AllMovie

The Triple Cross should be a much better film than it is. After all, spy movies in which a character is a double agent by definition should offer plenty of opportunity for suspense and thrills. Yet Triple is curiously lacking in these areas, due primarily to deficits in the scripting and to the rather plodding direction of Terence Young. Perhaps because Young directed some of the early James Bond films, one approaches Triple expecting a livelier tone; this expectation appears to be borne out by Christopher Plummer's take on the lead character, which shares a similar self-assuredness and cockiness with Agent 007. But Triple's Eddie Chapman doesn't have the wit or the stellar personality that is required, at least not in Rene Hardy's stiff trying-for-a-laugh-but-not-making-it screenplay. As a result, there's an air of predictability throughout Triple which proves a bit fatal. Young's leisurely direction only intensifies this flaw. For his part, Plummer isn't able to give the character the larger-than-life quality that it needs; his work is good and precise, but too small. And there's precious little chemistry between him and Romy Schneider. The supporting cast, especially Gert Fröbe and Yul Brynner, is quite good; they help, but they can't make The Triple Cross a winner.