MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Jerrie It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Ed-Shullivan Okay, so The Liquidator could be described by purist fans of the James Bond franchise collection as a compliment to the previous years 1964 release of James Bond's "Goldfinger" right down to having the classy Shirley Bassey singing the introduction score of both films as only Shirley Bassey can. But The Liquidator does more than an admirable job of standing the test of time over the past 52 years such that Rod Taylor and Jill St. John's performances should always be remembered for being the feature stars of this tongue in cheek ode to the spy genre.I really enjoyed it and I will be sure to be purchasing a copy of this grand action and fun filled film for my personal viewing pleasure so that I don't have to wait a few more years for TCM to re-run a series of all the Rod Taylor classic films that were box office successes.Rod Taylor plays something of a combination of a poor man's James Bond who enjoys romancing a variety of beautiful women and even a funnier man's Inspector Clouseau with both charm and candor and a whole lot of gullibility. This film provides for fans of Rod Taylor why this Australian born actor could not be stereotyped as just a leading man, or as a dramatic actor in suspenseful roles as in THE BIRDS, or as a captain of a spaceship or as a cowboy. No, Rod Taylor is much like a chameleon who can change color or acting style as the film requires of him.Ann-Margret also does an excellent job playing Iris MacIntosh, the administrative assistant to the Colonel Mostyn, played by Trevor Howard. The film is filled to the brim and overflowing with plot, romance, action and most importantly much humor and wit by Rod Taylor.I liked The Liquidator and I believe you will too. I give this 52 year old film a very strong 8 out of 10 rating and I for one will be sure to be watching it again as this spy genre spoof has held up very well thank you.

Hugh Terry All the elements seem to be in place to make The Liquidator a success: a witty script, a strong cast, an over-the-top Shirley Bassey theme song, crisp cinematography in glorious 1960s Technicolor. But having said that, the whole package doesn't quite come off.The basic idea is a clever one: to take the familiar secret agent movie premise and subvert it by making the central character a reluctant assassin who "wouldn't hurt a fly". The problem is, Rod Taylor is just too "straight" for the role. Like the Royal Air Force's new top secret spy plane, Taylor often seems to be running on automatic pilot.The comic elements here should have been exploited for much greater effect. Comparisons with Connery's James Bond are wide of the mark, since this film does not aspire to match the serious thrill quotient of a Bond movie. But it does contain some delicious irony, and a couple of neat twists that even surpass the usual formula at times. The scene in which Taylor, imprisoned in a cellar with his captor's floozy, is openly encouraged to escape, is neatly handled - until the poor girl is needlessly gunned down by another member of the gang to "silence" her. This provokes a cliff-top chase that culminates in a dangling moment of rare high tension, evoking the original Italian Job.Younger fans of the Austin Powers series may enjoy seeing what actual swinging '60s films were really like. But where Mike Myers' films take the tiniest germ of a funny idea and magnify it over and over, The Liquidator does the reverse: a potentially promising humorous situation tends just to be left hanging in the air.For connoisseurs of British pictures of the period, there are little treats on offer too, in the appearance of familiar faces like Trevor Howard, Eric Sykes, Wilfred Hyde White and Richard Wattis - although again, their talent is mostly wasted. The delightful Jill St. John (who would go on to do the "real thing" in Diamonds Are Forever) is eminently watchable throughout, and her performance raises the whole tone; indeed she and Howard are the best things on view here.Overall then, whilst The Liquidator is certainly an enjoyable film, with the right leading actor, or perhaps a director with a keener eye for comic possibilities, it could have been a much funnier romp through contemporary spy film clichés. So while it must go down as something of a missed opportunity, for me it's better fun than Casino Royale - either the new version or the 1967 one.

Gregor Hauser (gregorhauser) I just saw "The liquidator". I think it is one of Rod´s worst pictures.There is a funny and promising beginning but after ten or fifteen minutes it only is boring. Rod is fun to watch but his character is badly developed.The rest of the movie is very weak. That is a pity because there are talented actors in it, a capable director and a nice basic idea.

Jacky-4 "The Liquidator" was such an amusing film. I loved the fact that Shirley Bassey sang the theme song a la James Bond. It was great to see a spy whose hormones were far more potent than his efforts with a gun. A particularly funny part occurs when Trevor Howard is rescued by Boysie, as Paris is being liberated. Howard thinks that Boysie is a killing machine when, in fact, he is a hopelessly clumsy young man. Rod Taylor is deliciously sexy in the film and displays his flair for comedy.