The Silver Screen Oasis

The Assassination Bureau (1969)

A young lady in Edwardian England brashes her way into journalism by offering to report on an international corps of assassins.

This could have been a wonderful romp if it had been a tad less serious and a bit shorter. There is more talk than is necessary for an action-adventure movie and more platitudes than a comedy needs and virtually no men in states of undress to balance the plethora of women in their unmentionables.

I love very much Diana Rigg in all things and Oliver Reed is Oliver Reed. I could well have done without Telly Savalas in a major role but he is endurable. Curd Jürgens and Kenneth Griffith played well in roles quite familiar to them. Clive Revill is a pure treasure as he is at all times.

6.8/10

This movie is available for viewing for free with commercials on: TubiTV

And sign me up as being another fan of Sandra Dee. I found her to be an absolutely charming actress. I have seen most of the films she made, and she never failed to be less than engaging. I am still recovering though from the shock I had when her character (correctly) referred to Audrey Meadow's character as a b!tch in the 1967 Rosalind Russell vehicle Rosie.

CinemaInternational wrote: ↑December 15th, 2022, 6:35 pm Never saw Sexette, although I definitely heard about it and its reputation. I might be willing to give it a look....

TikiSoo wrote: ↑December 16th, 2022, 9:21 am I certainly would like to see it-what a talented cast! And it seems like Mae is enjoying the exploitation of her persona.

At the 2:13 moment in the Sextette trailer, when Ringo Starr yells, "CUT! CUT! CUT!", the actor who plays the cameraman is Klair Bybee. I met Klair while I was working at a movie theatre. To supplement his acting income (read survive), he changed movie marquees. He had matinée idol looks, enhanced by a charismatic personality and an engaging sense of humor. His résumé on the Internet Movie Database reports a meagre filmography but also a fifty-year career in showbiz.

kingrat wrote: ↑December 16th, 2022, 11:44 pm I hope you get to see the documentary Max Steiner, directed by Diana Friedenberg, recently shown on TCM. It is outstanding, following Steiner's career from Vienna to New York to Hollywood. There are clips from movies, a TV interview with Steiner, comments by Michael Feinstein and others, shots of the notes on his scores, personal photographs, and many other interesting things. My husband started watching with me and wound up watching to the end--it's that interesting, even for someone with only a casual interest in classic film.

Ray Faiola, who has posted here and on TCM, is mentioned in the film for his film and music preservation work.

He's also credited as providing the voice of Max Steiner where original sound footage of Steiner is not used. Steiner is interviewed (appeared to be a kinescope of a 1950s TV interview show) and we hear his own voice there, but the Steiner voiceovers were provided by Faiola.

kingrat wrote: ↑December 16th, 2022, 11:44 pmI hope you get to see the documentary Max Steiner, directed by Diana Friedenberg, recently shown on TCM. It is outstanding

I was disappointed after I viewed it. To me, there was little reflecting that he was much else than a workaholic. Other things I've seen and read about him indicate that he was much more than that. And the same "facts" and examples kept being repeated over and over. Obviously, YMMV.

CinemaInternational wrote: ↑December 16th, 2022, 5:39 pm And sign me up as being another fan of Sandra Dee. I found her to be an absolutely charming actress. I have seen most of the films she made, and she never failed to be less than engaging. I am still recovering though from the shock I had when her character (correctly) referred to Audrey Meadow's character as a b!tch in the 1967 Rosalind Russell vehicle Rosie.

I always find it a little disconcerting to hear "blue" language coming out of the mouths of actors who I know primarily from production era films. Seeing William Holden have a sex scene and hearing him drop F-bombs take a little getting used to when watching "Network." Don't get me wrong, I'm not under any sort of delusion that the actors didn't use that language in their personal lives, but I'm not used to hearing it from them. Though I suppose I have heard it before when watching the Warner Brothers Breakdown videos, some of those are pretty funny and you learn which actors were "potty mouths." Lol.

HoldenIsHere wrote: ↑December 16th, 2022, 3:28 pm

speedracer5 wrote: ↑December 13th, 2022, 7:30 pm

jamesjazzguitar wrote: ↑December 11th, 2022, 8:20 pm


I'm a fan of Sandra Dee. Until They Sail has a very good cast.

I like Sandra Dee too. She's one of my favorites. I love Gidget.

I also love her in A Summer Place. A Summer Place is one of my favorites because that movie has EVERYTHING. It's amazing to me that Dee made Gidget and A Summer Place in the same year.

