source: Target: Harry

I am doubtful if other IMBD user reviewers have given 1969's TARGET: HARRY a true taste ... Unsure of what to expect, I dove into its opening Gran Prixesque formula high-tension race car pile up action sequence, while lapping up raw location scenery from Monaco, Turkey and environs with laconic, tosseled haired Vic Morrow and sizzling Suzanne Pleshette in her prime, decked out in chic colorful ensembles; young freckled laser blue-eyed Charlotte Rampling, fey Victor Buono as the heavy; decent action sequences and plenty of softcore * interludes (some are violent) all served up from the Corman Company with a cheezy score. If your interest is peaked, this one's for you!

Bad boy charter pilot Harry Block (a spot-on sturdy and laid-back performance by Vic Morrow) finds himself being chased by various dangerous criminals in Istanbul who are after counterfeit money printing plates that they believe Harry has gained possession of. Director Roger Corman keeps the enjoyable story zipping along at a snappy pace, stages the thrilling action with aplomb, makes the most out of the picturesque locations which add an extra tangy exotic flavor, and tosses in a satisfying smattering of fairly racy nudity for trashy good measure. Morrow brings a winning blend of easygoing charm and tough guy swagger to his lead role; he receives sound support from Suzanne Pleshette as sultry thief Diane Reed, Victor Buono as suavely slimy hood Mosal Rashi, Cesar Romero as the hard-nosed Lt. George Duval, Charlotte Rampling as the alluring Ruth, Michael Ansara as menacing henchman Major Miles Segora, and Milton Reid as fearsome goon Kemal. Les Baxter's super groovy score hits the swinging spot. Patrice Pouget's vibrant cinematography provides an attractive bright look. A real fun romp.

Harry Black (Vic Morrow) is a pilot that transports Jason Carlyle to a racing event in Instanbul. Soon Jason is shot and Harry ends in prison because they thought he killed Jason. However Harry is freed from prison by Lieutenant George Duval (Cesar Romero) for recovering the stolen plates that were possessed by Carlyle, and most of the movie consists of Harry that is chased, shot at and beaten to a pulp while trying to look cool. I seeked this film because of the colorful cast (Morrow, Romero, Stanley Holloway, Michael Ansara, Victor Buono and Suzanne Pleshette) and also because it's directed by Roger Corman (a director that has some sort of cult following). In the first part it looked good but after it looked like it took a detour to laziness, and there was a scene that kinda scared me; a goon enters Ruth Carlyle (Charlotte Rampling)'s apartment and he squeezes her head to the point we hear her skull cracking! If you can overlook this, it's just a time passer.

I watched Target: Harry because I thought it was a type of James Bond spy movie starring Cesar Romero as the "M" character. While that turned out to be true, Cesar was only in about fifteen minutes the movie. He's in the first ten minutes, luring unsuspecting audience members like me in. Then, we hang in there for the next hour, hoping in vain to see him again. The bulk of the movie is extremely cheesy. "I'll buy that." "You can't afford it," she quips back. It's all very 1970s tv-movie-ish. Lots of zooms, lots of unrealistic, supposedly clever dialogue, and a huge rip-off of the James Bond theme. Vic Morrow is the too-cool-for-school lead who can't be bothered to care about anything. Suzanne Pleshette is his love interest who can't be trusted. Victor Buono is the bad guy. There's not much else to know, really, but you'll see some familiar faces as well: Stanley Holloway, Michael Ansara, and Charlotte Rampling as a blonde. I don't really recommend this one.

