When three distinguished screenwriters have a go at the same best-selling novel and the result is a clumsy mess, you have to wonder what went wrong. As it is, the words that Edward Anhalt, George Axelrod and John Hopkins have provided make this film version of Robert Ludlum's race-along book run like a dubbed English version of one of those continental spy thrillers from two decades earlier. Thanks to a marvellously relaxed portrayal by Michael Caine, laughter is more or less kept at bay for about half an hour. But soon such lines as "What a brilliant way to hide - just become a world-famous public figure" and "You drive to Geneva taking the back roads - I'll take the train" stumble distressingly over one another. Anthony Andrews gives the impression that his performance might look quite good with different dialogue, but the dual purpose of Victoria Tennant's role is quite beyond her.


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