Watchable but somehow unmemorable suspense thriller from a major British director. The plot, cleverly written by John Mortimer, has some quite subtle twists and turns; the acting good. Laurence Harvey as a dislikeable insurance fraudster, Lee Merick is particularly fetchi9ng as his increasingly uncertain wife, Alan Bates gives his usual sensitive performance as investigator who might be on to them, all convince. But Carol Reed (director of such classics as The third Man, Odd Man Out, Oliver) never manages to give it quite enough urgency or edge. It all comes across as something of a pot-boiler in his career. The scenery in Spain and Gibraltar is atmospheric, but it's one of those films that relies just a bit too heavily on pleasing sunny locations.

The problem is Laurence Harvey:not only he is rather ugly dyed in blond but he is also not really able to create a "second man.";it is like a puppet theater where you can see the string man's hands everywhere;the screenplay should insist on this second identity :thus Harvey's best scene is when he sees his reflection in the water and cannot stand it ;but anyway he is better cast as a victim ("the Manchurian candidate" " of human bondage") than when he is a cynical crook ;besides,the long flashback ,when Remick is sleeping, seems like padding Having said that ,the movie is entertaining,Remick is as talented as usual and very good -looking;Bates gives an ambiguous mysterious performance:are we sure he works in paint?Note Bnuelian Fernando Ray in a small part of a cop.

In The Ballad of the Running Man director Carol Reed steps into the light and fades fast with this placid thriller that takes place in sunny Spain. Far from the dark moody confines of Belfast and post war Vienna Reed's magic touch reacts to the sun like Count Dracula.After pilot Rex Black (Laurence Harvey) crashes his plane and then finds out his insurance policy had lapsed two days earlier he vows to get what's coming to him. With wife Stella (Lee Remick) in on it he feigns drowning and runs off to Spain to await his pay day on a newly issued policy. Before rendezvousing with Rex, Stella is interviewed by an insurance adjuster (Alan Bates) who coincidentally turns up in Spain where he crosses paths with Stella and Rex who has grown a moustache, dyed his hair tangerine and assumed another identity. Stella soon finds herself compromised, further complicating the cat and mouse game.Reed and his magnificent camera man Robert Krasker bring only their reputations to this ho hum suspense that has none of the urgency and tempo of their classic work together. What the sun doesn't expose the flood lights do without a hint of ominous shadowing as Reed's interiors reek of set look and his exteriors travelogue.Bates and Remick slowly build to a decent chemistry but Harvey is over the top and his attempt at an Australian accent comes across like the mother in The Glass Menagerie. The real culprit remains Reed however who also produced the picture which gave him every opportunity to showcase his formidable talent. But from the look of Running Man the accountant has replaced the artist.

A rather stupid plot and uninteresting leads are not helped by pedestrian direction and an uninspired script. The supporting cast is underused, and no amount of sun, sea and Spanish bulls can turn this film into worthwhile entertainment. Laurence Harvey continues to prove that acting is not a skill he acquired; Alan Bates is altogether too convincing as a dull insurance man who decides to better himself by going into paint; and lovely Lee Remick just looks pretty as her chances of being The Next Best Thing finally slips away from her.