African Story (1971)

What a beautiful movie!

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

One of the worst movies I've ever seen

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

I watched "The Manipulator" as part of my ongoing quest to see as many of Sylva Koscina's movies (especially the action / spy / crime ones) as possible. I probably shouldn't have bothered: she has a fairly thankless role in this film, despite her second billing. But top-billed Stephen Boyd is not the star, either: that title should go the the little known Michael Kirner, who plays a singer / stuntman / judo expert (!), but is a bit too much of a goofball to be taken very seriously. There is one very good high-speed car chase somewhere in the middle, but the rest of the action is pretty crudely directed. And there isn't too much of it. As a travelogue of South Africa (what a coincidence, the 2010 Football World Cup started there today!), the movie works. As an action thriller, it is boring. *1/2 out of 4.

Everything negative any reviewer said about this film is absolutely true. Still, I think it has great entertainment value. First of all there is the lovely Sylvia Koscina as femme fatale which is really pure Matt Helm/The Mna from Uncle terriroty. Then there are nice car chases, some really funny scenes, Stephen Boyd as scheming mastermind etc. The hero, Rex Maynard, is a slightly overweight young singer eloping with his producer's daughter. Given his physique, the fight scenes in which he knocks out at least three mobsters are a laugh. To be honest, I didn't really get what the story was about due to the fact that it was somewhat convoluted and the quality of the soundtrack was awful. The film is set in Africa, yet there is a surprisingly large number of Italian cars on the streets. And I do wonder why someone would fly Allitalia from LA to South Africa.

After completing 13 Television Spectaculars, Rex Maynard, a Sinatra like singer, goes on vacation. He also decides to elope with his producer's daughter to Africa! Stephen Boyd, the producer, stages a fake kidnapping to scare Rex off from his daughter and make publicity for his television spectaculars. All is under control until Rex Maynard, who was also a former stuntman, escapes, using his Stuntman Skills. But the coast of South Africa isn't clear yet! REAL kidnappers decide to grab Rex and it gets out of control! Then we find out who Rex can trust and can't trust. Even his wife is involved some how. But can the Manipulator manipulate the situation to save the day? Who doesn't want to be Rex Maynard? Michael Kirner gives a very realistic performance as a man who's been kidnapped many times in one day. Stephen Boyd is great as The Manipulator. I'm only sorry to see this series did not take off. It would be great to see him put his Stuntman/singer through more adventure. There are lots of side stories going on to keep the characters fresh and add depth to the story.Beautiful locations in South Africa. Great music with, "Man, You Need A Hand" and other songs. The soundtrack would be a great addition to any collection. Very rarely does a movie have an impact on my life, but this one did.This is a very hard film to find and I'm lucky a friend taped in by accident. This was made back to back with 'The Big Game', but they are not related, just the same film crew. If you get a chance, check this film out! The real title of this film is 'The Manipulator'. The Mickey Rooney film came out at the same time and they were forced to change the title.

The guy who was a star in "Ben Hur" finds himself in this awful spy drama. I realize that much of it is dubbed from the Italian, but the dialogue is laughable, the characters are wooden and stupid. There is a bunch of judo and karate that looks silly. I'm sure that this emerged out of the James Bond era, but this has nothing to recommend it. The bad guys want money, and somehow they don't have to do much other than ask for it. Then there's the insipid byplay between the newlyweds. Thank God they married each other so they wouldn't bore anyone else to death. This film was part of a collection. Sometimes, it seems, the compilers of these sets must get really desperate. Anyway, the resolution is unsatisfying. There is no real direction, just random action. Watch an old sixties/seventies spy show and you will have a much better time.