The Swiss Conspiracy (1976)

What a waste!, 2 May 2006

What's up with David Janssen? I've seen any number of films he stars in and I've yet to see why or how the guy made so many films, especially late in his career. I know he made some good stuff early on like The Fugitive, but does anyone find the David Janssen that appeared in The Swiss Conspiracy appealing? Are we really supposed to believe the scenes of him in bed with Senta Berger? I'm not buying it for a second. He's got that greasy, unwashed look to him like he's on a three-day bender and has had one too many bottles of Scotch and just finished his third pack of cigarettes before noon. Actors like Clint Eastwood can scowl through a whole movie and look tough. Janssen just looks like he's got some sort of lower intestinal problem. And what's with that hair? Why in the world would anyone grow their sideburns long enough to comb them back over their ears? Did he really think that was a good look?

As for The Swiss Conspiracy, there's a reason you can buy it in the U.S. for $1 from every public domain company to come down the pike – it's not very good. It's amazing that you can take a cast that includes the aforementioned Janssen (regardless of my rant, I still like him), Senta Berger, John Saxon, John Ireland, Elke Sommer, Ray Milland, and Anton Diffring and make something this bad. Each of these actors appeared in any number of films that I enjoy. But not here. Part of the problem is that most of these actors are so underutilized that you wonder what made them want to do this film in the first place. Take John Saxon. His tough, Chicago hood character would have been great had he stuck around for more than 10 minutes. What a waste!

3/10