The Last Grenade

Having appeared in films such as 'The Great Escape', 'Guns at Batasi', 'Flight of the Phoenix' and 'Dr. Dolittle', as well as making his directorial debut in 'Oh! What a Lovely War', Dickie Attenborough continued to act in films like this one in between directing his own. This was made just before he directed 'Young Winston'.

I have always loved this kind of films made in late sixties and early seventies, downbeat and pessimist topics, speaking of anti heroes battling in combats lost in advance. This is not a masterpiece, but I crave for the charm of those movies. Honor Blackman's awesome character's name is Cathy...I guess a tribute to Cathy Gale, the famous TV show THE AVENGERS that made her a star. To summarize, nothing new, compared to other features of this era, speaking of mercenaries but I will never get tired of them. And there were plenty of those, batches, mostly grade B movies. But who cares?

Surely the worst film that any of the three British stars ever made? Any two of them together would normally be enough to suggest a good film, the trio surely a guarantee? And there are several very dependable supporting actors. But all that is commendable about TLG are the locations. Other reviewers have already expressed various criticisms. Additionally one might mention Baker's team finding Thompson's village deserted and awaiting his gang's return - wandering around in the open and so highly vulnerable. I suppose that the frustrated Blackman was attracted to Baker because of the combination of his machismo and his vulnerability as a hospital patient? If he had TB, surely it was unwise for her to become intimate with him because the bacteria can be spread through close contact. The romantic interlude halfway through the film was disruptive to the main plot, such as it was. A very big disappointment.

It is almost impossible to understand what is going on in this film and why certain characters are behaving the way they do. Alex Cord is acting in a very bizarre manner. In the middle of the film there is a romantic interlude between Baker and Blackman which brings the film to a grinding halt. The ending is absurd.

I saw this movie when it first came out, and it made a BIG impression on me -- because it was so BAD. I remember the ride home listening to my parents in the front seat absolutely trash this thing. There were holes in the plot big enough for a herd of elephants to trample through. My father (normally one of the sweetest men you'll ever meet) worked himself up to the point where he was criticizing the costumes. As I remember (and it has been 35 years), a platoon is shown heading off into the jungle on a secret mission, and they are all in camouflage, "Except for that idiot," my father exclaims through bursts of laughter, "you know, the guy wearing RED on a secret mission!" And even though I was kind of young, I do remember how wooden the acting was, especially Alex Cord, who had to be one of the worst actors ever. Bottom line: Good for a few laughs, but there is a reason this one is obscure.

Stanley Baker and Alex Cord used to be buddies until the Congo. Now Baker, in London to deal with his tuberculosis, is hired by Whitehall. Cord is making trouble on the border between China and Hong Kong. The local commanding general, Richard Attenborough, can't do anything, since that might raise tensions with China, so Baker and his mercenaries are supposed to deal with the situation. It's one of those movies in which the action is far more important than the events, like Baker's affair with Attenborough's wife, Honor Blackman. It's never clear why Cord is causing trouble. What is clear is that the two are in a life-and-death struggle, and who will survive is the end the movie is pointing to. There's some good location shooting by DP Alan Hume, but director Gordon Flemyng is more interested in entertainment and striking images than story.