Movie law dictates the epithet ‘hangdog’ should feature whenever Walter Matthau appears. Ronald Neame’s chase-com duly tosses the bone. The plot’s a shaggy dog too: Matthau’s demoted CIA agent gets revenge on his ex-boss by leaking his memoirs to intelligence agencies around the world, prompting a merry global dance with said boss on Walt’s tail. Playing like a footnote to ’70s conspiracy flicks, the slightness is inevitable, but half-competent fluff-handler Neame (catch The Poseidon Adventure, dodge Meteor) gets a good grip on the comic leash. You could do worse on a lazy afternoon.
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