An Arizona Police Inspector named Charlie Congers (Charles Bronson) is sent on a dangerous assignment to Switzerland to bring an outrageous mafioso(Rod Steigers)'s love interest named Jackie Pruit(Jill Ireland , Bronson's wife) back to USA to testify against him in trial . Meanwhile some killers (Henry Silva, Paul Koslo) attempt to murder Jackie .
The picture contains suspense , action, thrills and is quite entertaining , though average . Excellent Rod Steiger as peculiar stuttering mobster who amuses himself with Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald films . Very good support cast formed by prestigious secondaries as Strother Martin , Bradford Dillman , Albert Salmi , Michael V Gazzo , Val Avery and many others. Special mention to Henry Silva as a nasty and sadist criminal , as ever. Pretty locations from Switzerland well photographed by Fred Koenekamp and Anthony Richmond . Atmospheric musical score by Lalo Schifrin with certain influence in Ennio Morricone music.
Rosenberg's regular direction that underlines the strength of personalities involved , undercutting the less pleasant aspects and putting the focus squarely on Bronson's tough performance and Ireland's excessive silly character. Stuart Rosenberg was one of the best TV directors of the 50s and 60s and subsequently realized segment of crime and mystery series . In 1967 directed his first film , the successful ¨Cool and Luke¨ with Paul Newman . Booth of them attempted in vain to repeat the formula in three further movies together ¨WUSA movie, Pocket money and The drowning pool¨ . However he achieved other two hit smash in the terror genre with ¨The Amityville horror¨ and again with a prison film ¨Brubaker¨. Since then Rosenberg's output has been unsatisfactory and sporadic as ¨The Pope of Greenwich village ¨ a Mickey Rourke vehicle . Rating : Passable though mediocre thriller.
