(1966)2.5Craig ButlerThere's nothing in A Man Could Get Killed that has proved as lasting as its theme song, the once-ubiquitous "Strangers in the Night," but it's still a decent way to fritter away a couple of hours. Killed is one of many 1960's era films that could loosely be classified as a spy spoof, although this particular example benefits from also being a bit of a Hitchcock take-off through its set-up of a man jeopardized by a case of mistaken identity. Like many of these other films, Killed can get a bit silly and the joke wears a little thin along the way, but for the most part it's a very amiable bit of fluff and does feature more than a fair share of genuine laughs. While the screenplay certainly does its job in creating those laughs, the real credit goes to the cast. James Garner is perfectly cast as the normal American who somehow finds himself at the center of more plots than he knows what to do with; his innate charm and his ability to be both befuddled and outraged at once while still coming across as cute are great assets, and his ease onscreen makes him the perfect center of the storm around him. That storm often takes the luscious form of Melina Mercouri, who is a riot and a perfect foil for Garner. Sandra Dee turns in a consistently winning performance, and Anthony Franciosa is quite good as well.
