bensonmum2
This is my first experience with Jerry Cotton and, overall, I enjoyed Death in a Red Jaguar. It's got a lot of faults, but there were enough good, quirky moments to make it worthwhile. In this one, FBI Agent Jerry Cotton (George Nader) is called in to investigate a series of murders. In each case, the person with the greatest motive also has the best alibi. Cotton believes that there must be a murder-for-hire group responsible for the murders. After much chasing and a few more deaths, Cotton decides the best way to stop the group is to make himself a target. Had I not known going in, I could have told you after about five minutes that Death in a Red Jaguar was at least in part a German production. It just had that 60s-era German feel to it. I can't really describe it, like I said, it's just a feeling. The plot in this one is interesting enough to hold it all together. There are plenty of chases, murders, and suspects to keep things hopping. And the main killer was especially creepy which really helped the first half of the film. I've always enjoyed Nader's work when he pops up in a movie I'm watching. He's usually good, however by 1968, he was getting a bit old to play this kind of role. The supporting cast is nice, though some aren't helped by the dubbing. The voice used for Daniela Surina's Ria Payne character was a bit like listening to a female Foghorn Leghorn. I'm from the South and no on speaks like that. I loved all the rear projection shots designed to make it look like the film was set in California. Awesome stuff. Finally, the ending was very satisfactory. Even though I knew who the mastermind behind the murders was, it was still fun to watch Cotton catch him. Looking forward to checking out more Jerry Cotton.
MartinHafer
The print currently posted on YouTube is really lousy...which is a shame since other Agent Jerry Cotton films on the site are terrific quality. It's also possible that there's a better copy on the site...so you might want to look around first to see if another is there as well.When the film begins, evil Robert Fuller (of "Emergency" fame) is holding some women hostage. Soon, in smashes Cotton...saving the day. Interestingly, Fuller is dubbed her by someone other than himself...which is odd considering it is in English.Soon Agent Cotton is investigating a strange murder in which a wife and her small child are brutally and methodically killed...as if by an assassin. Later, more similar deaths occur and there is no obvious link between them and the killers are not the same person. It seems as if some sort of murder for hire scheme is taking place. Oddly, the trail soon leads to an evil psychiatrist who apparently convinces very sick people that they have a compulsion to kill for him! Nice guy, huh? So how is Cotton going to catch him and put an end to all this nastiness?This is yet another Cotton film. I've seen three so far and they all are exciting light-weight fun...and are worth seeing. George Nader is excellent in the lead and the films are a bit like smaller- scale James Bond films with less gadgets and domestic criminals instead of Spectre-like baddies. Worth your time.
Horst in Translation ([email protected])
"Der Tod im roten Jaguar" or "Death in the Red Jaguar" is a West German /Italian co-production that resulted in this German-language film from 1968, which will have its 50th anniversary two years from now. The star here is maybe the director as Harald Reinl later became an Oscar nominee and is still fairly known here in Germany for his Winnetou films. Like most his other works, this one here is in color and focuses on one man in particular: Jerry Cotton. He is an FBI agent who keeps solving crimes. That's basically all you need to know. here and there, we see a gunfight, some attractive young women and fast sports cars like the one mentioned here in the title. There are quite a lot German films from back then, even if most of these really aren't that famous. This one here is possibly the most known today. It's also the first I saw from the franchise (except the new one starring Christian Tramitz) and I cannot say it got me curious about any of the others. It wasn't a failure, but the plot and acting did not really convince me. I also felt that George Nader was maybe too old for the character, especially in the face of these young attractive women surrounding him. Overall, this film was too generic and uninspired for my taste. I do not recommend seeing these 90 minutes. Thumbs down.