This movie, Assault on a Queen, is another heist movie, starring Frank Sinatra. He made a few, but this one seems dull, compared to the others like Oceans 11. It seems that he’s just getting a paycheck, and going through the motions.
Sinatra plays Mark Brittain, a fishing boat captain, living and working in the Bahamas. He is working with Linc Langley, (Errol John). John is very good as Sinatra’s first mate. He keeps this movie from sinking. One day, they are approached by treasure hunters, Rosa Luccesi, played by Italian actress Virna Lisi. Despite her presence; her limitations, can’t get this film moving. She is also accompanied by Vic Rossiter, (Anthony Franciosa). Franciosa’s performance as Rossiter, stands out, in a movie that can’t even be helped by a Rod Serling screenplay, adapted from the book, by Jack Finney.
Sinatra is asked by Franciosa and Lisi to take them treasure hunting with his boat. Sinatra dives for the treasure. He instead finds a sunken u-boat. The players manage to salvage it. Since there was no treasure, Vic Rossiter, comes up with plan B. The group will use the u-boat, to break into the vault of The Queen Mary, which conveniently is in the area. Mark Brittain agrees to this only in a movie plan. They’ve also recruited two more players, Tony Moreno, (Richard Conte) and Eric Lauffnauer, (Alf Kjellin). Lauffnauer is good as the obsessed captain of the u-boat. All of the players, get aboard the ship, and proceed to rob it. Unfortunately, one of the gang, gets shot, trying to take a woman’s ring. Panic sets in, and the players, get in the boat. The coast guard has been alerted, and is in hot pursuit. The captain of the u-boat, decides to sink the coast guard cutter. Brittain, who served in the Navy, interferes with the captain. The captain is disabled, and Tony Moreno is killed, in a struggle for the gun. The remaining players, abandon ship, on a lifeboat, leaving the captain, who is killed, when the cutter rams the u-boat. Sinatra and Errol John, grab paddles, with Brittain saying South America’s that way.
The problem with this film is that Sinatra takes a back seat to Anthony Franciosa, and Errol John. This rarely happened after Sinatra became an A-lister. Even in The Manchurian Candidate, he wasn’t totally overshadowed by Lawrence Harvey. The hard truth is that most stars do need supporting actors. Another problem is the director, Jack Donahue. His directorial experience is mainly television, and it shows. This feels like a television movie, rather than a theatrical release. Interestingly, Donahue directed Frank Sinatra’s short lived show. There is one good scene in this movie. That is when depth charges are dropped by the coast guard cutter, on the u-boat. Verna Lisi does show fear when the charges come close. Frank Sinatra was an actor who had a certain style, and most of his films are entertaining. The movie, Assault On a Queen, isn’t one of them.