The Arab Conspiracy / Double Hit / The Next Man (1976)

 

Synopsis: Bullets fly and people die when a Saudi Arabian diplomat announces his country wishes to leave OPEC and form a partnership with Israel [I’ll take “Things that would never happen in real life” for $600, Alex] 

Blurb From the VHS Jacket: “Crisis in the Gulf! The assassins from all over the world are conspiring to eliminate the Arab leaders. The killing is the only solution to control the power of oil.” [Holy shit, was this translated from another language? Who wrote the VHS jacket blurb?]

What Did I Learn?: The secret of backgammon is “back.” [I have no idea what that means - it’s a quote from the film]

You Might Like This Movie If: You're in the mood to check out one of Sean Connery's more unusual career decisions.

Really?: 1) So, the Saudi foreign minister speaks in a Scottish brogue. How about that. 2)  Oh, and the American ambassador to Britain’s daughter is a cold-blooded assassin. How/why did she get into that line of work? 2) Funny how the CIA is able to provide Khalil with a great biographical summary of Nicole Scott’s life, but nobody seems to have noticed that she spent an awful lot of time with Khalil’s buddy Al Sharif (Adolfo Cell) right before he met with an untimely death. 3) Wait, Nicole must know that her handlers will soon order her to ice Khalil, so why would she blast two other assassins during her weekend trip to the Bahamas with Khalil? That doesn’t make much sense. 

Rating: While I generally have a soft spot in my heart for 1970s thrillers, The Arab Conspiracy (or whatever its proper title might be) is something of a disappointment for a number of reasons: obviously, Connery is woefully miscast, Cornelia Sharpe is incredibly sexy and charming as Nicole Scott, but the viewer is left completely in the dark about who she is or what motivates her, and I think the geopolitical issues raised in this film deserved a bit more analysis and discussion. 6/10 stars. 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074962/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0