The Assassination Bureau
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| The Assassination Bureau | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Basil Dearden |
| Produced by | Michael Relph |
| Written by | Robert L. Fish (novel) Jack London (unfinished novel) Wolf Mankowitz Michael Relph |
| Starring | Oliver Reed Diana Rigg Telly Savalas Curt Jurgens |
| Running time | 110 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Assassination Bureau is a tongue-in-cheek film made in 1969 based on an unfinished book, The Assassination Bureau, Ltd. by Jack London. It stars Oliver Reed, Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas and Curt Jurgens.
Whereas London's original novel was set in the USA, this film is set in Europe.
[edit] Plot
London, the early 1900s: aspiring journalist and women's rights campaigner, Sonia Winter (Rigg) uncovers an organization which specialises in killing for money, the Assassination Bureau Limited. Thinking to bring about its destruction, she commissions the assassination of the bureau’s own chairman Ivan Dragomiloff (Reed).
Far from being outraged or upset, Dragomiloff is amused and intrigued and accepts the commission. The guiding principle of his bureau, founded by his father, has always been that there was a moral reason why their victims should be killed. More recently though, his colleagues have tended to kill more for financial gain than for moral reasons.
With Miss Winter in tow, Dragomiloff sets off on a tour of Edwardian Europe, challenging the members of his board of directors: kill him or he will kill them! Little do they realise that this is in fact a plot by Miss Winter's sponsor, newspaper publisher Lord Bostwick (Savalas), to take over the bureau and plunge Europe into war.
