Scorpio

A deadly battle of wits between the paid killer and the super-spy! "A good, very exciting melodama". Evening News Burt Lancaster gives a powerful and compelling performance in this tough, fast-moving and action packed espionage thriller, playing an ageing CIA operative suspected of being a double agent. Realizing that he is under surveilliance, Lancaster flees to Vienna where he hides out with an old friend, KGB agent Paul Scofield. But the CIA wants him dead and hires freelance assassin Alain Delon to track down the defector and kill him. And, although Delon, who has worked with Lancaster, is unwilling to believe him guilty, he accepts the assignment. It is the start of a gripping and exciting game of cat and mouse which ranges from Washington to Vienna and Paris and which takes a cold and fascinating look at the deadly and dangerous world of the professional spy... Delon and Scofield provide strong support and the excellent cast includes Gayle Hunnicutt, John Colicos and Hill Street Blues star James B. Sikking. Michael Winner's slick direction keeps the suspense on a high level and his effective use of well-choosen locations adds dramatic impact to a movie, which, said the Pittsburgh Post Gazatte, "Is among the most completely satisfying action movies of the year. It is crisply and skillfully made, with enough vitality to keep it conistently engrossing". © United Artists Corp.