John McDonald's Travis McGee comes to life when one of his McGee novels Darker Than Amber comes to the big screen. Rod Taylor essays the role of the salvage beachcomber who does an occasional turn as a detective.What Taylor attempts to salvage here is Suzy Kendall who would like very much to get away from William Smith who on the big screen and small is usually one evil dude. Kendall is the come-on, one of many women Smith uses as a come-on in a cruise ship badger game racket. How evil this guy we only find out toward the end of the film.Taylor makes a fine private detective and Theodore Bikel is good as the intellectual sidekick Taylor has and apparently needs to keep him centered on what's good in life. But the one you won't forget is William Smith. His bleached blond appearance for this film only accentuates the evil in a truly evil man. The final scene is a fight with Taylor and Smith and about 15 others get in the way. It ranks up there with The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre for realism.Definitely for fans of the principal players.

When a friend of mine told me a year ago that there was a rare film,which had been made in 1970,that was based on the Travis McGee books with Rod Taylor playing McGee,I have to admit that I was very surprised to hear about the casting,since the only film that I had seen of Taylors before,was the very enjoyable adaptation of The Time Machine.Recently,I was at last able to surprisingly get hold of this film,with the added bonus of it being the full-uncut version!.Although,At the start of the film,I was unsure how it would be with Taylor,by the end credits,I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun this great film is.The plot:As Travis McGee sits on his boat fishing,he suddenly notices that a young woman has been thrown over board from a boat near by.After having risked his life by diving in to save he,when Travis gets the girl (whose real name is Vangie Bellamer,although due to her being an ex-prostitute she gives him a fake name)When he tells Vangie that she should go to the police,she keeps saying no to his idea,which leads to her running away from McGee.A day or two later,Travis finds out that someone has murdered the girl.When Travis starts investigating the people that lived near with Bellamer,he discovers that the pimp that Vangie used to work for was,trying to get her to return to "the business",due to the pimp having planned some very big cruise ship robberies,where the girls get rich loners to go with them on cruises,so that no one will notice when the loner has been killed,and has had his cash stolen.After McGee finds out that a robbery is going to happen on a cruise ship in a few days,he realises that he needs to get hold of a ticket right away.. View on the film:For his performance as Travis McGee,I feel that Rod Taylor does a very entertaining performance,with cleverly giving Travis a charming witty side,that really works well with the focused,invented investigating side of the character.With his performance as the evil pimp,William Smith gives a fun performance,which shows that whilst he is a bit of a slime ball,he is still able to use plenty of pressure,to get the girls to agree to working with him.Although director Robert Clouse (whose next film would be the Bruce Lee classic Enter the Dragon) keeps the film moving at a very pleasant pace,which includes a surprisingly extremely intense final fight between Taylor and Smith. (which it is was actually done for real!)The screenplay by Frank V.Phillips sadly gets the film a bit muddled,with the first half of the film,feeling like it is trying to set up a future series of films, (which I think would have been a lot of fun if they had been made)with some characters not being given a moment or two to introduce themselves to the plot,but instead just casually entering and leaving the story. Final view on the film:An extremely entertaining film,with very good performances,excellent fights and a fun second half,let down by a slightly muddled first half.

Suzi Kendall as Vangie was the only misstep in this film.As a long time Travis McGee fan I thought this film was close to perfect a representation of McDonald's work as you will ever see. The "Empty Copper Sea" T.V movie was the worst piece of dreck I've ever seen.Too bad this movie wasn't more successful at the box office. It received good reviews when released but I guess McDonald didn't have enough McGee fans to make this series viable. I can't think of any contemporary actors that could be cast as well as these actors were. I have a Dutch copy of the film with subtitles but unfortunately it is pan and scan and not the best quality.

If you are a Travis McGee fan, this is one film which belongs in your collection. The movie mirrors the book and the fact leading man Rod Taylor has the role is no surprise as he is perfect for the part. In short the story is of Travis McGee, a Private detective hired to investigate the death of a woman who's sister has been murdered. McGee discoverers the murderer is none other than William Smith who plays Terry Bartell. Smith is awesome in this role and anyone who gazes on that extraordinary physique of his will be impressed his good looks match his formidable strength. Adding to the interest of this film are sympathetic Theodore Bikel as Meyer and Suzy Kendall who doubles as Vangie/Merrimay. Travis and his friends plan an elaborate scheme in which the victim will return to haunt her murderer. What they don't know is that their intended mark is as explosive, unpredictable and dangerous as a lit bundle of dynamite. The final physical confrontation is one of the finest ever recorded on film. So fiercely brutal and bloody that many versions of the movie are highly edited. Rod Taylor at his best and a must film for Taylor fans. ****