The Borgia Stick

1967
7.3| 2h0m| NA| en| More Info
Released: 25 February 1967 Released
Producted By: Universal Television
Country:
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

A suburban couple discovers that they are pawns for a powerful crime syndicate. They try to break away from the cartel and go legitimate, but the syndicate doesn't want to give them up so easily.

Genre

Thriller, Crime

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The Borgia Stick (1967) is currently not available on any services.

Director

David Lowell Rich

Production Companies

Universal Television

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The Borgia Stick Audience Reviews

Alicia I love this movie so much
Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film
Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
MartinHafer When this movie begins, a man (Fritz Weaver) arrives at a funeral home and inspects two coffins...filled with Tom and Eve Harrison (Don Murray and Inger Stevens). The film then bounces back in time...and you see the Harrisons in their suburban home. They seem like any other couple...at least in this early portion of the film. However, over time you come to realize that Tom is involved in something covert...and he occasionally makes phone calls and utters a code phrase 'Borgia Stick'. Who exactly he is remains a bit vague and he refers to 'the Company'. No...he is not a CIA agent but works for the Syndicate and oversees money laundering. He takes mob money and uses it to buy legitimate businesses.Over time, Tom has two things happen that are unexpected. First, he has fallen for his wife. This might seem pretty normal...until you realize that Eve ALSO works for the Company...and their marriage is a complete shame. The marriage, their names, their identities are all false...all arranged for them by the Company. Second, some stranger (Ralph Waite) recognizes Tom for who he used to be back in Toledo...and it's obvious his cover has been blown. Not wanting to wait to find out who this stranger is, Tom informs his Company contacts of what has happened. They want him to disappear...travel abroad and live an all new life...as well as to forget Eve. Is it as easy as that? And, how will the pair eventually end up at an undertaker?All in all, this is a very intelligently written film...one for folks who want a picture that makes them think. It is not just mindless entertainment but has an unusual depth for a movie. One of the best made for television films I have ever seen...and I've seen a lot. Exciting and riveting throughout.
drystyx THE BORGIA STICK is best described in terms of "style" of film instead of genre. I think "genre" tells us only half of what we look for in terms of what film we would want to see.The genre here is loosely "suspense", but also "romance", and more "drama". It is a slow paced film that is tough to watch with my sort of attention deficit problem. To say much more would be sort of a spoiler, because the essence of the story is the drama throughout.However, that's because it is of the style of "important" film. Some films and songs are "important", such as "Matewan" in film, or "Us and Them" in song. Some are "larger than life, such as the Lord of the Rings films and songs like "Mr. Bojangles", making ordinary people into larger than life characters. There are other categories, but these two are the most inspired as a rule.This falls under the "important" category. Don Murray was an up and comer of the era, and is largely forgotten now, but his films were among the best. However, being "important", they would step on the wrong toes, the toes of the control freaks who needed to suppress these sort of movies in favor of those that glorify control freaks.The drama here is the movie, and it is slow paced, so be warned about that, but it is also great drama, and an "important" story.
bsnyder-3 What a great TV movie! Too bad it is not available on video. This is a very fast paced thriller. Excellent performances by all. The story line is tight and really keeps the viewer focused on the next plot twist. Have seen this film 12 to 15 times and would love for it to be issued on video.
gbrumburgh Tom and Eve Harrison seem to be living the good life. Nice home, picket fence, trendy life style, sporty friends. However, its not at all what it appears. In reality, their life together is a sham. Tom and Eve are covers for a crime syndicate and their "marriage" a mere front for the criminal activities therein. By day, Tom goes off to "work" donning disguises and wheeling-and-dealing syndicate money while Eve sets up a responsible household, caters to her "husband", takes part in civic activities and sees to it they blend into the unsuspecting community. Living together but ultimately lonely, separate lives and not knowing a thing about each others' past as per syndicate code, a wrench is thrown into the proceedings when they discover that they are deeply in love and want to leave the syndicate to lead a "normal" existence together. The syndicate has other plans.Don Murray and Inger Stevens are perfect in their roles of two pawns trapped in a much bigger chess game. The virile Murray, in particular, shows a natural fortitude for this type of edgy, clean-cut anti-hero. Usually wasted as a frivolous love interest, the gorgeous, honey-voiced Stevens gets the fleeting chance to display her dramatic talents especially as their sedentary lives begin to unravel.Durable Barry Nelson acquits himself well here as the next-door-undercover cop whose onto their charade while Fritz Weaver offers smooth, cultivated menace as a syndicate leader. Along the way you'll spot a number of familiar TV faces in minor, pre-stardom roles, including Conrad "Diff'rent Strokes" Bain, Ralph "The Waltons" Waite and Sorrell "Dukes of Hazzard" Booke.The movie is appropriately tense throughout and there are a number of interesting plot turns and twists to keep the cat-and-mouse proceedings moving as our couple desperately try to elude both the police and the syndicate. One eerie moment occurs in a funeral parlor where Murray and Stevens are laid out. The fact that Miss Stevens died a suicide only three years later offers a sad, peculiar foreshadowing for this lovely and tragic leading lady.A most adroit and intriguing time-filler.