Action of the Tiger (1957)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Terence Young

Writers:

James Wellard (novel)
Robert Carson (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 August 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

How a beautiful blonde and a tough smuggler escape the net of Continental conspiracy!

Plot:

Carson is an American contraband runner approached by Tracy, a French woman who wants him to help rescue...

Plot Keywords:

Albania | Mountain | Melodrama | Ocean | Based On Novel

Cast

Van Johnson	...	Carson
Martine Carol	...	Tracy Malvoisie
Herbert Lom	...	Trifon, Albania Bandit
Gustavo Rojo	...	Henri Malvoisie (as Gustavo Rocco)
José Nieto	...	Kol Stendho (as Jose Nieto)
Helen Haye	...	Countess Valona
Anna Gerber	...	Mara Valona
Anthony Dawson	...	Security Officer
Sean Connery	...	Mike
Yvonne Romain	...	Katina (as Yvonne Warren)
Norman Macowan	...	Trifon's Father (as Norman MacOwan)
Brian Sunners	...	Farmer
Helen Goss	...	Farmer's Wife

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #18354) | Finland:K-16 | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Granada, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Claridge Productions

Quotes:

Carson: My usual fee is 5 thousand, but...
Tracy Malvoisie: I don't expect any favors from a cut-price Galahad!
Carson: You didn't let me finish, I was going to say for you 10 thousand.

Typical widescreen adventure

Action of the Tiger is a very ordinary anti-Communist film that benefits from a location shoot in Greece (filling in for nearby Albania). The woefully miscast Van Johnson plays Carson, an amoral American smuggler who agrees to help blonde bombshell Martine Carol rescue her brother from the bondage of Enver Hoxha and company. Herbert Lom and Sean Connery provide assistance for Johnson, whose part really should have gone to someone with a little more gravitas, perhaps Sterling Hayden or Richard Widmark. Instead, our lead tries to prove his masculinity by wearing sweaters that are much too tight, a less than pretty sight. Desmond Dickinson's cinematography is uniformly good, especially in exterior setups, but the script is undercooked and ultimately unbelievable, as our heroes end up rescuing a motley assortment of Greek children and outwitting those dumb commies. Action of the Tiger is also of minor interest for Connery fans, as the Scots actor would reunite with director Terence Young for a little film called Dr. No five years later.