User Reviews

In 1967, when the spy genre became well and truly a parody of itself, there were only some spy films that were serious attempts in the genre. "The Venetian Affair" is one such film. It's a very well made, suspenseful and dramatic work, based on Helen MacInnes' novel of the same name. Still TV's super-spy Napoleon Solo, Robert Vaughn plays the anti-hero, antithesis of Solo/Bond/Flint etc, as former-CIA man, now downtrodden journalist Bill Fenner. He plays Fenner extremely well, a perfect role for Vaughn's sensibilities as a thoughtful, intellectual man. Aided magnificently is a strong European cast - Elke Sommer, Boris Karloff, Luciana Paluzzi and Karl Boehm to name just a few. Also prominent is Edward Asner as the tough CIA chief Rosenfeld.

Overall, this is an excellent and often misunderstood film. Most people and critics alike, expected the any spy film from this era to be more glamorous and fun a la "In Like Flint" or "You Only Live Twice" which came out the same year. However, looking in retrospect some thirty-years on, one can appreciate a fine dramatic work, one which stands up to the test of time much better than any of its more outrageous competitors.

Being in high school at the time my friends and I read all the spy novels we could get our hands on. I had read 'The Spy Who Came in From The Cold'. The book and movie were both first class. Then I read 'The Venitian Affair' and it was also top notch, a first class suspense novel with all the twists and turns, very dark. When they announced that Robert Vaunghn was going to play the lead we were ecstatic. Unfortunately, the movie, while not bad, just didn't live up to the billing. Why, well the book was almost 500 pages and the movie was 89 minutes. The movie skips a lot of details and worse, it tries to rush to fit as much as possible in. James Bond thrillers are non-stop action, but most realist spy movies are slower and paced, as is most real spying. It feels like they tried to do this on a budget and use TV pacing. Hiring Vaughn was probably due in part to his television background, thinking he would be more acceptable to this approach. He wasn't and it shows. Being a real actor with the chops to really shine in a great role, he must have been very disappointed when he got the final script. It lacked much of the character development and brooding pace. As I said, it's not a bad movie, just far short of it's potential. And, there is the classic line from the airport scene when he first lands in Veinna. Read the book after seeing the movie, it's a classic spy novel with tension that crackles.

"The Venetian Affair", based on Helen MacInnes bestseller, is one of the seemingly endless number of James Bond-inspired spy films that flooded cinemas in the mid to late 1960's. Despite a pedestrian script and direction, the film benefits from some great on-location scenery in Venice as well as a talented and eclectic cast. Robert Vaughn plays against type as an alcoholic reporter who is swept into an espionage case with international repercussions. Vaughn delivers the goods with a convincing, world-weary performance that was at odds with his weekly heroics as The Man From UNCLE (despite popular belief, this is not an UNCLE-related film). Karl Boehm is fine as the obligatory charming villain, Roger C. Carmel provides some light moments in the otherwise downbeat script, Boris Karloff has one of his last quality roles, and Thunderball Bond girl Luciana Paluzzi, queen of the '60's spy films, makes a brief but welcome appearance. Only Elke Sommer gums up the works with a typically wooden performance that is little more animated than the stone gargoyles that adorn the ancient Venetian buildings. In summary, an unremarkable, but entertaining film. Rarely seen in recent years, TCM has recently begun telecasting it in a glorious widescreen version. One hopes that a video release will eventually take place.

And a big yawn goes to "The Venetian Affair" from 1966.

Based on a Helen McInnes novel, none of which made successful films, it sports an interesting, if not great cast: Robert Vaughn, Ed Asner, Boris Karloff, Elke Sommer, and Karl Boehm. The most interesting things about it are Karloff and the shots of Venice, my favorite city. I wish it had been in color.

The beginning makes one think you're really going to see something. An American diplomat detonates a bomb during a conference on disarmament in Vienna. There doesn't seem to be any reason for him doing so, and the USA doesn't want to be blamed. They start looking for reasons.

