''Permission to Kill'', also known as ''The Executioner'', is a 1975

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

made by Sascha-Verleih and distributed by

AVCO Embassy Pictures Embassy Pictures Corporation (also and later known as Avco Embassy Pictures as well as Embassy Films Associates) was an American independent film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution studio responsible for such fil ...

. It was directed by

Cyril Frankel Cyril Solomon Israel Frankel (28 December 19217 June 2017) was a British film and television director. His career in television began in 1953 and he directed for over 30 TV programmes until 1990. He directed many episodes of popular British TV sho ...

and produced by Paul Mills from a screenplay by Robin Estridge. The film had original music by

Richard Rodney Bennett Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (29 March 193624 December 2012) was an English composer of film, TV and concert music, and also a jazz pianist and occasional vocalist. He was based in New York City from 1979 until his death there in 2012.Zachary Woo ...

and the cinematography was by

Freddie Young Frederick A. Young (9 October 1902 – 1 December 1998) was a British cinematographer. He is probably best known for his work on David Lean's films ''Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962), ''Doctor Zhivago'' (1965) and ''Ryan's Daughter'' (1970), all th ...

. The film stars Dirk Bogarde,

Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her perform ...

and

Bekim Fehmiu Bekim Fehmiu (; ; 1 June 1936 – 15 June 2010) was a Yugoslavian theater and film actor of Albanian ethnicity. He was the first Eastern European actor to star in Hollywood during the Cold War. Biography Early life Fehmiu was born in S ...

with

Timothy Dalton Timothy Leonard Dalton Leggett (; born 21 March 1946) is a British actor. Beginning his career on stage, he made his film debut as Philip II of France in the 1968 historical drama '' The Lion in Winter''. He gained international prominence a ...

, Nicole Calfan and

Frederic Forrest Frederic Fenimore Forrest Jr. (born December 23, 1936) is an American actor. Forrest came to public attention for his performance in ''When the Legends Die'' (1972), which earned him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising N ...

. The film is an Austrian-British-American co-production and was shot at the

Sievering Studios Sievering Studios were film production studios located in Sievering, a suburb of the Austrian capital Vienna. The studios were established in 1916 by the film pioneer Alexander Kolowrat for use by his Sascha-Film. After the First World War they f ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and on location in Gmunden, Austria.

Plot

British agents try to stop a communist returning home from the West.

Partial cast

* Dirk Bogarde as Alan Curtis *

as Katina Petersen *

as Alexander Diakim *

as Charles Lord * Nicole Calfan as Melissa Lascade *

as Scott Allison *

John Levene John Levene (born John Anthony Woods; 24 December 1941) is an English actor, producer, entertainer and singer. Although he has appeared in a large number of films and television series, Levene's best-known role is that of Sergeant Benton, of UNI ...

as Adams * Klaus Wildbolz as Muller * Anthony Dutton as Jennings *

Peggy Sinclair Peggy Sinclair is an English actress. She was married to the actor Richard Coleman Richard Coleman (20 January 1930 – 16 December 2008) was a British film, television and stage actor. Early life Richard Coleman was born Ronald Coleman ...

as Lily * Dennis Blanch as Brewer *

Alf Joint Alfred Charles Richard Joint (22 September 1927 – 25 July 2005) was a British film and television stunt performer, stunt coordinator and arranger. He was notable for his contributions in numerous films over a 30-year period including: '' The H ...

as MacNeil * Vladimir Popovic as Kostas * Ratislav Plamenac as Pavlos * Oliver Schott as François * Erna Riedl as Mme Diderot *

Paul Maxwell Paul Maxwell (born Maxim Popovich; November 12, 1921December 19, 1991) was a Canadian actor who worked mostly in British cinema and television, in which he was usually cast as American characters. In terms of audience, his most notable role w ...

as American * John Serret as Frenchman *

Anthony Forwood Ernest Lytton Leslie Forwood (3 October 1915 – 18 May 1988), known professionally as Anthony Forwood, was an English actor. Early life Ernest Lytton Leslie Forwood was born on 3 October 1915 in Weymouth, England. The Forwood family were lande ...

as Englishman * François Baudet as Dr. Giraud * Bob Sessions as Pete * Peter Garell as Carlo * Friedrich Mönnig as Cliff * Fritz von Friedl as 1st Security Man * Erwin Fischer as 2nd Security Man

References

External links

* 1975 films American spy thriller films British spy thriller films Austrian thriller films English-language Austrian films 1970s thriller films Films scored by Richard Rodney Bennett Films set in Austria Films shot in Austria Embassy Pictures films Films shot at Sievering Studios 1970s spy thriller films Films directed by Cyril Frankel 1970s English-language films 1970s American films 1970s British films {{1970s-thriller-film-stub