"Triple Cross" is one of the movies Terence Young wished he'd never done, and it is bad indeed, even though it had all the ingredients a good box office hit needs: an international all-star cast (Christopher Plummer, Romy Schneider, Yul Brynner, Trevor Howard, Gert Fröbe, Jess Hahn, Claudine Auger from "Thunderball", Howard Vernon and Bernard Fresson), a massive budget, a director at the height of his international fame, a Bond-like story, a Bond-like score (Georges Garvarentz) and Bond-like locations (Jersey, London, Paris, Lisbon, Southern France). What went wrong?

Basically, "Triple Cross" is about one hour too long (there are two versions available, one lasts 145 minutes, the other one 126), and for many parts it seems as if even the director got confused with the different story lines, so the movie is guilty of both, boredom and confusion. The romantic aspect of the film doesn't work out; the chemistry between Plummer and Schneider is everything but right. Christopher Plummer is a huge disappointment in his attempt to be Sean Connery. He is undoubtedly a good actor, but as Eddie Chapman, he remains pale and utterly deadpan. Where Connery as Bond had a lot of sex-appeal and charm, Plummer has nothing to offer. Miss Schneider is equally miscast as the mysterious Countess, she seems lost and bored and gives one of the very few bad performances of her life.

I won't give a summary of the plot here, it's just not worth it. I recommend watching the early Bond movies, like "Dr. No", "Goldfinger", or "From Russia With Love" instead.