Yul Brynner stars in this espionage drama about a CIA man conducting his own private investigation into the death of his son in an Alpine skiing accident in Austria. What he doesn't know, but soon finds out is that the son's death was all part of a ruse by the Russian KGB to get him over to Europe where he is to be captured and put to death and replaced by a duplicate to infiltrate the CIA and crack American security. If successful this prototype will be used for other people in the USA and our allies in The Double Man.Unwittingly part of the plan is an old friend of Brynner's, Clive Revill and his Austrian wife Britt Ekland. Revill runs an international school there and was once in the espionage business, but now out of it and glad to be. He's not sure he can hack it, but in the end has to make a Solomon like choice.During the middle and late 60s spy movies were a glut on the market due to the success of James Bond. The Double Man isn't the best or the worst of them. Yul Brynner's fans will approve.

***SPOILERS***A stoic and unemotional Yul Brynner as US Government secret Agent Dan Slater is determined to find out the circumstances of his 16 year old son Bobby's, David Scheur, death in a skying accident off the Austrian Alps. Not for a moment believing the official story that Bobby's death was an accident Slater despite being told by his boss in the CIA the wheelchair bound Edwards, Lloyd Noland, to lay off and get the first flight back to the US he goes on his own to find the person or persons he believes are responsible for Bobby's death. And in his own way, without arrest trial or jury, terminate them! Getting his former and now retired partner in the CIA Frank Wheatley, Clive Revill, to help him in finding Bobby's killer doesn't at first seem like a good idea on Slater's part. Wheatley has not only given up both his gun, he refuses to use one, as well as violence becoming a meek and peaceful ski instructor who taught Bobby how to ski! Which in Slater's suspicious mind feels he may well have been the person who gave Bobby the push that shoved him off the mountain that ended up killing him!There's also the beautiful Gina, Britt Ekland, who was the last person to see Bobby alive as well, in Slater's mind, as the person who may also have killed him. Taking off the silk gloves if he was ever wearing them Slater later brutally manhandled Gina at the ski lodge just for fun then for getting information out of her. That in retaliation has her almost ending up scratching his eyes out! That later proves if he's really in fact Slater or***MAJOR SPOILER***the person impersonating him! You see Slater isn't Slater but a Soviet like Manchurian Candidate who's to be planted in the CIA, as Slater, as a major mole for the KGB! With the real Slater being held hostage until his services for the KGB, in staying alive, are no longer needed!***SPOILERS*** Yul Brynner is very effective in both roles as Slater and his KGB impersonator Kalmar and the action scenes in the movie rival or even suppress any of the at that time, in the mid 1960's, James Bonds films that "The Double Man" is copying off. The movie is all action and suspense and lacks the emotionless and mechanical like sex and romance that the then James Bond films with Sean Connery have. Brynner does almost the impossible in playing the bad guy in both his roles as Slater and Kalmer with Slater, who supposed to be the good guy, the far worse of the two! In fact in a scene where Slater, who's really Kalmer, brutally works over Gina it's Slater, who's face wasn't stretched by Gina, who told his shocked and confused partner Wheatley who at the time didn't quite know which one, Slater or Kalamer, to shoot that if he worked her over she not have been alive to scratch him!

I watched this movie in the wee hours of the morning and probably should not have done so as I was not too sure who was the survivor in the end. I do not like to have a movie end that way, but the location scenes were very good and makes me want to return there again.Cannot an American movie be made without the overkill of the "barroom brawl" smash and bang portion that, in my opinion, ruins the whole movie. Someone has to come crashing through plate glass windows, destroy mountains of dishes and glassware and demolish a whole kitchen or other room for "sensationalism". This cheap addition makes me not like whatever else (good story, good acting, beautiful scenery) may be in that movie. Americans are destructive orientated and I guess we thrive on the addition of this junk.

Passable spy thriller that's a disappointment considering the talent on display. While it isn't a dud, there's nothing particularly outstanding about it and it emerges as a fairly routine and forgettable film.There are some enjoyable aspects to the film however. I admired Yul Brynner for delivering a lead character that was so uncompromising, cold and ruthless – while he was hardly an admirable hero he was believable and convincing and therefore more interesting as a character. I'm sure if this film were made today the character would've had some more 'likable' elements inserted into him during the film.The weakest aspect is Ernie Freeman's dreadful score – cornball and overdone, regularly undermining the potential suspense in key scenes.For mine, while the film itself isn't particularly noteworthy, in a broader context it has a curious interest. Despite being made by a major studio, having a major star and a director who delivered many top-notch films in this period (especially a certain ape film made the same year), it didn't make much impact at the time and is totally forgotten today, even for a film made four decades ago. Why is this? I actually think it would be much more remembered if it had been filmed as a flashy, goofy spy film that is now considered to be representative of late 1960s film style and culture – the likes of which were spoofed in the Austin Powers films. For example, while imo 'In Like Flint' is a dreadful film, clearly inferior to TDM, because of its glossy and spoofy style I can see how its much more remembered and referenced today.Of course, TDM could've still been remembered on the basis of sheer quality but apart from Brynner's performance, it just doesn't have enough of it.