AllMovie

Danger and romance are in plentiful supply in one of Europe's most beautiful cities in this sophisticated thriller. Shelley North (Cyd Charisse) is an American tourist who has come to Rome on a vacation with her husband. When he disappears without warning, Shelley visits the American embassy in search of help; word of Shelley's dilemma makes its way to Dick Sherman (Hugh O'Brian), an American expatriate who edits an English-language newspaper in Rome and once had a fling with Shelley when they were single and living in the States. Dick offers to help Shelley find her husband, and recruits a friend to help -- one of the top homicide detectives in Italy. When the missing American's name pops up in the address book of a criminal who has turned up dead, Shelley and Dick are drawn into a web of drug smuggling, organized crime, and international espionage, with allies and enemies shifting sides over the course of the investigation. Assassination in Rome (aka Assassinio Made in Italy and Il Segreto del Vestito Rosso) was shot in Italy using a local cast and crew, with Charisse and O'Brian added to give the project greater international box-office clout.