Vaughn, playing a drunk named Bill Fenner, who is ex-CIA, is sent back into action by the CIA. He has an ex-wife who is a turncoat, and the CIA is sure he can locate her. They think she might have been involved or at least know something. Fenner never got over her, though you wouldn't know it since he propositions every woman he meets.

It becomes confusing from there -- and boring. Slow pace, and Vaughn was not the stuff movie stars are made of. It's normal when you have a big success like Man from U.N.C.L.E. to try your luck at films, but not everyone succeeds.

Despite what some people state on this board, that people who don't like this movie were expecting explosions and all sorts of car chases and CGI, etc, I didn't care about any of that and never have. It's just not a very intriguing film. All I ask from a spy film is some suspense and a really good story, along with the acting.

During this time, we had the James Bond films with all their gadgets, and U.N.C.L.E., and the producers tried to attract both audiences. A very routine film.

An American diplomat sets off a suicide bomb in a peace conference. It's a confounding case. The Americans and the Soviets are nominally working together but both suspect each other. CIA chief Frank Rosenfeld (Ed Asner) recruits former agent Bill Fenner (Robert Vaughn) to investigate. Bill's ex-wife Sandra Fane (Elke Sommer) is a suspected communist and the CIA has her filmed suggesting involvement in the case. The cause may be connected to Dr. Vaugiroud (Boris Karloff).

After an explosive start, this slows down to a crawl. Despite some interesting espionage material, this movie is stagnate. The tone is hushed and lacking in kinetic energy. It generates no tension. The filmmaker is not injecting any intensity into the picture. It's basically a casual stroll through an espionage park with some interesting scenery. It's also interesting to see Karloff nearing his end but everything moves too slowly including the story.

"The Venetian affair",in spite of the suicide bombing , starts very slowly and it's a muddled affair,in which Robert Vaugn seems lost and not that much interested .The female star,Elke Sommer,makes herself wait ,and it's finally a disappointing part.Ditto for Luciana Paluzzi,one of the best villain James Bond girls .

The movie becomes more interesting in its third part ,partially thanks to Karl Boehm who succeeds in being disturbing:the scene of the cat and the mouse is certainly the best in the whole flick;incidentally the final segment of the last "Sissi" in which Boehm was the nice emperor was also filmed in Venice.But he was also "peeping tom" and it shows in this poor spy thriller,probably made to capitalize on the success of Bond.

Mind-numbingly dull spy movie starring Robert Vaughn. I only watched this for Boris Karloff, who appears in a small role. He's good but not in this enough to matter much. Still, Karloff completists will want to check it out. Everyone else should just avoid it like the plague. It's such a boring, lifeless movie. I thought spy movies were supposed to be fun and full of action and intrigue? Apparently the people behind this didn't get the memo. Vaughn does fine as the lead but the script and direction give him little to work with. Elke Sommer and Felicia Farr provide the pretty. Ed Asner is decent in a supporting role. I fell asleep while watching this. I'm not kidding -- it literally put me to sleep during the scene where Vaughn finds the suitcase while the flute music is playing. When I woke up, I forced myself to rewind to this point and finish the movie. But man, it was a chore to do so. I can't and won't recommend this to anyone looking for a good '60s spy flick. This is the pits.

Two things are noteworthy about The Venetian Affair. One was that Robert Vaughn tried to break out into the big screen like such television contemporaries as James Garner and Steve McQueen without the success that they had. The second was that this was the last film Boris Karloff did that was not related to the horror genre.

The film begins with a bang. An American diplomat is given a bomb and it detonates in a disarmament conference in Venice. No one can figure out why, but you can bet the USA does not want to be held responsible when forensics prove it was our guy who was the suicide bomber.

Our man in Venice for the CIA Edward Asner sends for former agent Robert Vaughn who is now an alcoholic newspaperman working for a wire service. They suspect his ex-wife Elke Sommer has something to do with it and he's the best at finding her. She's also the reason that he's no longer with the CIA.

Boris Karloff plays an elderly man of geopolitical mystery. He knows what's going on, but some sinister folks are controlling him.

