Usually in spy thrillers you have the good guys, the bad guys and the double agents, in "Dead Run" you have the good guys, the bad guys, the good double agents, the bad double agents, the other bad guys, and the not-so-innocent-but-deep-down-inside-good guys (and girls) who get caught in the middle. The structure is a bit more complicated than usual, and as it keeps switching between the two main couples (Peter Lawford - Ira Von Fürstenberg / George Geret - Maria Grazia Buccella), it's quite unclear which one are the "official" leads. Of course the top secret documents that everybody is after are a total McGuffin - we never really find out what they say or what makes them so important. As Lawford explains near the start, this is not the kind of spy film that features watches which shoot bullets, but it's not dead serious, either - there is some humor too, mostly coming from Von Fürstenberg. There are some strange camera angles, a couple of intense fight scenes, a lot of European locations (Berlin, Paris, Vienna), and an assassin with a special quirk - just before the kill, he puts on his glasses. Worth getting for fans of the genre. **1/2 out of 4.

Scenic European locales enhance the authenticity of director Christian-Jaque's "Dead Run," an international tale of espionage and intrigue based on a Robert Sheckley novel about an elusive French pickpocket that happy-go-luck, neatly coiffed CIA agent Peter Lawford pursues across Europe to recover important documents. Not only is the CIA hot on the pickpocket's heels, but a criminal syndicate also wants the thief who stole those valuable CIA papers from them."Dead Run" unfolds in Berlin one morning as petty thief Carlos (Georges Géret of "Is Paris Burning?") picks a drunkard's pocket, discovers nothing of value, and then tries to break into a locked car. Two plainclothesmen park in front of the building where Carlos is trying to break into the car. Moments later after the plainclothesmen enter it, an ambulance wheels in behind them, and three attendants emerge with a stretcher. One tries to scare Carlos off, but Carlos hangs around outside. Across the street, a wealthy, auburn-haired tourist, Suzanne Belmont (Ira von Fürstenberg of "The Vatican Affair"), appears. Inside, and the ambulance attendants gun down the first two men and then assault the guy with a black leather briefcase chained to his wrist that the plainclothesmen were shepherding. Cutting the chain, the attendants steal the briefcase. When the attendants appear on the street again, the one who got tough with Carlos whips out a knife. Carlos and he struggle, and the thief snatches the briefcase and a brief chase ensues, but Carlos escapes from them. Suzanne spots a plainclothesman staggering out of the building. CIA Agent Stephen Dain (Peter Lawford of "Sergeants 3") arrives and learns about the eye witness. Dain halts Suzanne's Frankfurt jet before it takes off. Meanwhile, Carlos takes the briefcase to Corsage,a fence, and haggles with him over his percentage of the haul. Carlos opens the briefcase with a blow torch, but he finds on paper documents with TOP SECRET stamped on them.Dain escorts Suzanne to headquarters. She identifies one of the attendants that she saw leave the building before a wounded CIA man staggered out and collapsed. Dain explains that an international outfit that specializes in stealing secret documents pulled the job. However, the thief who got away with the briefcase was an amateur and the CIA doesn't have a photo of him in their database. "Would you remain at our disposal until this man is found?" Dain fires up a cigarette and points out: "You're the only one who can identify him for us." "It's so nice to be essential," Suzanne observes. She explains to Dain that she is rich. Daine adds, "It might take some time and it could be dangerous." Suzanne doesn't mind, "I have plenty of time. And you will protect me, won't you?" Dain reassures her that he will personally stay with her in her room.The scene shifts to the Bardieff's office where Bardieff (Werner Peters of "36 Hours") fumes with rage. "Six months of effort! The plan perfect in every detail! A deadline for delivery! And what have you done, gentlemen! Completely messed up the job! Tricked by some poor little thief. Get out!" After he dismisses his henchmen, Bardieff consults his ruthless colleague Manganne (Horst Frank of "The Grand Duel") and learns that the man who carried the briefcase told Manganne nothing under duress before he died. Of course, Bardieff laments the loss of life. Manganne retorts, "Since when is death not the normal rational outcome of torture?" The 60-year old fence sends Carlos to meet Van Joost (Peter Lorre look-alike Luciano Pigozzi of "Codename: Wild Geese") at a Swiss jewelry store. After Carlos leaves, the fence contacts immigration and spills his guts to Police Inspector Noland (Wolfgang Preiss of "Raid on Rommel") as part of a deal to recover his passport. As it turns out, Noland works both sides of the street. He informs Bardieff about Carlos' whereabouts. Manganne visits Corsage. Meanwhile,one of Dain's CIA operatives tails Noland. At the jewelry shop, Swiss cops ask Van Joost where to hide while they await Carlos' arrival. When Carlos arrives, Van Joost scrawls 'police' on his hand and Carlos flees. Trigger happy Manganne kills Corsage because the fence "knows too much." When Noland objects to Corsage's murder, Manganne shoots him, too.Carlos eludes Daine and jumps aboard a train departing for Paris. When the conductor sells him a ticket, Carlos comes up short on cash, but a girl sharing the compartment, Anna (Maria Grazia Buccella of "After The Fox"), lends him enough money. It seems Anna once worked as a knife thrower's target in a circus. She teams up with Carlos in Paris after he fails to sell the papers to Julien (Bernard Tiphaine of "The Queen of Spades"), an ignorant, low-level American embassy official. Julien jokes that too many people are trying to sell them secrets. Instead, he recommends that Carlos contact the Soviets in Vienna. Anna is thoroughly acquainted with Vienna and she accompanies Carlos. While Carlos is on the train, Dain smooches with Suzanne in the country. Arriving in Paris, they part company temporarily while Dain meets up with the General (Roger Tréville of "How to Steal a Million") and Julien. When the General inquires about Daine's business, Julien realizes the enormity of his error in dismissing Carlos' offer.An hour elapses before Dain tangles with the villains at a Paris garage and he misses his train to Vienna with Suzanne. Meantime, Carlos mixes it up with a villain on the train and throws him off it. "Dirty Game" lenser Pierre Petit captures the immediacy of the moment for Jaque with lots of Dutch tilt angles. Indeed, "Dead Run" appears to have been lensed on the run and Petit's agile cinematography heightens the excitement. The final quarter hour in Vienna bristles with fistfights, shoot-outs and a surprise ending. Nimble fingered Carlos has the last word in this above-average but minor melodrama.

