FOREIGN EXCHANGE

 

FOREIGN EXCHANGE is the second of two American TV network movies that were filmed in England and based on novels written by Hammer Films veteran Jimmy Sangster. As with its predecessor, THE SPY KILLER, FOREIGN EXCHANGE was directed by Roy Ward Baker, with many other Hammer veterans filling roles behind the camera. This movie was first broadcast on American TV in 1970.

The main cast of THE SPY KILLER returns for this entry, with Robert Horton in the lead role as John Smith, Jill St. John as his girlfriend, and Sebastian Cabot as Max, a shady British Intelligence operative. Once again John Smith reluctantly re-enters the world of espionage when Max threatens to deport his girlfriend. Smith gets involved in a plot to undermine a Soviet spy network, which requires him to travel to Russia. A number of convoluted double-dealings ensue, driving Smith to attempt to outwit both the British and the Soviets. 

I wasn't all that impressed with THE SPY KILLER (which I covered a few weeks ago), and FOREIGN EXCHANGE is even more lackluster. There's very little action, and the plot is confusing at times. (Needless to say, no one on this production got anywhere close to actually filming in Russia.) One big drawback is Robert Horton, an actor who in his performances always seemed to be annoyed by something. He's really annoyed here--his John Smith is a cynical guy with a chip on his shoulder who is constantly moaning about the situation he is in. If the lead character of a story is disaffected by what is going on, then the viewer will more than likely be disaffected watching what he is doing. Jill St. John has even less to do here than in THE SPY KILLER, and the only supporting player of note is Eric Pohlman, who plays a Russian colonel. 

I haven't read the Jimmy Sangster novels upon which THE SPY KILLER and FOREIGN EXCHANGE are based, and I doubt that what was on the written page was any more interesting than what wound up on screen. Sangster was trying to make John Smith as anti-007 as possible, but he overdid it, with the result that John Smith's "adventures" are as dull and dreary as he is. Considering what the state of American television was in the late 1960s--early 1970s, I'm surprised some network executive didn't demand that these movies be juiced up in some way. 

If you are interested in Jimmy Sangster's overall work as a screenwriter, especially outside Hammer, these two TV movies are available on YouTube, but I wouldn't place them among Sangster's best efforts.