''The Venetian Affair'' is a 1967

spy film The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many James Bond film ...

directed by

Jerry Thorpe Richard Jerome "Jerry" Thorpe was an American television-and-film director and producer. Actor and director Richard Thorpe was his father. Jerry served as the executive producer of 33 episodes of ''The Untouchables'' (starring Robert Stack) du ...

and starring

Robert Vaughn Robert Francis Vaughn (November 22, 1932 – November 11, 2016) was an American actor noted for his stage, film and television work. His television roles include the spy Napoleon Solo in the 1960s series '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E.''; the ...

and

Elke Sommer Elke Sommer (; born Elke Baronin von Schletz, 5 November 1940) is a German actress. She appeared in numerous films in her heyday throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including roles in ''The Pink Panther'' sequel '' A Shot in the Dark'' (1964), the ...

. It is based on a novel of the same name by Helen MacInnes.

Plot

A former

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

agent, Bill Fenner, now a downbeat, loner journalist, is sent to Venice to investigate the shock suicide bombing by an American diplomat at a peace conference. CIA chief Frank Rosenfeld specifically requests Fenner come out of retirement because one of the suspects in the case is Fenner's ex-wife, Sandra Fane, who is believed to be a

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

sympathizer. A secret report by Dr. Vaugiroud could be the key, but Fenner's and Fane's lives are greatly endangered, particularly at the hands of a mysterious man named Wahl, while trying to unravel the plot.

Cast

as Bill Fenner *

as Sandra Fane *

Felicia Farr Felicia Farr (born Olive Dines; October 4, 1932) is a American former actress and model Early years Farr was born in Westchester County, New York. She attended Erasmus Hall High School and studied sociology at Penn State. Career Farr bega ...

as Claire Connor *

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

as Dr. Pierre Vaugiroud *

Ed Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both '' The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' ...

as Frank Rosenfeld *

Karl Boehm Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austrian ...

as Robert Wahl *

Roger C. Carmel Roger Charles Carmel (September 27, 1932 – November 11, 1986) was an American actor. He originated several roles on Broadway, played scores of guest roles in television series, was a lead in the sitcom ''The Mothers-in-Law'' and appeared in ...

as Mike Ballard * Luciana Paluzzi as Giulia Almeranti

Production

''The Venetian Affair'' was shot on location in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, Italy.

Release

''The Venetian Affair'' was released in theatres on January 18, 1967. The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

on October 18, 2011.

Reception

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote in his review: "It's a totally inane and posy picture about an American newspaper photographer who gets involved in an international intrigue in Venice which has something to do with obtaining a secret report. ..Some nice color photography in Venice is the only plus feature of this film, which is based on a novel by Helen MacInnes."

References

Sources

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Venetian Affair, The 1967 films American spy thriller films Films set in Venice Films shot in Venice 1960s spy thriller films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films based on American novels Films scored by Lalo Schifrin Films based on works by Helen MacInnes Parody films based on James Bond films 1960s English-language films Films directed by Jerry Thorpe 1960s American films