Cold Sweat

• Directed by Terence Young
• June 14, 1970
• Based on the 1959 novel Ride the Nightmare by Richard Matheson

An ex-soldier living in France becomes involved in a smuggling operation when his wife and daughter are kidnapped by former cohorts turned drug dealers he once double-crossed.

Cold Sweat is a 1970 French-Italian thriller that relies on a good story and an air of tension rather than spectacular action sequences. Our hero Joe (Charles Bronson) isn’t necessarily a saint, but nor is he the worst of the bunch. I guess you could call him a jerk who finally found his niche and is trying to leave his past behind. Unfortunately, the past has a way of catching up when his former cohorts in a prison escape track him down to use him to make some illegal money and exact revenge on him at the same time.

Joe Martin (actually Moran) is a former sergeant and prison stockade escapee who now finds himself married with a stepdaughter and making a comfortable living giving boat rides to tourists. His wife is ignorant of his past, but those memories have caused him to be a heavy drinker and a bit abusive. During the escape, one of the people he was with unnecessarily killed a German cop after which Joe drove away not wanting to stick around. They got caught and served time while Joe was able to start a whole new life.

Joe’s wife Fabienne (Liv Ullmann)-not sure if they ever use her name on screen-seems to think something is up with Joe before the story gets rolling but not to the extent or even nature of what the reality was. She makes a few comments about his drinking and there are moments of tension where she’s placing the blame directly on him and not comforting him over a situation. I found that different from what you might get otherwise at the time. This was post woman as uninvolved story elements and pre woman as participants in the narrative.

At a little better than 90 minutes we get a short and effective establishment of the situation before leaping into the main plot. Cold Sweat is a bit of a slow burn focusing more on a stripped-down story where the characters use intellect rather than brutal violence for the sake of violence. Violence used for shock wears out its welcome, but violence used as necessary maintains impact AND advances the story.

The villain’s scheme is all about smuggling heroin into Europe from Turkey. That’s it. Simple enough and nothing too grand. The story is executed smartly. There is no stupidity in it. And Bronson plays well against Mason. Both characters are equally matched and nobody is just phoning it in here.

A great deal goes unspoken between Ross and Joe. Both are keeping a close eye on the other. These are two equal foes facing off. One is not made weaker for the other to be strong at any moment. They each bring something that makes them able to take on the other.

Captain Ross (James Mason), whom those working with still treat as though he were a commanding officer in a military unit, and his gang have thought through their plan in order to force Joe to do their work. Joe for the most part is watching every moment looking for something he can exploit. He is not truly in charge but knows how to exploit opportunities.

Ross is angry at being abandoned and it’s clear from the start once this plan is over, so is the life of Joe and his family. That is obvious from the actions of Ross’s crew with their respect for Ross being the only thing that keeps them in line.

The characters proceed logically and the plot is rather intelligent. Nobody is superhuman or super intelligent but rather what they do and what occurs is very grounded. Joe’s strength is not that he is superior to them in every way. Rather events are happening in his world and his familiarity gives him an edge.

The camera loves the environment Cold Sweat happens in. You get a good sense of where things are and often it looks pretty. This is as much a movie as it is an advertisement to take a trip to Grasse in France.

One of the bigger strikes-maybe only strike-against this movie is the dubbing. Understandably because of the nature of the production and the era not every actor spoke English or spoke it well so dubbing was an eventuality. Either the sound quality doesn’t match or the mouth movements do not match or in some cases both. It’s not too often, but it happens enough that it can take you out of the story.

With tension and an intelligent story, Cold Sweat is a great thriller starring Charles Bronson. It is perfect for Bronson fans and the general moviegoer.