Target for Killing (1966)

Absolutely Fantastic

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Two great actors which I like very much, Adolfo Celi and Klaus Kinski, are wasted in a mediocre production. With the help of a few other famous names of the movie world, Stewart Granger, Karin Dor, Curd Jürgens. The script is completely stupid and the interpretation of all leaves it desirable for a better chance in another movie. Those who manage to hide the best how disagreeable and ungrateful are their roles, are Kinski and Jürgens. Granger is too bombastic, like in all his movies. Dor is not credible, her acting is forced. And Celi, who has the most unfortunate role, is eaten by a bunch of hungry rats, he does what he can in such a situation. Manfred R. Köhler, the director, has achieved a much better film a year earlier, "Thirteen Days to Die"(1965)Der Fluch des schwarzen Rubin (original title), with another German specialist in villain roles, Horst Frank.

"Target For Killing" undoubtedly has one of the best casts of all 1960's Eurospy movies: Stewart Granger (who was making a habit out of playing veteran secret agents around that period), Klaus Kinski (as a bad guy, of course, but a bad guy with a conscience this time), and no fewer than 4 (!) James Bond connections: Karin Dor ("You Only Live Twice"), Curt Jurgens ("The Spy Who Loved Me"), Adolfo Celi ("Thunderball"), and Molly Peters (also "Thunderball" - remember the nurse at the clinic?) With all those names, you might expect the film to be something special, but it isn't - it's pretty formulaic. That said, it does have a sense of humor, and some interesting touches, like the criminal organization's headquarters being located in a monastery! The most memorable character is not played by any of the names mentioned above - it is Scilla Gabel's playful, stylish and sadomasochistic Tiger; unfortunately, her exit is an inglorious one. ** out of 4.

I have always been since my teens an avid fan of Stewart Granger, eagerly waiting for his next film to hit the screen. And I have been on the alert for films of his post-Hollywood period, to complete my collection. When this film came my way, I snapped it up eagerly. My disappointment was all the greater. What a waste of talent. Stewart Granger, Curt Jurgens, Adolfo Celli, Klaus Kinski in a minimal role, Karin Dor, all of them mixed up in a nonsensical and incomprehensible story, with any connection to reality being by pure chance. An awful soundtrack completed the disaster. I gave the film 3, not that it was worth it but for purely sentimental reasons. What a pity! I am sure that with better direction and a straightening up of the story, the film would have been quite a good one.

The story is dumb (pilots of airplane bail out while passengers don't even notice), the setting is usually inside a studio, but the number and combination of extraordinary actors is quite unusual. Karin Dor and Stewart Granger make such an intriguing couple that one would just wish they should have been used much more often. The more precious is this rare specimen of their and Curt Juergen's artistry. - A piece of historical interest to the old movies enthusiast.