1966's "Some May Live" was an espionage picture shot entirely at Britain's Twickenham studios, apart from a few location scenes that feature none of the principal actors. Speaking of the cast, top billed Joseph Cotton has a rather thankless role as Colonel Woodward, head of US intelligence in Saigon, his top decoder, Kate Meredith (Martha Hyer), confessing that she has been passing on top secret information to her war correspondent husband John (Peter Cushing), who in turn delivers it to Viet Cong agent and drug dealer Philip Ducrai (Alec Mango). The Merediths have been living in Saigon for ten years, and John's belief that he's doing the right thing is so strong that Kate has willingly cooperated with him until now, concerned only for the safety of her son Allan (Kim Smith). Providing a love triangle is Captain Elliott Thomas (John Ronane), whose love for Kate convinces her to help him when Ducrai questions her loyalty to the cause, following John's departure for Red China. Both convoluted and simple minded, the intrigue just isn't very intriguing, except when Peter Cushing is on screen, the actor's innate qualities making it difficult to see him as a villain, though one who cares about his son, telling him that he'll grow up to be a great man someday. Martha Hyer has the toughest role, John Ronane the most inane, while Cushing is so good that he makes the proceedings quite believable, ultimately let down by screenwriter David T. Chantler, who previously did yeoman work on Cushing vehicles "Cash on Demand" and "She." As for director Vernon Sewell, he went on to do what Cushing long considered his worst film, 1967's "The Blood Beast Terror," as well as Boris Karloff's "The Crimson Cult," but no director could have made a silk purse out of this sow's ear. Frequently seen on the airwaves into the 1980s, it's only now beginning to make a resurgence after a lengthy absence.

1967's "Some May Live" (aka "In Saigon, Some May Live") was one of the very few movies about the Vietnam War that was actually filmed in Saigon, during the Vietnam War! It's a dandy espionage thriller about U.S. efforts to find who's leaking vital war information to the Commies from MACV (Military Assistance Command -- Vietnam) Headquarters. Nothing overblown and pretentious like "Platoon" or "Full Metal Jacket", just typically great 1960's filmmaking.Martha Hyer plays a clerk named Kate Meredith at MACV HQ, who seems to have a normal life, married to a distinguished British journalist (Peter Cushing) who's covering the war, caring for her young son... or does it just seem that way? Joseph Cotton is the U.S. Army colonel Hyer works for, who brings in Capt. Elliott Thomas (played by John Ronane) to investigate. Only problem, Capt. Thomas starts falling in love with Kate, and complications ensue. Though Cushing and Cotton got top-billing, Ronane is the real male lead of this movie. He reminds me something of a John Gavin or Tom Tryon, and plays his role well, an American officer torn between his duty and his heart.The filmmakers do a good job of conveying the spirit of 1967 Saigon, a city trying to go about everyday business, but always with a sinister, dangerous undercurrent. Hyer and Cushing, in a particularly effective scene, are shown conversing nonchalantly, sipping cocktails in their well appointed apartment, while in the background there's the constant flashes of gunfire and muffled explosions of the War taking place on the outskirts of the city. The opening credits feature many travelogue-type scenes of Saigon circa '67, accompanied by a great (and much overlooked) theme song called "Some May Live", effectively sung by Vince Hill. Don't know if this obscure film will ever make it to DVD, but if you can find it, be sure and watch it. A real "time travel" back to the Vietnam War era.

I saw this movie many years ago on the late late show and thought it was an outstanding film about espionage in Saigon during the Vietnam War. The acting is very good with Joseph Cotten and Martha Hyer heading a fine cast. It is truly an unusual film as I don't know of any other movies which deal with the subject of spying in Saigon during Viet Nam. It was made in 1967 and so was very topical at the time and is truly a walk down memory lane for those of us who living through it during the 1960s. Joseph Cotten plays an Army colonel who is trying to find out who the spy is and Martha Hyer plays a computer programmer whose husband is the spy. It keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. I would like to see this movie come out on VHS or DVD. It is definitely worth watching.