''Maroc 7'' is a 1967

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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. ...

directed by

Gerry O'Hara Gerald O'Hara (1 October 1924 – 9 January 2023) was a British film and television writer and director. Life and career O'Hara was born in Boston, Lincolnshire on 1 October 1924, to James O'Hara, a bookmaker, and Jeannie O’Hara (née Beamont) ...

, starring

Gene Barry Gene Barry (born Eugene Klass; June 14, 1919 – December 9, 2009) was an American stage, screen, and television actor and singer. Barry is best remembered for his leading roles in the films '' The Atomic City'' (1952) and ''The War of the Worl ...

Cyd Charisse Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea; March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American dancer and actress. After recovering from polio as a child and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually featured her abilit ...

Elsa Martinelli Elsa Martinelli (born Elisa Tia; 30 January 1935 – 8 July 2017) was an Italian actress and fashion model. Described by ''The Guardian'' as a "versatile star of Hollywood’s international years whose work spanned romantic comedies, period epi ...

Leslie Phillips Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. He appeared in the '' Carry On'' ...

and

Denholm Elliott Denholm Mitchell Elliott (31 May 1922 – 6 October 1992) was an English actor. He appeared in numerous productions on stage and screen, receiving BAFTA awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for ''Trading Places'' (1983), '' A Private Fu ...

Plot

Louise Henderson is the editor of a respected fashion magazine, but she has a secret career as mastermind of a ring of thieves. With their professional operation as a front, Henderson uses one of her models, Claudia, and a photographer, Raymond Lowe, to steal precious artefacts and jewels. Law enforcement agencies have their suspicions about her, so undercover man Simon Grant is assigned the case. He pretends to be a safecracker to infiltrate Henderson's gang, travelling to Morocco, where Henderson intends to switch an imitation Arabian medallion for a priceless real one. Grant is given cooperation in Morocco by Chief of Police Barrada. Things go wrong when Grant needs to kill Lowe, who has followed him. The theft takes place as planned, until Claudia dies while trying to take the medallion from Grant. To the surprise of cops and robbers alike, the precious medallion is stolen by the one person none of them suspected.

Cast

as Simon Grant *

as Claudia *

as Raymond Lowe *

as Louise Henderson *

as Inspector Barrada *

Alexandra Stewart Alexandra Stewart (born June 10, 1939) is a Canadian actress. Biography Born in Montreal, Quebec, Stewart left for Paris, France, in 1958, to study art. Within a year, she made her film debut in '' Les Motards'', and has since then enjoyed a ste ...

as Michelle Craig *

Angela Douglas Angela Douglas (born Angela McDonagh) is an English actress. Early life Douglas was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire circa 1940. Career Douglas started acting as a teenager, joining the Worthing, West Sussex repertory theatre, repert ...

as Freddie *

Eric Barker Eric Leslie Barker (12 February 1912 – 1 June 1990) was an English comedy actor. He is most remembered for his roles in the popular British '' Carry On'' films, although he appeared only in the early films in the series, apart from returning ...

as Professor Bannen * Tracy Reed as Vivienne * Maggie London as Suzie * Ann Norman as Alexa * Penny Riley as Penny *

Lionel Blair Lionel Blair (born Henry Lionel Ogus; 12 December 1928 – 4 November 2021) was a Canadian-born British actor, choreographer, tap dancer, and television presenter. From the late 1960s until the early 1980s, he made regular appearances as a danc ...

as hotel receptionist *

Ricardo Montez Ricardo Montez (born Levy Isaac Attias; 20 September 1923 – 26 October 2010) was a Gibraltarian actor. He was best known for his role as the Spanish bartender Juan Cervantes, a student in Jeremy Brown's EFL class in the ITV comedy series '' ...

as Pablo

Production

In March 1966 Rank announced it would make nine films with a total cost of £7.5 million of which it would provide £4 million. Two films were financed by Rank completely, a Norman Wisdom movie and a "doctor" comedy (''Doctor on Toast'' which became ''

Doctor in Trouble ''Doctor in Trouble'' is a 1970 British comedy film, the seventh and last film in the ''Doctor'' series. The film was directed by Ralph Thomas and stars Leslie Phillips as a doctor who gets accidentally trapped on an outgoing cruise ship while i ...

''). The others were ''The Quiller Memorandum'', ''Deadlier than the Male'', ''Maroc Seven'', ''Red Hot Ferrari'' (never made), ''The Fifth Coin'' (never made), ''The Battle of Britain'' and ''The Long Duel''. The film was the fifth in a series of movies jointly financed by Rank and the

National Film Finance Corporation The National Film Finance Corporation (NFFC) was a film funding agency in the United Kingdom in operation from 1949 until 1985. The NFFC was established by the Cinematograph Film Production (Special Loans) Act 1949 ( 12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6. c. 20), a ...

(NFFC). It was produced by actor Leslie Phillips who worked 18 months setting up the movie and recalled "money was a little difficult towards the end, with the credit squeeze". Phillips had seen ''

The Pleasure Girls ''The Pleasure Girls'' is a 1965 British drama film directed and written by Gerry O'Hara and starring Francesca Annis, Ian McShane and Klaus Kinski. Plot When Sally moves to London to pursue a modelling career, she moves in with Angela and De ...

'' (1965) and hired its director Gerry O'Hara, who was under contract to

Sydney Box Frank Sydney Box (29 April 1907 – 25 May 1983) was a British film producer and screenwriter, and brother of British film producer Betty Box. In 1940, he founded the documentary film company Verity Films with Jay Lewis. He produced and co- ...

. According to O'Hara, Gene Barry replaced a German actor who pulled out of the film. O'Hara said the film was "not a very happy experience... I went over budget. There were lots of problems." The instrumental theme song, "Maroc 7", by

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...

was released as a single and rose to No. 24 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1967. On the release of the film, a novelization of the screenplay was published by John Burke, writing as "Martin Sands."

Reception

Kine Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. Etymology The word Kinematograph was derived from the Greek ' Kinumai ', (to move, to be in motion, to ...

'' wrote: "After a slowish and over-mysterious start, the picture gets into a very entertaining stride and the double-twist ending is fun". ''

Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "Despite an attractive cast and a fashionably post-Bond script, something seems to have gone sadly awry with this thriller." The ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

'' described the film as "a feeble thriller, ... Denholm Elliott, the archetypal Old Etonian, is cast as a French-Moroccan cop. Gene Barry has the quizzical air of man who's just read the script."

Leslie Halliwell Robert James Leslie Halliwell (23 February 1929 – 21 January 1989) was a British film critic, encyclopaedist and television rights buyer for ITV, the British commercial network, and Channel 4. He is best known for his reference guides, '' Fi ...

said: "Complex sub-Bond tale of cross and double-cross; hardly worth following really."' The ''Radio Times Guide to Films'' gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "The heavily insured legs of Cyd Charisse are on display in this lacklustre crime caper. ... One of those misfires that makes you wonder why someone in the production line didn’t cry out “Stop, abandon ship”."

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, tt0061956/, Maroc 7 1967 films British thriller films 1960s thriller films Films directed by Gerry O'Hara Films shot in Morocco Films set in Morocco Films set in London 1960s English-language films 1960s British films Films scored by Kenneth V. Jones English-language thriller films