The Venetian Affair is a pedestrian affair moving at a paint drying pace and Vaughn after being television's urbane Napoleon Solo in The Man From UNCLE never quite got his teeth in this part. Karl Boehm is a good villain and only at the very end do we find out who he is working for. As for the reason why the diplomat did the foul deed, that you watch The Venetian Affair for.

1966's "The Venetian Affair" is often thought of as just another theatrical feature derived from television's THE MAN FROM U. N. C. L. E. Due to the presence of Robert Vaughn in the lead, actually turning out to be a rather low key and underdeveloped adaptation of Helen MacInnes' 1963 best seller of the same name, the big screen debut of director Jerry Thorpe. Much of its cast also contributes to that small screen sheen, such as Edward Asner, Roger C. Carmel and Felicia Farr, while international starlets like Elke Sommer and Luciana Paluzzi are totally wasted in throwaway roles. A peace conference in Venice concludes abruptly with 13 people blown up, Asner's security chief requiring the presence of former CIA operative Vaughn because of his ex-wife's suspected involvement, the marriage dissolving when she opted to become a Communist agent. He's no Napoleon Solo, a battered, world weary alcoholic seemingly moving in a daze, reduced to being a wire services correspondent who manages to escape the numerous traps devised for his demise. Only by the one hour mark do we see the actual culprit and his method of mind control, a drug that can make a cat afraid of a mouse, or a peace loving American diplomat become a suicide bomber with the flick of a pen. Shooting began Apr. 13 on location in Italy, while the surprise appearance of Boris Karloff preceded a flurry of activity in the fall of 1966 on episodes of THE WILD, WILD WEST, THE GIRL FROM U. N. C. L. E., I SPY, and especially Chuck Jones's half hour rendition of Dr. Seuss' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (already in the can were animated characters in a pair of Rankin/Bass titles, "The Daydreamer" and "Mad Monster Party?"). Confined to only three scenes totaling nearly 7 minutes screen time as political scientist Dr. Pierre Vaugiroud, the actor first pops up for a full 5 minute sequence opposite Vaughn to reveal knowledge of the recent bombing, then in the latter stages to urge Vaughn to work with the villains, and finally in full hypnotic mode, frantically insisting that he be allowed to offer up his own report to a room filled with vulnerable diplomats, unaware of the bomb secreted in his briefcase. It's a rare straight role during a horror filled decade and one of the more noteworthy performances in a film lacking much intrigue despite the exotic Venetian locations (at least Luciana Paluzzi actually speaks Italian). Robert Vaughn was already an Oscar-nominated actor, and would succeed with his next role in Steve McQueen's "Bullitt," later playing Lord Byron Orlock opposite Roger Corman-shot Karloff footage in the 1989 "Transylvania Twist."

Robert Vaughn, Elke Sommer, Felicia Farr, Edward Asner and Boris Karloff tried to make this film a success with their great acting abilities. However, it turns into a dreary spy farce about an American diplomat who shocks the world when he blows up the international peace conference in Venice, killing all the delegates, including himself. The pacing of the film is tedious and very boring. Avoid seeing this film. As usual, Boris Karloff gave a great performance at an elderly age.

Dr. Robert Vaughn (Ph.D Communications), one of the Hardest Working Television and Screen Actors, Stars in this Low-Key Spy Thriller that Manages some Intrigue, a Beautiful Landscape, and a Decent Score from Lalo Schifrin, a few Good Supporting Actors like Ed Asner, Boris Karloff, and Karl Boehm do Good Work, and Elke Sommers Doesn't Do Much.

The most Interesting Part is Not well Integrated, the Secret Psychotronic Weapon. The Third Act Picks Up the Pace that Lingered and Stalled previously. It's a Slow Burner for sure. The Plot can be Hard to Follow for a While, but there is just Enough Professionalism on hand to make this Worth a Watch.

Don't Expect James Bond's High Tectonics and a Silky Smooth Platte and You Might Like this, another Sixties Spy Thriller, one of the Super Serious Ones. Karl Boehm Almost Steals the Show in a Small Part.

