The Delphi Bureau: The Merchant of Death Assignment

1972 1h 18m EN

🤯

9.0

MASTERPIECE

★9.0TMDB · 1

ActionThrillerCrimeDramaTV Movie

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The Delphi Bureau is a top-secret spy cadre answerable only to the U.S. president. The organization may have just one field operative, a supposed researcher named Glenn Garth Gregory. He gets his orders from an in-the-know Washington, D.C. socialite, and he relies on a resource that makes him a one-of-a-kind asset: his photographic memory. This adventure-packed, tongue-in-cheek pilot sets the pace and style for the 1972-73 series it launched. In it, Gregory sets out to find who's behind the disappearance of jets, tanks and other surplus weaponry. He'll be variously hunted by an assassin, tossed in jail for murder, half-buried inside a grain elevator and forced to cling to the undercarriage of a tractor while the driver tries to shred him under its tilling blades. One breathless escape after another invariably seems to land our hero in another jam.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Laurence Luckinbill
Glenn Garth Gregory
Celeste Holm
Sybil Van Loween
Dean Jagger
Matthew Keller
Cameron Mitchell
Stokely
Bradford Dillman
Randy Jamison
Bob Crane
Charlie Taggert
Joanna Pettet
April Thompson
David Sheiner
Joe Dobkin

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Paul Wendkos
Writers: Sam Rolfe
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 78-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

54 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Paul Wendkos, shot by Ben Colman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Dann Cahn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Laurence Luckinbill and Celeste Holm and Dean Jagger carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0068474 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Paul Wendkos directs. Ben Colman behind the camera. Dann Cahn cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 78-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
254 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Paul Wendkos, shot by Ben Colman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor Dann Cahn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Laurence Luckinbill and Celeste Holm and Dean Jagger carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt0068474 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.