Year of Release: 1975Country of Origin: UK
Director: Ralph Nelson
Cast: Sidney Poitier, Michael Caine, Nicol Williamson
Plot outline: An African activist and an Englishman join forces to battle a corrupt government official in South Africa (IMDb).
Apartheid in South Africa, one of the more shameful episodes in the last half of the previous century, seemed to be mostly ignored by Hollywood until late 1980s. Before that time, American mainstream producers didn't dare to tackle the subject of the country that was nominally capitalist democracy and Western ally, yet with the regime that made Communism look good. Instead of them, that task was carried out by filmmakers in Commonwealth countries, less troubled with cheap Cold War politics. One of such projects is 1975 British production The Wilby Conspiracy, directed by Ralph Nelson and based on Peter Driscoll's novel. Like many thrillers from the 1970s, the movie has a rather complicated plot and some of today's viewers might even get lost in a quagmire of political intrigue and endless double-crossings between the protagonists. But, Ralph Nelson wraps it up as a solid piece of entertainment, using political reality of contemporary South Africa mostly as a background for conventional action thriller. So, we have a lots of humour, fistfights, car chases and even one totally gratuitous sex scene. Some might argue that the subject of racial inequality and totalitarian oppression would be inappropriate for the use in a such mainstream product. Anyway, the actors did a good job - Michael Caine brings a lot of charm to his role, unlike Sidney Poitier, whose almost solemn presence gives a rather nice contrast to Caine and establishes "buddy buddy" chemistry between the two. Other performances seems bland, except for Nicol Williamson as very convincing and intelligent villain. The end of the movie is perhaps slightly disappointing, but nevertheless the movie as a whole is worth watching, especially compared with today's politically correct movies. (DA)
My judgement: **1/2 out of 4 stars
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