Thursday, June 14, 2018

Code 7, Victim 5


Runtime: 82 minutes

Directed by: Robert Lynn

Starring: Lex Barker, Ann Smyrner, Ronald Fraser, Walter Rilla, Veronique Vendell

From: Towers of London Productions

Sometimes, I watch movies for the silliest of reasons: 

Or: When you watch a movie only to share a piece of trivia you discovered while watching a trailer compilation Blu-ray.

It wasn't until recently that I first gained knowledge of this film. After seeing its trailer I realized Raymond Burr in Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla 1985 was not the only time there was a film character named Steve Martin. He was the lead here, played by Lex Barker. This is a UK movie filmed in South Africa; the print on Amazon is from Germany, which is no surprise as several Germans are in the cast... yet only the credits are German and the dialogue is in English. Curious, along with a few scenes being marred by a jittery print. As another review mentioned, a few known for krimi movies appeared in Code 7, Victim 5... the title is never explained. But yes, in the future I'll try out at least one krimi as I've never seen one and they sound like an interesting curio from Germany.

The plot: Martin is a New York private investigator who goes to South Africa as a rich old dude hires him after a close confidant is killed. Amongst all the investigating is pretty South African scenery... it looks like a lovely place to visit at the time... except for the whole Apartheid thing... and the cinematography is from Nicolas Roeg, of all people. Also, there's horny characters, leering at women, a jazzy score, a few minutes spent with someone hunting a lion, and most memorably, a scene at an ostrich farm; yes, there are moments where you see the local color really shine through.

Unfortunately, the movie does not rise above being average. There's some nonsense with the plot but while the movie was watchable for me, I am sure most of it will be forgotten in a short amount of time and I'll only be able to recall some random details, like Steve Martin and the scenery and how randy the characters were.

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