I certainly would NOT include this,the English-language title of which is DEAD RUN, among any top list of Eurospy classics; however, its witty tone, nice locations and interesting camera work, and impressive acting from Georges Gerret (as a small-time pickpocket who steals some secret papers more important than he could imagine), Peter Lawford (using his old charm and wit once again, as a CIA agent so informal that I doubt the REAL CIA would ever employ him!), and familiar German faces such as Horst Frank (chilling!), Wolfgang Preiss, and Werner Peters make it worth watching and above average. Director Christian-Jacque had a diverse career--directing the odd but fun LEGEND OF FRENCHIE KING with Bardot and Michael J. Pollard, doing uncredited direction on the bloated but entertaining MARCO THE MAGNIFICENT with Horst Bucholz and Orson Welles (and the unnerving angular composition of so many shots in DEAD RUN shows that Mr. Jacque is a BIG Welles fan!!), directing BABETTE GOES TO WAR, the film that proved Bardot was more than just a cheesecake star, and helming one of the segments of the war anthology THE DIRTY GAME. He also made a few excellent films with Jean Marais in the mid-60s. Much of what is good about DEAD RUN comes from Jacque's interesting and stylish direction, as the story is cliche-ridden and not really memorable. Overall, though, if you like an espionage drama with the sense of class and visual style that only the French bring to a film, with a number of strong performances, you might want to find DEAD RUN.

Berlin in winter. The days are wet and dark, the deeds darker. Thus the scene is set for one of the genre's most enjoyable serious entries. Yes, it's a simple story; there are no madmen with visions of world domination, no fancy gadgets to distract but it's a story told with flair and the swift pace is that of the petty thief on the run, drawn into a high-stakes game of espionage.Christian-Jaque, director of one of the segments of The Dirty Game, pulls all the elements together this time; a first rate score by Gerard Calvi, a great and varied cast, an excellent script, and appealing locations result in a minor gem. Dutch camera angles abound as we chase the European winter in Berlin, Lucerne, Paris, and Vienna. The look of the film manages to stay just this side of drab, the natural light is weak but the feeling isn't one of hopelessness, rather it's a sort of dignified gloom.If you're looking for a well-crafted piece of espionage drama that treads the fine line between humor and bleakness, and features a stellar cast at their best, you just found it. As Georges Geret remarks halfway through the film `Spying is no job, it's a profession,' and this is a very professional look at it indeed.