assignment k

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Assignment k.

1968 Directed by Val Guest

A mission that follows its rules to the letter: K for kill.

Philip Scott, the boss of a toy company, is secretly also the chief of a British spy organization. Scott's cover is destroyed when enemy agents kidnap his girlfriend to force him to reveal the identities of his fellow spies.

Stephen Boyd Camilla Sparv Michael Redgrave Leo McKern Robert Hoffmann Jeremy Kemp Jane Merrow Carl Möhner Vivi Bach Werner Peters Dieter Geissler John Alderton Jan Werich David Healy Ursula Howells Basil Dignam Geoffrey Bayldon Joachim Hansen Marte Harell Friedrich von Thun Herbert Fux Jennifer White Karl-Otto Alberty Andrea Allan Alexander Allerson Peter Capell Windsor Davies Heinz-Leo Fischer Alastair Hunter Show All… Olga Linden Myrtill Nádasi Erika Raffael Rosemarie Reede Catherine Schell Helmuth Schneider Friedrich von Ledebur Gert Wiedenhofen Howard Williams

Director Director

Producers producers.

Ben Arbeid Maurice Foster

Writers Writers

Val Guest Bill Strutton Maurice Foster

Original Writer Original Writer

Hartley Howard

Editor Editor

Cinematography cinematography, camera operator camera operator.

Herbert Smith

Art Direction Art Direction

John Blezard

Composer Composer

Basil Kirchin

Sound Sound

Jim Shields Cyril Collick

Costume Design Costume Design

Yvonne Blake

Makeup Makeup

Tony Sforzini

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Marjorie Whittle

Mazurka Productions Ltd. Gildor Productions

Alternative Titles

Services spéciaux, division K, Geheimauftrag K, Superspia K, Enviado especial K

Thriller Action Drama Crime

Releases by Date

16 feb 1968, 18 feb 1968, 01 jun 1968, releases by country.

• Theatrical 12

97 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Rosie Lighters ★★½

Top secret but all true

Review by JOELWOODS ★★★★½

Stephen Boyd plays the owner of a toy company named Philip Scott, but that is merely a cover, for he is a spy. His cover is blown which leads to the East German Stasi kidnapping his gilfriend Toni (Camilla Sparv). The great thespian Leo McKern plays the villain Smith. As always, McKern chews the scenery and steals every frame. In the annals of spy films, I would rank this one very highly. I do believe it is a long forgotten movie that has only now just seen its worldwide blu-ray debut courtesy of the fine folks over at Imprint Films. Plenty of twists abound in Assignment K and the scenery is stunning. Switzerland and London England in the swingin '60s.…

Review by Robert Koelle ★★½

Way too much time flirting over gluhwein. Still, I suppose they had to establish the bona fide romance between Philip and Toni, so when she gets kidnapped, we believe that he's really going to work to save her. None of their dialogue sounds real.

I watched this because I thought they would competently recreate the interesting early bits of a Bond film. You know, skiing, night clubbing, maybe a casino. They did, but still managed to make it boring.

I'll admit, some of the twists at the end surprised me. But then again, they usually do.

Stephen Boyd was a dead ringer for my Congressman. Weird.

Review by Dustin Baker ★★★

A pretty cut and dry James Bond-ian also-ran, playing close to the usual beats but at least punctuated with Val Guest's talents behind the camera. There's a great use of locations and some of the camera work has a nice panache. Stephen Boyd is an amiable enough stand-in for the likes of Connery, but he feels more of an "aw shucks" kind of spy rather than one you take too seriously. The film meanders quite a bit, bouncing from spy plot to romance almost without any real switch between the two, as though it'll hit pause on one part to play around in the other and never really intertwines gracefully. Making Boyd's cover be the head of a toy company made me smile, at least.

Review by Tim Leggoe ★★★

I quite enjoyed this nonsense. A film which poses the question “What if James Bond was searching for a committed monogamous relationship and found all of the espionage stuff to be a tiresome distraction?”. Now we know the answer I guess.

Review by Bruno Andrade ★★★

Riscar um palito de fósforo para acender um cigarro no meio do gelo do inverno europeu, montado numa bicicleta, esperando o trem passar, para fazer um trabalho de espionagem.

E ver algum luxo, alguma aventura e algum primor nisso (ainda mais numa cópia VHS baleada).

E ainda há quem fale mal do século XX, o século em que proliferaram os filmes de espionagem internacional que se passavam exclusivamente nos melhores recantos da Europa modernizada e revitalizada (um pouco no sentido Bram Stoker do termo) pelo capitalismo financeiro, o século em que esse mesmo capitalismo permitiu a um Val Guest fazer um filme bacana por ano (e, no caso deste, com os protagonistas de Time Without Pity como coadjuvantes, interpretando vilões…

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Assignment K

Film details.

• Articles & Reviews

Brief Synopsis

Cast & crew, stephen boyd, camilla sparv, michael redgrave, jeremy kemp, technical specs.

As a toy manufacturer, British Intelligence agent Philip Scott transmits microfilmed messages between Germany and England by hiding them inside dolls. Answerable only to Harris in Department K at the Board of Trade, Philip is a law unto himself, and even Harris is ignorant of the names of Philip's contacts abroad. While visiting an international toy fair in Munich, Scott meets and falls in love with Toni Peters, a Swedish heiress. When Scott's enemies learn his true identity, they kill a member of his unit and then kidnap Toni from Scott's London flat. Smith, the ringleader of the opposition, informs Scott that Toni will be released if they are given the name of Scott's chief contact in Germany. Scott yields to this demand, but Scott and his friend Paul arrange for the contact's death before he can fall into enemy hands. Smith then retaliates by again kidnaping Toni. Scott penetrates Smith's headquarters and disarms his men, only to learn that Toni is actually one of the enemy. When an explosive device placed by Scott in Smith's hiding place detonates, however, Toni saves Scott while permitting her own colleagues to die. Disillusioned with the business of spying and finally aware that Harris is a double agent, Scott confronts Harris. Rather than face justice, Harris commits suicide. Once he is discharged, Scott, now certain that he is no longer willing to make the sacrifices required of a secret agent, drives away, leaving Toni behind.

Robert Hoffmann

Jane merrow, carl möhner, werner peters, dieter geissler, john alderton, david healy, ursula howells.

Basil Dignam

Joachim hansen, geoffrey bayldon, marthe harell, traudi hochfilzer, friedrich von thun, catherina von schell, herbert fuchs, peter capell, heinz leo fisher, karl otto alberty, helmut schneider, friedrich von ledebur, andrea allen, rosemarie reede, jenny white, olga linden, alexander allerson, alistair hunter, gert wiedenhofen, yvonne blake, john blezard, john a. coleman, cyril collick, splinters deason, maurice foster, douglas hayward, basil kirchin, roy parkinson, ken scrivener, tony sforzini, james shields, herbert r. smith, john stoneman, bill strutton, marjorie whittle, tcm remembers - leo mckern.

Location scenes filmed in West Germany, Kitzbühel (Austria), and Great Britain. Opened in London in February 1968. Prerelease title: Department K .

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States Summer June 1968

Techniscope

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