Any resemblance between this film and reality is purely coincidental. Much of it is shot in the attractive location of Venice, and whereas it is always nice to see canals, it is better still to see a film which is not complete nonsense. So many British films of the sixties were as empty and idiotic as this, and are best forgotten. Robert Vaughn is the star in this meaningless foray into ersatz intrigue. Various people are spies, one does not always know for whom, and they are plotting against each other and killing each other. Elke Sommer and Felicia Farr are the 'dames', with impossible sixties hair-does, false eyelashes longer than a tall tale, and puffy pouty lips (how did they do that before botox?). Sommer keeps telling Vaughn she loves him, quite suitable as she had once been married to him before leaving him without a word two years before, and despite being a Soviet spy, or whatever it is she really is, which is never made clear. Farr loves him. Everybody loves him except those who want to kill him. Why do they want to kill him exactly? He is supposed to work for a 'wire service' but never files a story. Then we are told he has been 'set up'. Then various people are told they can 'never escape from Venice'. Well, I felt I might never escape from that film. Mind control drugs are being used to turn people into 'robots' who will blow themselves up in diplomatic meetings and stop nuclear treaties from being signed. I think the bad guys got to the producer and director and screenwriter first, turned them into mental robots, and ordered them to make this film while in a mindless state. Product warning: May Damage Your Faith in the Cinema.

Robert Vaughn was so great as a spy in Man from U.N.C.L.E. that he got a starring role in the full length film Venetian Affair. Vaughn is Fenner, retired CIA, but now working as a reporter (really ?). after the bombing of diplomats in venice, he is sent to get whatever information he can for the wire services. Some other fun names here. the awesome Boris Karloff, taking a break from his horror films. Ed Asner, WAY before MTM or Lou Grant. he had done lots of tv work, but this appears to be his third film role. Elke Sommer did a bunch of projects with Dean Martin. in this film, she's Sandra, who may be involved in the bombing. Karloff is Dr. Vaugiroud, who may or may not be helpful to Fenner. the first half moves pretty slowly.. it's all setup. there's kind of a showdown scene at the end, and things are explained, but it's just so-so. it's entertaining enough, but nothing new and exciting. some fun scenery of Venice, as imdb claims that it actually was filmed there. directed by Jerry Thorp, his first of only two film projects; done in the middle of so many television shows. story by Helen MacInnes, who had a couple novels made into film.

When I saw this film advertised in my satellite listings mag, it merely said, "The Venetian Affair"...'67...starring Robert Vaughn. Hmm, I thought. I believed I'd SEEN all the "U.N.C.L.E." films - "The Helicopter Spies", "To Trap A Spy", "One Of Our Spies Is Missing", etc. And anyway, the "The...Affair" titles are only for the TV episodes from which the "movies" hail.

So I began to watch it. The first thing I noticed was that it'd been made in scope. This further puzzled me, as the "U.N.C.L.E." "movies" are all in standard ratio, having been culled from TV.

Of course, I now know better. The "Affair" in the title is merely what the producers must at the time have thought was a VERY happy COINCIDENCE, "The Venetian Affair" being the original title of the source novel by Helen MacInnes.

But is it also a coincidence that they chose to star Robert Vaughn and a number of lightweight actors in the film? I suspect NOT. In those days, many people went to see a film solely on the strength of the POSTER (which is why the two "Carry On"s that for contractual reasons did not originally bear the Carry On prefix still did well) so they HAD to know that many would assume it was an "U.N.C.L.E." movie.

Which means that I'm sure many viewers of this film, both on it's original theatrical release and later (if their TV listings mag only featured the basics) were BITTERLY DISAPPOINTED with it.

It might have been better if it had turned out to be a serious and GOOD spy thriller - like "The Naked Runner" (athough those waiting for Sinatra to take off his clothes would have been disappointed too) - but it WASN'T. It was, and still is, SLOW, DREARY and BORING!

I mean, after I'd realised it wasn't an "U.N.C.L.E." romp, I was happy to judge it on its own merit - but it doesn't HAVE any!

Incidentally, I notice that various listings for this piece have it as coming out in 1957 - including THIS august service - whereas it ACTUALLY came out in the GOLDEN year of 1967. I wonder why?