I love A SUMMER PLACE too.

The scene where Sandra Dee's character's mother has her examined by a doctor to see if Troy Donahue has de-flowered her!

I love this line that Sandra Dee says in her New Jersey accent:
"Johnny's lettuhs were all I had to live for. And now you've even made them dirty."

Omg Sandra Dee's mother, is a complete b!tch, zero sympathetic qualities, even alcoholic Arthur Kennedy is more sympathetic than her. That scene where she has Sandra examined is so awful. I feel so bad for her, because being forced to strip and be examined on the spot by a stranger, for a completely absurd reason as "seeing if her virginity is still intact" is horrible. If I were Sandra, 18-years old no less, I would have ended contact with my mother right then and there.

I love the scene when Richard Egan has finally had enough of his wife and tells her off. That part is awesome. Never do I root for adultery as much as I do in this film.

The scene where Sandra''s mother slaps her causing her to dramatically fall into the Christmas tree always makes me laugh. I don't laugh because Sandra's being hit, but the way she falls into the tree makes me laugh.

speedracer5 wrote: ↑December 17th, 2022, 12:54 pm

The scene where Sandra''s mother slaps her causing her to dramatically fall into the Christmas tree always makes me laugh. I don't laugh because Sandra's being hit, but the way she falls into the tree makes me laugh.

I love the Christmas tree scene as well and, like you, always laugh when I see it--- for the drama of the fall not because her mother hit her.
The mother in the movie is a bitter shrew! Constance Ford plays the role well.

I think I need to re-watch A SUMMER PLACE soon!

I've been watching a lot of films from 2022 lately. I'm up to about 65, or so. And I've noticed a rather weird trend. I would say of those that I have seen about 80% of them have a scene where one of the main characters vomits.
Just thought I would share.

Feinberg wrote: ↑December 18th, 2022, 1:27 am I've been watching a lot of films from 2022 lately. I'm up to about 65, or so. And I've noticed a rather weird trend. I would say of those that I have seen about 80% of them have a scene where one of the main characters vomits.
Just thought I would share.

A note on the quality level, perchance?

HoldenIsHere wrote: ↑December 17th, 2022, 2:28 pm I think I need to re-watch A SUMMER PLACE soon!

My library has UNTIL THEY SAIL as well as A SUMMER PLACE! Figured I should see A Summer Place asap for that Christmas tree scene. I've avoided it because I know that sappy tune is going to stick in my head.

speedracer5 wrote: ↑December 17th, 2022, 12:50 pm

CinemaInternational wrote: ↑December 16th, 2022, 5:39 pm And sign me up as being another fan of Sandra Dee. I found her to be an absolutely charming actress. I have seen most of the films she made, and she never failed to be less than engaging. I am still recovering though from the shock I had when her character (correctly) referred to Audrey Meadow's character as a b!tch in the 1967 Rosalind Russell vehicle Rosie.

I always find it a little disconcerting to hear "blue" language coming out of the mouths of actors who I know primarily from production era films. Seeing William Holden have a sex scene and hearing him drop F-bombs take a little getting used to when watching "Network." Don't get me wrong, I'm not under any sort of delusion that the actors didn't use that language in their personal lives, but I'm not used to hearing it from them. Though I suppose I have heard it before when watching the Warner Brothers Breakdown videos, some of those are pretty funny and you learn which actors were "potty mouths." Lol.

For language, it’s a great reason to watch Myra Breckinridge. It has the real (non code) Mae West and John Huston with language and all.

Feinberg wrote: ↑December 18th, 2022, 1:27 am I've been watching a lot of films from 2022 lately. I'm up to about 65, or so. And I've noticed a rather weird trend. I would say of those that I have seen about 80% of them have a scene where one of the main characters vomits.
Just thought I would share.

That was a trend I noticed from a few years back, as well, say 2008-2012 or so. I tend to watch movies in year order, so I saw a lot films consecutively from those years, and I was astonished by how many had vomiting scenes. And from every genre, too, not just gross-out comedies and the like.

Feinberg wrote: ↑December 18th, 2022, 1:27 am I've been watching a lot of films from 2022 lately. I'm up to about 65, or so. And I've noticed a rather weird trend. I would say of those that I have seen about 80% of them have a scene where one of the main characters vomits.
Just thought I would share.

That would be a good topic for a separate thread: films where characters vomit. One that comes to mind is Carrington (1995), in which Lytton Strachey, played by Jonathan Pryce, suddenly vomits at lunch.