By the time John Frankenhimer made "The Holcroft Covenant" his star had already waned. It's a terrible picture and it's hard to believe it was directed by the same man who made "The Manchurian Candidate". It's another Nazi conspiracy thriller adapted from a Robert Ludlum novel by three of the best writers in the business, (George Axelrod, Edward Anhalt and John Hopkins), so what went wrong? Well for starters it could be a case of too many cooks for there isn't a believable line of dialogue in the entire film which zooms all over the place at great speed but goes absolutely nowhere; the budget obviously allowed for some nifty location shooting and Gerry Fisher's cinematography is one of the film's few saving graces.It's also preposterously plotted and atrociously acted. Michael Caine, (dreadful), is the lead and Anthony Andrews, Victoria Tennant, Michael Lonsdale and Lilli Palmer are among the others who are wasted in this rubbish. That fine British character actor Bernard Hepton manages to come out of it smelling of roses which is really something of a miracle. Of course, perhaps it was meant to be a comedy but if it was it isn't a particularly funny one.

This movie intrigued me right from the beginning, with unusual twists and turns with a surprise ending.Very well directed and written, and the music carries it well too.Being a big fan of Michael Cain, he did not disappoint and fit the role perfectly. No one could have done it better.The DVD is in my collection, and I watch it often. It's always enjoyable and despicable as well.It's the personification of evil versus good.I would recommend this movie to anyone except children.Enjoy! I always do..

What in heaven's name was a talented director like John Frakenheimer doing involved is a mess of a movie like this? Clearly he was desperate for work but just as clearly his talent had ebbed at this point in his late career. 'Holcroft' is awful on so many levels it's difficult to know where to begin. The script is muddled and confusing. The dialogue is clunky. The music is incredibly annoying. The performances--including Caine's--are wooden. I never read the book but it can't have been as bad or boring as this film makes it out to be. Don't waste your time with this trash. It doesn't make a bit of sense and it's not even a little bit entertaining.

I have not read the novel(though I'd like to, as well as other books by Ludlum), so I cannot draw comparisons, but I do understand that this adaptation does not stick that closely to the source material. And this continues my running tradition of me getting the lesser of the films that Frankenheimer directed. Seriously, Ronin, Reindeer Games, and now this... on the plus side, Ambush was awesome, and Path to War was excellent. This one is fine, not great. Editing and cinematography are reasonable, and this does have a couple of sophisticated moments. The plot is interesting enough. This is well-paced, and there are exciting and tense scenes. The music helps to ensure that the mood is established, and it arguably tries too hard at times, revealing itself to be manipulative. Caine is impeccable, as usual, and the acting in general is quite good. The dialog holds numerous well-delivered lines that are marvelous, memorable and worth quoting. There is moderate to strong language in this, a little disturbing content and some mild violence. I recommend this to the biggest fans of John and Michael. 6/10