An interesting spy thriller starring Michael Caine.

The film is interesting and well depicts the atmosphere and look of those years. The cinematography is excellent and here we have an authentic look from that time. The music is great and fits in perfectly with the atmosphere of the film.

The characters are interesting, and the story slowly builds and the atmosphere becomes more tense as the film progresses. The details are subtle and realistic and enhance the impression of the film.

Michael Caine is excellent in the role of a cold-blooded spy who tries to save his son.

An interesting film with a tense atmosphere.

Don Siegel acknowledges one big mistake in his autobiography: due to a writers strike he ended up rewriting the script while he was also preparing the shoot as a Producer-Director. He should never have rushed to make this movie under such conditions. Then he puts the blame on Universal who, in the beginning, suggested he managed all three jobs, then, decided to release it as The Black Windmill, a title which bears no relevance with what the movie is about.

Sure, the storyline is far from flowing and it's a pity since there are so many fine performances in it. Donald Pleasance, John Vernon, Delphine Seyrig, Catherine Schell to name a few. Roy Budd's score is wonderfully in line with the atmosphere too. With all these, Don Siegel should really have been able to blame himself for his trademark flaw: used to shoot low budgets with lots of energy he forces a minimalistic loner hero inside the story. In his previous movie, Charley Varrick, it worked much better since the plot was more simple (aftermath of a bank robbery) with only a couple of important characters. Charley Varrick already lacked character development, but with Michael Caine, a counter-espionage civil-servant stuck between his bosses, his wife and the villains, it really bogs down the whole narrative.

It's a real pity so many things just don't add up to a tense situation. There is nice interaction in some scenes involving female characters, but basically the plot is not streamlined. One final word, Don Siegel style: the ending, as in Charley Varrick, is quite unsatisfactory. Not that it should be changed to some other outcome, but all good directors know how to close an action movie shortly after the ending climax. I don't know why Don Siegel would add some "post-coïtum" shot, having you wondering about some final twist, but no, it was just some fancy shot demonstrating how much the screenplay wasn't polished enough.

Especially that is when he needs to steal diamonds to rescue his kidnapped son, gratefully running through the London underground and up many flights of steps to escape from someone who was following him to get the diamonds back. The caper begins when his son and a friend skip school and end up on private property where there are warning signs posted, and after they are caught, they are basically tossed into the back of a truck like sacks of potatoes. The other boy is released but Michael Caine's son is kept behind and he must break into a private home, find exactly where the diamonds are, break into the desk and then run away with them to get them to the people who demanded that in the first place.

Once again, John Vernon is planning a truly despicable villain, the type that you want to see get his comeuppance, so pompous and creepy that it will be a great thrill when he does. Delphine Seyrig, Janet Suzman, Donald Pleasence and Clive Revill are others involved in this odd plot, a convoluted Thriller that takes a while to get off the ground. It finally begins to get exciting after Caine gets his hand on the diamonds, gets into the tube and has to find a way to avoid getting caught. The man chasing him even knocks somebody off of an escalator in order to catch up to Caine. As a British intelligence officer, Caine is already involved in the effort to stop a bunch of arms dealers, so it's not a surprise that the people he has to get the diamonds to end up being involved in that as well.

Convoluted for sure, but as the action gets going, the audience gets into it. Under the direction of Don Siegel (who directed a bunch of Clint Eastwood action thrillers), this has many moments of excitement, but there are also many slow-moving moments as well. Caine is always exciting to watch, and his performance is rather cool as if he'd rather solve them case he's working for then get his son back. He does have a great gift for mimicry, at one point imitating Donald Pleasence. It's definitely a curiosity with great photography and terrific London locations, but it's another 70 Thriller that probably was good as a novel yet transfers awkwardly as a film. Probably also better on a big screen where you are forced to pay attention rather than on home video where it's easy to become distracted when you are bored.