Ring Around the World (1966)

A chore to sit through, 2 June 2017
- Duello nel mondo

When a fellow insurance investigator is killed, Fred Lester (Richard Harrison) is asked by his company to take over the case. Lester finds a series of unusually large claims on policies issued just prior to death. Also, in each case, a bank or other business is listed as the beneficiary – not a family member. There has to be a connection. Digging further, Lester discovers that a criminal organization is behind the deaths. Lester must find the killer and the person behind the murderous plot.

The list of things I like about Ring Around the World is brief – the groovy 60s music, Harrison's Clark Kent style glasses, Giacomo Rossi Stuart's performance, and . . . well, I guess that's pretty much the whole list. As for what I didn't like, I'll stick to my main gripe - the plot. It's just so deathly dull. Trying to get through Ring Around the World is a real chore. A perfect example is the film's final shootout between Harrison and Stuart. This should have been one of the most exciting parts of the film, but, in reality, it couldn't get much worse. The two actors play cat and mouse on the side of a small hill for what seems like an eternity. I'm not sure how they actually managed to avoid each other, but somehow they were able to accomplish this nearly impossible feat for more than 10 minutes. How exciting (sarcasm). And when the end finally does come, it's such a letdown. The dual between the two chief protagonists ends in a whimper. To ratchet up the dullness even more – everything in the movie is so utterly predictable. The big reveal in the closing scenes of the head bad guy should come as a surprise to no one. There is no mystery. What a snoozefest!

3/10