- Title: The Holcroft Covenant
- IMDb: link
Adapted from the Robert Ludlum novel, 1985’s The Holcroft Covenant is a convoluted affair starring Michael Caine as the American son of one of Adolf Hitler’s top aides. Noel Holcroft’s birthday triggers a plan his father, and two other Nazi officers, created in the wanning days of World War II. Money put aside in 1945, along with four decades of interest, is to be turned over to Noel and the sons of the other two officers (Anthony Andrews and Michael Lonsdale) to disperse as they please as reparations for WWII.
Once all this comes to light, Noel’s life is immediately put in danger by those who don’t want to see the funds ever accessed and by those who have their own plans for the now $4.5 billion dollars. Wrapped up in a globe-trotting conspiracy, Noel is uncertain who he can trust or what actions to take with regards to the money as the film devolves quickly into twists, double-crosses, and conspiracies.
The film enjoys the setup of something like North By Northwest but lacks the fun, wit, or intelligence of that script which also put an ordinary man in the middle of extraordinary events. The Holcroft Covenant also lacks any self-awareness to laugh at how ridiculous its premise is, nor does the plot result in any real thrills. Along the way Noel will meet various people, some he can trust (and most he can’t) including Andrews, Lonsdale, Victoria Tennant, and Bernard Hepton.
The term flop is often overused today where studios claim to lose money on films that earn back more than twice their budget. The Holcroft Covenant was a flop in the true sense of the word earning back only 3% of the $13 million budget while also being panned by critics. And another 40 years hasn’t done anything to improve it. Best left forgotten, it’s a pretty big miss for both Caine and director John Frankenheimer.
Watch the trailer
