Stiletto (1969)

There seemed to be concerted effort in the late sixties and early seventies to turn Alex Cord into a star.  Unfortunately, he was an actor devoid of any real charisma and most of his starring vehicles, (which included a remake of Stagecoach (1966) and The Last Grenade (1970)), quickly disappeared from view and remain difficult to actually see.  Stiletto (1969) is no exception.  It's another of those films I recall seeing in the late night TV schedules during the late seventies, but which subsequently seemed to vanish without trace.  It is now available on Blu-Ray but the only copies I've seen on sale are far too expensive to tempt me into buying one.  So, in the absence of either legal or illegal streaming options for the film, I have to be satisfied, for the time being, with this trailer, which encapsulates many of the film's fundamental problems.

Derived from a Harold Robbins novel, the film clearly wants to try and belie its trashy origins with a flashy production style, evoking the whole 'swinging sixties' and 'jet set' ethos.  But despite its glossy presentation, it is really little more than a B-movie with a B-movie plot: playboy and secret Mafia assassin tries to get out of the business and finds himself pursued by both his former employers and the FBI.  It also features a cast of second rank actors rather than any real stars.  In addition to Cord, the cast features such stalwart character and supporting actors as Patrick O'Neal, Joseph Wiseman and John Dehner, with Britt Ekland and Barbara McNair as leading ladies.  (Several actors soon to become famous feature in small roles, including Roy Schieder, Raul Julia and Lincoln Kilpatrick).  The choice of director is also telling - Bernard L Kowalski was something of a journeyman director, making his name with a couple of low budget science fiction horror movies that later gained cult status, (Night of the Blood Beast (1958) and Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959)), briefly moving onto bigger budgeted features, (most notably Krakatoa - East of Java (1969)), before disappearing back into TV movies and series episodes (where he'd spent most of the sixties working prior to Stiletto).  

It's clear from the trailer that the producers' strategy with Stiletto was to market it on the basis of Harold Robbins' name and its glamourous-looking locations and production values, in the hope that this could overcome a lack of real stars and a bland leading man.  It didn't.  Nor did it make a star out of Alex Cord, who is today probably best remembered for his supporting role in the Airwolf TV series, several episodes of which were directed by Kowalski.