‘They’re mercenaries, not idiots’ is a telling line from The Diamond Mercenaries aka Killer Force, but the matter is very much up for discussion. Sure, if your idea of a good Saturday night romp is watching the late Peter Fonda suffering an intrusive rectal examination, then Val Guest’s 1975 thriller is likely to be exactly what you’re looking for. But Fonda’s indignities are only a small part of what’s on offer here, from Telly Savalas’s turtle-neck wardrobe to Christopher Lee in khaki; if you miss the simple virtues of a 1970’s potboiler, the Force assembled here is all Killer and no filler.
Savalas plays Harry Webb, somehow the real name of British singer Cliff Richard, but also the head of security at the “Syndicated Diamond Corporation’ which sounds like a trip-hop band and that vibe seems to have influenced Savalas to play Webb like a night-club owner complete with a garish wardrobe. The random picks for the opposition include OJ Simpson, Christopher Lee and Hugh O’Brian, while Bond girl Maud Adams slinks about on the side-lines as a glamorous tv reporter. Fonda was coming to the end of his leading-man status, his bankability drained by the vogue for anti-heroes having ebbed by the mid70’s, and he gives a strange, reluctant performance hidden behind a Seth Rogen beard and mega-shades.
Having excoriated Amazon Prime for some of their awful prints, I should note that The Diamond Mercenaries looks crisp and the desert scenes are rather beautiful to look at. As are, in a different way, the 1975 interiors, which have a luridness worth catching. And it’s worth appreciating that the South African setting allows for a certain largess in terms of action, which many bullets and explosions in a frantic half hour.
For Guest, late in his career and sandwiched between Confessions of a Window Cleaner and the unforgettable Cannon and Ball vehicle The Boys in Blue, this is a surprisingly zestful actioneer in a sub-Alistair MacLean style. The bright yellow jeeps may well be the most memorable thing here, but redicovery via streaming is probably the best shot that this largely forgotten movie has of any kind of redemption.
Love when a character has the same name as a star.. did you spot ‘Robert Palmer” in the last airport film?
One jump ahead of you. Since my second name is Harrison, I have a Harrison Industries T shirt to remember Airport 79 by. Now if I can just get my drones to fly right…
Excellent, I love it.. if you ever retitle your blog that is what you should call it. I have a Patrick Duffy one… Now does that surprise you?
In When Time Ran Out, Ernest Borgnine plays Tom Conti…
In The Humanoid, the heroine is called Barbara Gibson, but they say it so fast, it sound like Barbara Dickson, causing all kinds of amusement….
The two Mike Reads always confused me when I was wee until one became Frank in EastEnders…
The kind of Friday night picture we expected and got in the 70s with a passable cast, moslty past thier best but still able to do a turn.
It’s not one to write home about, but kinda fun in a retro way.
Retro is good enough for me.
Was Savalas considered an action star? He’d aged out by the time I came to movies and I don’t have the oomph to go looking through the dustbins to find one or two good ones.
(that’s what you’re for after all)
Kojak was his big tv show, and he’s good in Horror Express, a good film which I think you might enjoy. He did have bags of charisma, but also worked well with ensembles.
I bet Kojak is where I’ve heard about him the most.
It’s rare for a star to be able to act alone AND in groups. Too many are camera hogs :-/
Kojak was cool. Lollipops and Buicks.
I just looked on Amazon. The weird thing is, only seasons 2,3 & 5 are available to stream. How can the whole thing not be there? I’m flummoxed.
This happens all the time. Bits of series. Not worth your while. Either the whole caboodle or nothing, it’s pointless just to have bits of it.
Exactly. I want the whole kit and kaboodle. I will rule the world, alone or see it burn!
Ahem, I mean…..
yeah, I want a whole series 😀
Yup. Actually, I meant Horror Express was suitable for you rather than Kojak, so no great loss.
Is that on Prime too? I’ll have to go look…
Yup, it’s more adventure than horror, and proper old school, no sex, no swearing and a very cool monster.
Check, check and check!
The film has been out of copyright for a bit, so might be on YouTube too. Telly Savalas rocks in it, and the alien is a real one-off when you get to it…
Thank goodness for youtube!
Since it’s out of copyright, we can remake it to suit ourselves. I’ll be Telly, you can be the alien, fraggle and Alex can be Cushing and Lee. It writes itself!
One Alien to Rule them all
One alien to probe them all
and in the darkness bind them.
You’re right, this stuff DOES write itself…
We’re off to a great start. I’ll start photoshopping our faces onto the characters….
Who says you can’t do a movie on a budget?
Honestly, it’s Sherlock Holmes fighting aliens on the Trans Siberian Express. What’s not to like?
I love it….
Glad to see that Hollywood hadn’t dropped its standards back in the day. Because nothing says Hollywood like blowing up a helicopter with one shot from a rifle 😀
Is the correct answer. It’s tempting to base your understanding of life and physics from a film like this, but that would be a mistake.
Well, seeing Savalas dropping the binoculars and revealing that he had his shades on even while he was looking through them was worth a chuckle anyway. The trailer is about as close as I’ll get to watching this.
You have to take the simple pleasures in life where you can get them. Christopher Lee in a full khaki outfit did it for me.
Um nope. Not keen on Fonda or Savalas, or rectal exams for that matter.
Well, there’s all three at once here. Why not enjoy the theme song from The Boys in Blue, I meant to squeeze this in somewhere?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUt8ARpnDU4
I’ll live without it but thanks anyway.
Sigh. Wonderful, rousing anthem. You won’t regret it.