John Guillermin was on the verge of making a really outstanding film for years when he finally hit pay dirt with House of Cards. He went on to direct amongst other excursions, the 1976 remake of King Kong and Death on the Nile (1978) which is probably his best film. Unfortunately, he doesn't quite make the grade in House of Cards, despite the wonderful assistance of Francis Lai's music score and Piero Portalupi's attractively moody color cinematography. Mind you, there is also a marvelous opening in Paris with a corpse's eye-view of the Ile de la Cité from the Seine, plus a splendid climax in Rome with a fight-to-the-death in the musty corridors of the Coliseum. And there are some marvelous sequences in between these two high points. But what principally drags the movie down to a less exalted level is a screenplay that is not only far too talky but that fails to generate a great deal of suspense. For one thing, the villains are presented in far too gentlemanly a guise. In itself, this would be a commendable innovation, but it should have been bolstered by atmospheric touches. These, the direction lacks. Instead, Guillermin has chosen a more straightforward approach to the narrative, presumably to endow it with a more realistic air, but this approach only succeeds when it is enhanced by effects, such as the water lapping on the shore of the Villa Frascati. Another fault lies in the casting of Inger Stevens in a key role. Unfortunately, she is unable to elicit much in the way of sympathy or interest in her characterization. The other players score much better. Incidentally, the script leaves a lot unexplained, e.g. why is an attempt made on Paul's life?
Review of House of Cards
