The Mackintosh Man

John Huston – 1973 – England

Not well-received or well-remembered, John Huston’s so-so entry in the downbeat spy thriller genre is not near as bad as its reputation, though it’s no diamond-in-the-rough either.  This is definitely one of Huston’s handful of phoned-in movies that he did for a paycheck in the last couple decades of his life.  The casting of Paul Newman in the lead is a conspicuous liability that hobbles the whole film; (even worse than it did in Hitchcock’s Torn Curtain, 1966).  He barely seems interested in anything, exudes none of his famous charm, and is completely unsuited to the character or the milieu.  Apparently deciding there’s no point in pretending that he was cast for anything other than his star power, he makes no attempt at an accent, even though the film offers no explanation – (unless I missed it) – as to how or why this British character has an American dialect.  What almost makes up for this flagrant weakness is the fact that Newman is surrounded by some of the best British character actors of the time, including Ian Bannen, Michael Hordern, and Harry Andrews, plus James Mason as the debonair villain.  The script, partially by Walter Hill, seems like a half-hearted pastiche of John Le Carré stories, but without much momentum to keep you interested.  The most appealing thing about the film for me is its stunning locations in Ireland and Malta.