This surprisingly routine espionage film directed by John Huston and written by Walter Hill stars Paul Newman as Rearden, a British agent chosen by the mysterious Mackintosh (Andrews) to pose as a thief and conduct a daring diamond robbery. Due to an anonymous tip, Rearden is arrested and sent to a top-security jail where he meets convicted Russian spy Soames-Trevelyan (Patrick). Together they join in an escape organized by a group called the Scarperers, and, after they reach the other side of the wall, they are drugged and sent to Ireland. The escape, of course, was organized by Mackintosh in the hope that Rearden would be able to infiltrate the Scarperers and expose their leader, Wheeler (Mason), a powerful and influential politician. Director Huston stated that Hill's script was vague and confusing, and that he himself participated in the project just to make some money. Apparently Huston, Newman, and producer Foreman debated just how to end the film right up until the final day of shooting. This is by no means a bad film, but it should have been better considering the names involved.
