Cold Sweat ** (1970, Charles Bronson, James Mason, Liv Ullmann, Jill Ireland) – Classic Movie Review 9313

Director Terence Young’s 1970 European co-production action crime thriller Cold Sweat stars the unlikely trio of Charles Bronson, James Mason and Liv Ullmann, plus Bronson’s wife and regular co-star Jill Ireland.

Mason stars as Captain Ross, who forces American boatman in the South of France Joe Martin (Bronson) to undertake a crooked motorboat trip on the French Riviera, using his wife Fabienne Martin (Ullmann) as a hostage.

Cold Sweat is a creaky continental action movie, though it is passable as an early Bronson starring opus, but it is strange to find classy performers like Mason and Ullmann in these lowly circumstances.

Cold Sweat is dully adapted from Richard Matheson’s thriller novel Ride the Nightmare (by Dorothea Bennett, Jo Eisinger, Shimon Wincelberg and Albert Simonin) and comes with colourless direction by Young, who made three fine early Bond films: Dr No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963) (Young’s own favourite) and Thunderball (1965).

Cold Sweat is also known as L’Uomo d’alle Due Ombre, De la part des copains and The Man with Two Shadows.

Also in the cast are Michel Constantin, Jean Topart, Yannick Delulle, Luigi Pistilli, Gabriele Ferzetti, Nathalie Varallo and Paul Bonifas.

Young went on to direct Red Sun (1971) and The Valachi Papers (1972) with Bronson.

Cold Sweat (also known as L’Uomo d’alle Due Ombre, De la part des copains and The Man with Two Shadows) is directed by Terence Young, runs 95 minutes, is made by Belgique Ciné, Fair Film and Les Films Corona, is released by Columbia-Warner Distributors (1971) (UK) and Emerson Film Enterprises (1974) (US), is written by Dorothea Bennett, Jo Eisinger, Shimon Wincelberg and Albert Simonin (screenplay), based on Richard Matheson’s novel Ride the Nightmare, is shot in Eastmancolor by Jean Rabier, is produced by Robert Dorfmann and scored by Michael Magne.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 9313

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