Project: Kill (1976)

User Rating:

4.1/10   

Director:

William Girdler

Writers:

David Sheldon (story)
Galen Thompson (writer)

Release Date:

October 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Plot:

A former government assassin flees a mind-control program in the Philippines, pursued by his ex-partner, the local police and Asian gangsters.

Plot Keywords:

Philippines | Agent | Spy | Assassination | Search

Cast

Leslie Nielsen	...	John Trevor
Gary Lockwood	...	Frank Lassiter
Nancy Kwan	...	Lee Su
Vic Silayan	...	Chief Insp. Cruz
Vic Diaz	...	Alok Lee
Galen Thompson	...	Carl Wagner
Carlos Salazar	...	Insp. Ortiz
Pamela Parsons	...	Lynn Walker
Maurice Downs	...	Hook
Franco Zarrate	...	Lung Set
Louis Florentino	...	Ramon
Henry Salcedo	...	Business Hood
Mark LeBuse	...	Herman Kitolis
Ibano Santos	...	Hotel Clerk (as Ibarro Santos)
Romy Blanco	...	Alok Hood

Also Known As:

The Guardian (USA) (pre-release title)
Total Control (USA) (video title)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 (video premiere)

Filming Locations:

El Grande Hotel, Manila, Metro Manila, Luzon, Philippines

Company:

Mid-America Pictures

Trivia:

The head of the company originally set to distribute the film was found murdered shortly before it was to go into international release. It received spotty distribution because the rights were tied up in legal wrangling over the victim's estate for several years.

Goofs:

Continuity: Hook begins to refill Jonathan's glass when Carl tells him to, but in the next shot he's refilling Carl's glass.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Bourne Identity (2002)

Soundtrack:

Lonely World

Dumb and Double Dumb rumble at sundown

Hi, Everyone, One way to make a movie build as it progresses, is to start with a very boring scene. Leslie Neilsen begins his role here by narrating a training film. We can instantly see he ain't the swiftest. The problem is, it is not a comedy. It's funny sometimes but never a comedy.

The director must be given most of the blame. The cast is OK. Gary Lockwood and Leslie Neilsen should change their roles. Leslie would make a better pursuer. Maybe Nancy Kwan and Gary should change roles. Nancy would be more believable in the fight scenes than Gary.

The actors appear to be doing their own stunt fighting. They look confused. They seem to be trying to remember their choreography while the opponents wait to be punched.

The acting borders on awful. Sometimes it crosses that border. The writing is conventional. You have a super secret agency of the government that is made up of well armed men. They are all very stupid. They have $300,000 to play with that they had hidden somewhere. They film some of their exploits for training purposes, but the films are all too dark to see what is going on.

My guess is that Leslie Neilsen and Gary Lockwood and Nancy Kwan have never got together to celebrate the release of this stinker.

I almost forgot. There is a song in the movie. The girl who sang it was the one who should have been chased and Karate chopped. Actually maybe the song writer should have been the villain.

Compare the beginning speech of George C. Scott in Patton with Leslie Neilsen's speech at the beginning of this movie. George C. Scott had a passion and the words to fit that passion. Leslie Neilsen sounds like a boxer being interviewed after a bout where he was unable to find a neutral corner.

If you want a turkey for Thanksgiving, this might be it. This is the bird that didn't quite make it over the cuckoo's nest.

Tom Willett