The Defector

"The Defector," from 1966, is of interest because it was the last film of one of Hollywood's finest actors, and one of its most tragic, Montgomery Clift. He died not long after filming was completed, at the age of 45.

Here Clift plays James Bower, a physicist from the U.S. currently visiting West Germany. He's recruited, or should we say threatened with no more grants for his work, to help the CIA in the defection of a Russian scientist. The scientist will only talk to Bower. In truth, both sides want stolen microfilm, and Bower has an agent on his tail who knows he will receive the microfilm.

This film sort of goes nowhere; there were lots of cold war and spy films during the '60s, some serious, some spoofs, and many are better than this. There's a laziness about it rather than a tension. Clift does a very good job. He's super-thin, and if you have followed him in films, it's easy to see that he is not a well man and that his career is in tatters. He remains handsome, though as he did in so many post-accident films, he slurs his words. He gives a relaxed performance; but the fact is that he was probably out of it.

This film didn't need relaxation, it needed an urgency, and it doesn't have it. Nevertheless, filmed on location, the atmosphere is right, and there is a pervasive darkness.

There are many people who become addicted to painkillers after sustaining horrible injuries. Montgomery Clift was one of them, and the situation was exacerbated by drinking and health problems. He remains an important actor in Hollywood history, a man with a brilliant career that petered out way too soon. The Defector isn't really representative of what he could do, but I'd rather have it than nothing at all.