jacqueestorozynski I really liked this movie when it first came out and now having decided to watch it again all these years later I was ready to be disappointed. However, although it is definitely a film of its time with the cold war and reds in the bed the relationship between the two leads, Julie Andrews and Omar Shariff was totally believable. I suppose by today's standards Omar is a bit too much of a charmer but it works. Another surprise was to see Sylvia Sims as she used to be and not how she is now playing bag lady parts or the queen mum. It was also nice to see Bryan Marshall again who was once a stalwart of TV and film and seems to have disappeared back to Australia. There is a charm about the film probably because there is a chemistry between Julie and Omar. It is strange when you see the leading lady trotting around in blouses and smart pressed trousers looking very much the secretary. Especially as it was around the same time as the Bond movies and the women are usually half dressed although Julie does sit reading a book in a bikini. Definitely worth watching again.

JasparLamarCrabb There are plenty of twists & turns in this highly cerebral cold war thriller. Russian military official Omar Sharif woos Julie Andrews in hopes of getting her to defect...or so Russia thinks. Director Blake Edwards put together this highly entertaining game of cat-and-mouse and elicits quite a bit of chemistry between Sharif & Andrews. He also had the good sense to populate the supporting cast with a lot of fine (mostly British) character actors. Anthony Quayle is very good as a very unpleasant spy and Dan O'Herlihy is excellent as an embassy official with a lot of secrets. As O'Herlihy's bitchy wife, Sylvia Syms steals each scene she's in. Still the film belongs to Sharif & Andrews and they make their outlandish situation believable. Excellent cinematography (in Barbados, Paris & London) by Freddie Young.

Neil Doyle JULIE ANDREWS never looked so good--and neither did London, Paris and Barbados, as the espionage story shifts back and forth between handsome locales and gives Julie and co-star OMAR SHARIF some stunning close-up shots as they gently romance against gorgeous backdrops.The story takes its time to unwind in the course of slightly over two hours and that's part of the problem. Julie and Omar come from different Cold War backgrounds, each a bit unsure of whether their romance can survive with murky suspicions brewing about their alliances to, respectively, England and Russia.It's the sort of tale female movie-goers loved and which were becoming increasingly rare in the 1970s when the male action films were doing the biggest box-office and films about sensitive relationships were doomed to appeal to smaller audiences. This one never quite made it to the "popular" status that other Andrews films did, and in this one she never raised her voice in song. It's serious drama and, although she handles it well, it wasn't exactly what her fans expected.Summing up: Nice backgrounds but rather muddled espionage story bogged down in romance.

moonspinner55 It's nice to see Julie Andrews trying a straight dramatic role here--something she hadn't done in awhile--but her character of Judith (wise they didn't try to pass her off as a 'Judy') has the old refined manners and tomboyish hairstyle of yore, and Andrews enacts 'grown-up' as any other actress would interpret frigid. Surprisingly bland, unmemorable drama set in Barbados involves shady Omar Sharif (not the liveliest leading man around, not even in 1974!) hoping to make Andrews a spy while also slowly leading her into the proverbial bedroom. Woeful outing does have some camp value: the James Bond-like credits at the beginning are a cheesy hoot. As for Julie, she's quiet and contemplative, but that doesn't do much for the audience--or for the film. Director Blake Edwards paces the whole drab thing like a funeral. *1/2 from ****