'Target: Harry' was originally meant for television pilot for ABC, but was released theatrically instead. For some reason, Roger Corman took his name off the film and was credited as Henry Neill. Well, if you've already seen the film then you might understand his decision. 'Target: Harry' is not so much awful film, but it is boringly generic. Vic Morrow is awesome as a pilot Harry Black, a man in the wrong place at the wrong time, and strutting through dangerous situations while throwing one-liners and puns to the left and to the right. The problem is, the protagonist looks too cool and gets out of serious situations too easily. Harry Black is a private pilot who flies Jason Carlyle (Stanley Holloway) into Istanbul where Carlyle gets murdered. Harry gets associated with the murder and his paths cross with mysterious woman Diane Reed (Suzanne Pleshette) and powerful crime lord Mosul Rashi (Victor Buono). Harry finds out that Carlyle was carrying plates for counterfeiting money that got lost. Both, Reed and Rashi, thinks that Harry got them, or at least he knows where they are. One double cross follows another and so on. 'Target: Harry' is nothing spectacular in the pile of similar James Bondish spy themed action films that were popular at that time. Even the main score is awfully similar to one of James Bond. The acting is good and there are some fine moments in dialogue to make 'Target: Harry' passably entertaining while watching but nothing else. Rather forgettable and not very thrilling action piece.

I was surprised to see only one other review for this film so I thought to submit one myself for what I consider to be quite an enjoyable crime caper. Harry Black (Vic Morrow) is a bit of an habitual bad boy, being well known to the police chief, but soon Harry is mixed up in a murder mystery after transporting a mysterious Englishman to Istanbul. Cue Harry being pursued by all and sundry including the beautiful Suzanne Pleshette who may or may not be what she claims to be. This is really a Vic Morrow vehicle as he wise-cracks and struts his way through the film. Even the chief bad guy played by an on-form Victor Buono hams it up mercilessly and is the ideal foil for Vic Morrow's good guy. No crime caper would be complete without a femme fatale and here she is in the shape of Charlotte Rampling, surely a woman designed for this role as can be seen in Farewell My lovely (1975). This review is from the UK DVD which seems to be slightly cut down from its original form. The bedroom scene at the start bears all the signs of being panned and scanned with sharp cutaways and very close up close-ups. Also, the role of Virginia Hale seems to have been cut out completely because despite viewing the film several times, there seems to be no sign whatsoever of Miss Hale. Despite this, the film is a welcome antidote to the modern fast and loud type action films.

Mr New York Swagger that is the only actor in history that could ever get away with being Mr. New York Tough Guy, who would have died from lung cancer and emphasema had he lived any longer; well its not him at the beginning. Vic's been one of my goons for a long time so i know him well. The sex scene at the beginning which sparked my constant case of jealousy, i thought that's not Vic's back. Anyone who knows Vic as intimatly as I knows his right index finger is greatly shorter than normal. The guy in bed with the Suzanne chick has a normal finger.

I feel the need to comment here because surprisingly no one else has! What the hey?! This is basically "The Vic Morrow Show." The plot is secondary to the strength of Vic Morrow's performance and the great dialogue. Vic plays Harry, a guy stuck between a rock and a hard place, a victim of circumstances. Or in this case: a Vic Morrow of circumstances. In just about every scene Vic lets hilarious one-liners gently roll off his tongue and bitches about everything. He's really funny and made me an instant fan. He is complimented perfectly by the heavy (pun intended), Victor Buono, who gives yet another fine performance. Every scene he's in generates chuckles. It's obvious he's having fun hamming it up. The ending is great too, which has Vic literally strutting down the street. Adding to the effect, he's wearing yellow-tinted sunglasses while he strikes cool tough-guy facial expressions. Totally awesome. Unfortunately, as yet, this movie is unavailable in the USA- or at least very rare. I recommend buying a Phillips multi-region DVD player off Amazon for about 65 bucks and then buying the PAL DVD of this movie that's now available.

According to IMDB, "Target: Harry" was a pilot movie for a proposed series that was never picked up by the networks. So, instead, they creatively re-edited the film (adding a couple * scenes) and released it as a feature film. Harry (Vic Morrow) is a pilot who is transporting Mr. Carlyle to Instanbul. However, Carlyle is killed and a gang of thugs think that Harry was working for Carlyle...and so Harry must have the stolen plates that were in Carlyle's possession. So, he spends the rest of the film being chased about, shot at and getting the snot knocked out of him in the movie...all while trying to look very cool. This is a decent thriller....nothing special but yet another example of a Roger Corman film that managed to make money...as all but one of his over 400 films did! Worth seeing but far from a great film.