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Overrated

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

As Good As It Gets

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

I really wish Darker than Amber had done better at the box office. I would have loved to have seen a whole string of testosterone infused Travis McGee films with Rod Taylor as McGee and Theodore Bikel as sidekick Meyer. I know there are a slew of detractors out there, but Darker than Amber worked almost flawlessly on me.After a really groovy musical intro, the film begins with McGee and Meyer fishing at night under a bridge. Unbeknownst to them, a couple of really bad dudes are on the bridge with a drugged out young woman. After tying 80 pound weights to her ankles, they chuck her overboard. McGee goes in to save her. He takes the woman, Vangie (Suzy Kendall), back to his boat. She tells McGee that she doesn't want the police involved. Travis knows the girl is mixed up in something bad, but she's very mysterious about the details. Over the next few days, Travis and Vangie develop a relationship. So when Vangie is killed by a hit-and-run driver, Travis is determined to get to the bottom of who Vangie really was, what she was involved in, and, most importantly, who killed her. There is so much more to the story, but this little synopsis is a start.I'm not going to get into the whole discussion of whether or not Darker than Amber is faithful to the books. I've read a few Travis McGee novels over the years, but it's been so long, I'm not qualified to discuss this. Instead, I'm just going to write about the movie on its own. I think that one of the things that makes Darker than Amber so enjoyable to me are the actors and their characters. Rod Taylor is perfect as Travis McGee (again, I'm not saying he is or is not the Travis McGee of the books). He's believable whether he's playing the beach-bum who steers his boat with his feet while sipping on Scotch or he's disarming a piece of white trash in a diner or he's engaging in a wildly over-the-top, but completely believable, fight scene. However, as macho as all that is, Taylor also played the more sensitive parts of his role expertly. When Vangie is killed, you can see the hurt in his face. He's just good. William Smith plays the main baddie, Terry. Like Taylor, he's also perfect. Smith made a career out of playing bad guys, but none better than here. Add his character Terry to the list of best movie psychos. What a sick, twisted piece of garbage. It's awesome. Finally, I'll briefly mention Suzy Kendall as Vangie. She may not be as good as the others, but I still enjoyed her performance. She has a natural vulnerability to her that works in role of Vangie. Rounding out this excellent cast are Bikel and Robert Phillips. Neither has a very large role, but both are outstanding. A rock solid cast playing interesting, entertaining characters – I loved it.As much as I want to credit the actors, director Robert Clouse also did some outstanding work with Darker than Amber. For me, the movie is perfectly paced. I've read complaints about some of the slower scenes in the second act. While there may have been some slow moments, I never found it dull. Clouse handles the legendary final fight scene expertly. I've already mentioned it once, but this fight is a real showstopper. Watching these two guys beat the living crap out of each other is as good a fight scene as I can remember. It works because it all looks and feels so real. I think with that last sentence I've stumble on what I like about the whole thing – it feels so authentic and real. Darker than Amber is a winner with me.

When a friend of mine told me a year ago that there was a rare film,which had been made in 1970,that was based on the Travis McGee books with Rod Taylor playing McGee,I have to admit that I was very surprised to hear about the casting,since the only film that I had seen of Taylors before,was the very enjoyable adaptation of The Time Machine.Recently,I was at last able to surprisingly get hold of this film,with the added bonus of it being the full-uncut version!.Although,At the start of the film,I was unsure how it would be with Taylor,by the end credits,I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun this great film is.The plot:As Travis McGee sits on his boat fishing,he suddenly notices that a young woman has been thrown over board from a boat near by.After having risked his life by diving in to save he,when Travis gets the girl (whose real name is Vangie Bellamer,although due to her being an ex-prostitute she gives him a fake name)When he tells Vangie that she should go to the police,she keeps saying no to his idea,which leads to her running away from McGee.A day or two later,Travis finds out that someone has murdered the girl.When Travis starts investigating the people that lived near with Bellamer,he discovers that the pimp that Vangie used to work for was,trying to get her to return to "the business",due to the pimp having planned some very big cruise ship robberies,where the girls get rich loners to go with them on cruises,so that no one will notice when the loner has been killed,and has had his cash stolen.After McGee finds out that a robbery is going to happen on a cruise ship in a few days,he realises that he needs to get hold of a ticket right away.. View on the film:For his performance as Travis McGee,I feel that Rod Taylor does a very entertaining performance,with cleverly giving Travis a charming witty side,that really works well with the focused,invented investigating side of the character.With his performance as the evil pimp,William Smith gives a fun performance,which shows that whilst he is a bit of a slime ball,he is still able to use plenty of pressure,to get the girls to agree to working with him.Although director Robert Clouse (whose next film would be the Bruce Lee classic Enter the Dragon) keeps the film moving at a very pleasant pace,which includes a surprisingly extremely intense final fight between Taylor and Smith. (which it is was actually done for real!)The screenplay by Frank V.Phillips sadly gets the film a bit muddled,with the first half of the film,feeling like it is trying to set up a future series of films, (which I think would have been a lot of fun if they had been made)with some characters not being given a moment or two to introduce themselves to the plot,but instead just casually entering and leaving the story. Final view on the film:An extremely entertaining film,with very good performances,excellent fights and a fun second half,let down by a slightly muddled first half.

I had the privliage of being in this picture. I was a 20 year old college kid going to Miami-Dade Jr. College. I was majoring in theater and one of my teachers was also a working actor. He got auditions for a bunch of his students and we went to the Ivan Tors studio on the appointed day and I was lucky enough to get cast as an extra. I'm on the dock at the end of the picture for the end of the fight scene. I was reading John D. MacDonald at the time and was a big fan of Travis McGee. Not many people know that Chuck Conners had bought the rights to the character after this picture came out.In 2000 I had cast William Smith in my picture STAGE GHOST and we discussed DARKER THAN AMBER. He said that it is absolutely true that he and Rod went at it in the fight scene and did some damage to each other! However, they were and are great friends and I hope some how this picture is transfered to DVD. There is a DVD copy available off the internet but it won't play very well. This a cult classic that deserves to be seen by a wider audience, re-mastered in DVD.

If you are a Travis McGee fan, this is one film which belongs in your collection. The movie mirrors the book and the fact leading man Rod Taylor has the role is no surprise as he is perfect for the part. In short the story is of Travis McGee, a Private detective hired to investigate the death of a woman who's sister has been murdered. McGee discoverers the murderer is none other than William Smith who plays Terry Bartell. Smith is awesome in this role and anyone who gazes on that extraordinary physique of his will be impressed his good looks match his formidable strength. Adding to the interest of this film are sympathetic Theodore Bikel as Meyer and Suzy Kendall who doubles as Vangie/Merrimay. Travis and his friends plan an elaborate scheme in which the victim will return to haunt her murderer. What they don't know is that their intended mark is as explosive, unpredictable and dangerous as a lit bundle of dynamite. The final physical confrontation is one of the finest ever recorded on film. So fiercely brutal and bloody that many versions of the movie are highly edited. Rod Taylor at his best and a must film for Taylor fans. ****