1968 - SOL MADRID, the one about the undercover cop

With the once mighty MGM studios seeing better days, someone got the idea to feature The Man From U.N.C.L.E. leading man David McCallum in a movie.  McCallum is Sol Madrid a sort of  humorless tough undercover cop on the trail of some drug smugglers in Mexico.  McCallum was popular on TV as spy Illya Kuryakin so he got his one time chance at a big screen role like every other TV star usually did.

The whole film has kind of a tired  feeling to it.  Everyone seems to be walking through the motions with all the usual double cross stuff that's always in these films.  If there is any entertainment value in the film, it sure isn't the plot. Anyway, McCallum infiltrates the drug lords, beats up some bad guys and screws a gangster's moll played by Stella Stevens who always seemed to be in every movie and TV show.   The film does look like it had some on location filming in Acapulco well at least I think it did.  Mostly Sol Madrid has that tired MGM studio back lot look to it.

 

The film actually has a decent cast besides McCallum and Stella Stevens.  Tellly Savalas is the drug kingpin in Acapulco.  Savalas appears to be doing a warm up for his Blofeld character from On Her Majesties Secret Service,  he is essentially playing the same guy. Ricardo Montalbán is another undercover cop working with Sol Madrid.  Character actor Pat Hingle is the organized crime accountant and  Rip Torn is another organized crime bad guy out to get Sol Madrid. Good actors all of them, but they don't really have much to do.

 

Brian G Hutton directed, he wasn't noted for filming action shoot em up's, at this point in his career but  he must have impressed the producers as they hired him to direct Where Eagles Dare.  File Sol Madrid under tired crime thrillers.

Written by David Karp, the running time is 90 minutes.