victim was his first wife who died under mysterious circumstances.It's pretty obvious to Taylor that McKern has a political agenda and Plummer is an old rival of his. Even though this extradition seems to stink on ice, Taylor does have a job to do.Once in London there is an attempt on Plummer's life that Taylor foils and Plummer is involved in some high level negotiations with non-aligned countries that someone doesn't want to succeed. We're left pretty much in the dark as to exactly who so our imaginations can run the gamut from the Communists to some Ian Fleming type entity like SPECTRE. The women in this film are something to see. Plummer has a devoted second wife in Lilli Palmer who would do anything to see her husband succeed, ditto his embassy secretary Carmilla Sparv. The bad girl here in the story is alluring and mysterious Daliah Lavi who runs a gambling house in London. A lot of secrets are traded here as this seems to be a kind of neutral ground in the Cold War. Lavi was one of the sexiest women of her time back in the day and she's enough to lure people back from the dead.This film with a brief appearance in a hospital bed from Franchot Tone was his farewell role. This could have been a real hospital bed because Tone didn't look too good. A sad farewell to one of the screen's most debonair players who was always fighting for roles to display his acting rather than good looks and sense of style.One other role that does have a sense of style involved is that of Plummer's butler Clive Revill. He finds Taylor's Aussie ways somewhat uncouth, but Revill has more to him than a sense of manners.The High Commissioner although somewhat murky is a fast moving action flick with a surprise ending and yes as another reviewer says, similar to Alfred Hitchcock's Sabotage.

An air of mystery permeates this Cold War thriller, set mostly in London. Rod Taylor plays Scobie Malone, a rough and tough, and slightly uncultured Australian security man. His assignment is to bring back to Sydney a VIP diplomat named Sir James Quentin (Christopher Plummer), charged with the murder of a young girl many years earlier, long before he became The High Commissioner.Initially, the question the plot asks is: what kind of man would kill a young woman, then vanish, then later turn up as a government diplomat? Is there some twist here? Maybe the diplomat was not really the murderer. Or, maybe he did it, but his personality has changed.Sir James agrees to return to Sydney with Malone, but first wants to wrap up an important peace conference, to which Sir James seems genuinely devoted. His work on behalf of world peace seems conspicuously inconsistent with the mindset of a murderer. Malone agrees to the delay, but quickly learns that someone, or some entity, is trying to kill Sir James. The plot then switches to the vexing question: who wants to bump off Sir James, a man intent on fostering world peace?Less spy adventure than elegant mystery, "Nobody Runs Forever" keeps viewers guessing, both about Sir James' past and about the threat that now surrounds him.My only real complaint is that the motivation of Sir James' enemy (or enemies) is glossed over. Very little is actually explained at the end, except for the specific question of whodunit.Otherwise, this is a fine mystery. The haunting, vaguely depressing score by Georges Delerue enhances the cloak and dagger atmosphere. Casting and acting are above average. I especially like the performance of Lilli Palmer as Lady Quentin. And dazzling Daliah Lavi is quite beautiful. Costumes are expensive and regal.I'm baffled as to why this film is so seemingly obscure. It's not that old. It certainly does not lack for star power. And it's a quality production, all the way. Maybe its because the IMDb title is inconsistent with what U.S. viewers remember as "The High Commissioner".

Based on a novel by John Cleary, this Cold War-era espionage drama offers the interesting pairing of Taylor and Plummer. Taylor is a rough-hewn, Australian policeman who also herds sheep on a spacious ranch. One day he's called in to government official McKern's office and ordered to fly to London to arrest the High Commissioner (Plummer) who has allegedly killed his first wife and changed his name nearly two decades prior. Taylor, sensing political motivations behind this move, is somewhat reluctant to do it, but duty compels him nonetheless. He arrives at Plummer's mansion just as a lavish reception is taking place. It turns out that Plummer is in the midst of highly sensitive and important peace talks and refuses to go back to Australia until they are resolved within a few days. However, even that becomes an issue when it becomes clear that someone else wants the talks ended and has determined, to that end, to bump off Plummer! Taylor then finds himself defending the life of the man he's come to arrest. Taylor gives a fine, well-nuanced performance and is permitted to speak in his own Australian dialect. He seems to be performing much of his own fight choreography and offers up a handsome, rough and tumble, yet gentle hero. Plummer, looking incredibly elegant and attractive, is much cooler and more refined. The two men make an intriguing duo. Palmer plays Plummer's present wife. In a departure from conventional casting, she is 15 years his senior (and the difference is noticeable.) She turns in an affecting performance, punctuated by her devotion to her husband. Sparv is Plummer's secretary. She isn't called upon to do much besides look lovely, which she does with much ease. A bit more interesting turn comes from Lavi as a sexually ravenous political mover and shaker. She looks positively stunning and has some of the highest hair ever piled up for the cinema screen. Rounding out the primary cast are Revill as a snooty butler, Lockhart as a nosy delegate and Tone (who appears in just one brief scene) as the American Ambassador. The film has that spotless, elegant feel of the era (driven home in more than a few unfortunate sequences set outdoors, but quite clearly taking place inside!) despite a relatively modest budget. Stock footage of Wimbledon is crudely inserted into one scene and the two lead males are often substituted with doubles in the outdoor and location sequences. The peace talks are kept vague, to say the least, and are mostly represented by a series of parties or gatherings in the hallways outside the conference area. Diversity of nations is shown almost at a "Mission: Impossible" level with no specifically mentioned nations and some African types wearing large headgear here and there. One attempted assassination has a very Hitchcockian feel to it, though it certainly isn't on the same level as his work in, say, "The Man Who Knew Too Much." Still, it's a generally engrossing story with a healthy dose of action and mystery, suspense even. The cast is uniformly solid and the ladies look terrific. Delerue delivers a pleasing musical score. This may come off as a little too sterile for everyone and the ending is rather a stretch, but fans of Cold War era thrillers and of the stars should enjoy it a lot.