A TIME TO DIE (directors: Matt Cimber/Joe Tornatore; screenwriters:the novel Six Graves to Munich by Mario Puzo/John F. Goff/William Russell cinematographers: Tom Denove/Eddy Van Der Enden/; editors: Fred Chulack/Byron ‘Buzz’ Brandt; music: Ennio Morricone; cast: Rod Taylor (Jack Bailey), Rex Harrison (Van Osten), Edward Albert Jr. (Michael Rogan), Lucie Visser (Mrs. Rogan), Raf Vallone (Genco Bari ), Linn Stokke (Dora), Cor Van Rijn (Vrost), Tom van Beek (John Schmidt), Karl Braun (Buttler); Runtime:91; MPAA Rating: R; producer: Charles Lee; Media Home Entertainment (CIP); 1982)
“It was shot in 1979, but stunk so much it wasn’t released until 1982.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Mediocre filmmaker Matt Cimber (“Tiger Man”/”Butterfly”) directs this dreadful film and co-writes it with John Goff and William Russell. It’s based on Mario Puzo’s violent novel Six Graves to Munich. It was the final movie for Rex Harrison, who from here on appeared only on the stage. It was shot in 1979, but stunk so much it wasn’t released until 1982. A few scenes were directed by Joe Tornatore.Michael Rogan (Edward Albert Jr.) is during WW II an American member of the French Underground. After the war, in 1948, he dedicates himself to hunting down the 4 Nazis, a Sicilian and a Hungarian who tortured him and killed his pregnant wife (Lucie Visser) when the captured soldier refused to give them names of those in his organization. The U.S. government agent, in the U.S. Office of Strategic Services, Jack Bailey (Rod Taylor), has his own political reasons for helping Rogan. Rogan gets them one by one, in different locations around the world. But it’s a labored effort, making for a bad watch. The first one down is the evil Nazi General Von Osten (Rex Harrison), who was being groomed by the U.S. to be the West German chancellor.
REVIEWED ON 6/22/2016 GRADE: C
Dennis Schwartz: “Ozus’ World Movie Reviews”
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