Colonel Mostyn is the chief of a section of the British Security Services when they are embarrassed by the number of spies and defections. The Chief tells him to do something about it so he hires Boys Oaks as Agent L - The Liquidator, to assassinate people about to cause trouble. Although Boys likes the cars and the girls that his new position attracts he's not any good at it. He's also got a phobia about flying that makes jetting off to exotic places a bit of an embarrassment. Colonel Mostyn of the British Intelligence Service suspects there is a leak in his department and hires an American expatriate to eliminate various targets working for the Soviets. This has always been one of my favorite movies. I always loved James Bond spoofs such as the Derrick Flint and Matt Helm movies, and "The Liquidator" stands above those.<br/><br/>Rod Taylor plays Boysie Oakes, a hapless tank commander at the end of WWII, who accidentally saves Colonel Mostyn (Trevor Howard) from two rival spies. Years later, when Britain's spy network is inundated with embarrassing counter-spies, Mostyn remembers Oakes and hires him as "Agent L" (Liquidator) to neatly get rid of these embarrassments. Unable to carry out these liquidations, Oakes hires a private contractor, Griffen (Eric Sykes). Oakes keeps this to himself as he loves the playboy lifestyle that he now lives. Taylor has the unique ability to seem inept at being a spy, while at the same time showing skills above and beyond those around him, and making it all perfectly believable.<br/><br/>The subtle comedy and all of the twists and turns (likely and unlikely) make this a very enjoyable and engrossing film. Jill St. John as Iris is great eye-candy and plays the part to the hilt. Her acting complements Taylor's without upstaging him.<br/><br/>I highly recommend this film and wish it to be released on DVD. I read the other 17 reviews and was thankful that someone noticed that Eric Sykes was in the movie. It is massively disappointing to read reviews by people who have no inkling about the quality of the cast as well as pathos and irony …if you had seen Sykes in The Plank you might have some idea of his talent. Though I must admit that Brit humour is often beyond some of our contributors. In his autobiography Eric said that Tony Curtis was the biggest plonker he met in Hollywood and that got my attention (The Great Race).He certainly got my attention again in this movie. I do like Rod Taylor and was taken aback by how well he underplayed this role and of course a cinema legend like Trevor Howard sending himself up was an utter joy . Please watch some of their movies (Clouded Yellow for Trevor) and maybe (No-one Runs for Ever for a rustic Rod)you will see much more in this comedy.
Dalmenee replied
295 weeks ago