Andrei British Intelligence agent John Shay suspects that a security leak caused the collapse of British operations in Vienna. He persuades his girl friend Polly, a secretary at Intelligence headquarters, to allow him access to secret files. The information leads Shay to suspect fellow agent Adam Booth (whose wife, Sarah, has been having an affair with him) of being a double agent for the Soviet Union. Although Shay denounces Booth, his superiors refuse to act on what they believe to be groundless charges, and Shay is suspended from his duties for obtaining the confidential files. Nevertheless, he goes to Istanbul to search for more evidence against Booth; while he is investigating, an attempt is made on his life. With conclusive information from British scientist Philip Crawford, who is also involved with Sarah, Shay then murders Booth and finds a plane ticket to Athens in his pocket. Shay boards the plane, accompanied by Sarah, who is unaware of her husband's death. In Athens, where Shay impersonates Booth, they are captured by Soviet agents and held for an exchange for Crawford. Colonel Scott, CIA agent, rescues Shay and Sarah and reveals that Booth was indeed a double agent being used by the British to transmit false information to the Russians.

gridoon2018 "The Executioner" opens in an unusual (especially for its time) fashion: with the aftermath of a violent action sequence which will only be seen near the end of the movie; then the story leading up to this is told in long flashbacks. It's a serious, dark spy thriller with lots and lots of plot twists; there is one character who may be a double, a triple, or even a quadruple agent! The main hero, well played by George Peppard, is not a cut-and-dried good guy; in fact, it is suggested that he often lets his feelings cloud his judgment. The supporting cast (yes, even Joan Collins!) is also very good, and Judy Geeson shines as Peppard's quirky, supportive girlfriend. The locations include London, Istanbul, Athens and Corfu, but they're not meant to be glamorous, they're just part of the exhaustive and exhausting spy business. An undeservedly neglected film. *** out of 4.

udar55 Brit-born, American-raised spy John Shay (Peppard) is dismayed when his undercover operation in Germany goes belly up. On suspension by his superiors, he begins to sense there is a double agent in the mix and believes it is Adam Booth (Keith Michell), a top agent loved by the brass who also happens to be married to Shay's ex Sarah (Joan Collins). The further he digs, the more Shay is convinced that Booth is feeding info to the Russians.Steeped in a far more realistic world of espionage than the Bond series, this George Peppard vehicle is semi-dull and semi-great. The first hour relies too much on Peppard getting stern talks from his superiors. It doesn't help matters that Shay is quite a chauvinist, shown treating Sarah and current squeeze Polly (Judy Geeson) terribly. Peppard certainly has an on screen presence though. The last 45-minutes redeem the film with a memorable twist (which is, sadly, undermined by a coda that one should ignore if cynical like me) and some great location shooting in Turkey and Greece. Charles Gray (Blofeld in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER) plays one of Shay's superiors.

jmol Deep in plot factors and to some perhaps slow in development (but layered spy films need to "develop" to set the story in play). But steeped in cold war motivations and sensibilities of the time. Peppard is driven to do his job well, with concern for protecting those things and people he values. Twists and turns confront him, but he resolves the factors. But then there is that final and jaw-dropping question which is the final line of the film!His former controller offers him a position of command within the British espionage structure from which George Peppard has left. Disgusted with the way in which the prior situation was handled (set up by his overseers) Peppard might be presumed to say NO, but my presumption is that the answer would have been YES. Watch the film and screw your head on tight, no exits to bathroom without pause button pushed, this is not a trivial action film.