This is a very unusual film. An American actor (Vic Morrow) is starring in a South African production during the height of apartheid. It's unlikely such a film would have been made a decade or so later, as the cruelty of the South African government became a HUGE cause for Hollywood in the 1980s. But even before this became a huge cause, very few Americans acted in South African films--very few. Off the top of my head, apart from Vincent Price (in "The Jackals") I can't think of any other South African made films during the apartheid era with American stars--this just wasn't normally done in this rather isolated country.
Vic Morrow stars as Michael Cardiff--a very cold-blooded assassin. When one of his associates is captured by the South African government, he must kill the guy to keep him from talking. But, being an assassin, he has other, bigger, game--including a judge. Along the way, this killer has no compunctions and kills the innocent provided they get in his way. Can he be stopped? And, can the only cop (Peter van Dissel) who takes this threat seriously keep both his marriage alive as well as himself?
While this is not a terrible film, it does feature some dumb portions--especially when Cardiff is in black-face in order to sneak past security! With his European looks, Morrow looked just like a white guy in black paint--and it made me laugh. It also was hard because although the film wanted me to root for the government to stop Cardiff, because they were such a repressive country I felt ambivalent--as both sides were pretty nasty. Additionally, while a film about an assassin SHOULD be exciting, this one was pretty dull--and certainly not another "Day of the Jackal".
By the way, I did find it interesting that EVERYONE in the film...EVERYONE spoke English. In fact, most of the folks' English was impeccable which is unusual because English is not even close to being the most common language in the country (Zulu, Xhosa and Afrikaans are more commonly spoken). I would have at least expected a few to speak these languages, as when I visited the country, I heard LOTS of languages other than English (though it's a very, very common second language).
