The Clouded Yellow

Ralph Thomas has assembled a superior cast for this intriguing thriller. MI6 agent Trevor Howard ("Somers") returns from a mission to find he has outlived his usefulness and is to be put out to grass, He finds work at a remote country house were he is to help the ostensibly eccentric owner "Fenton" (Barry Jones) with his butterfly collection. On his way to the house, he gives a lift to their rather course young gamekeeper "Hick" (Maxwell Reed) before meeting the family and their enigmatic niece "Sophie" (Jean Simmons). She, like the butterflies, is a gentle creature and slowly he begins to gain her confidence. It all gets shaken up when we discover the corpse of the odious "Hick" and with her fairly in the frame for the crime, the two abscond. Using his considerable skills, they hope to evade his pursuing former colleague "Shepley" (Kenneth More), and the true perpetrator. What follows in quite an enjoyable cat and mouse chase featuring a distinctly dodgy looking helicopter and some lovely photography of the North of England thrown in too. Though clearly the plot would have us believe the two are falling in love, neither lead performance is particularly magnetic nor convincing at demonstrating that - chemistry there isn't. André Morell, Sonia Dresdel and Geoffrey Keen help keep it moving along well, though - and there's quite an engaging little cameo from Richard Wattis as the job centre man towards the start. Maybe not the most suspenseful film you'll ever watch, but there are a few twists and turns and the conclusion is well enough concealed to keep us guessing til the end.