The Age of Commercialism

Fresh and Exciting

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The House of the Seven Hawks is an adaptation of Victor Canning's novel, The House of the Seven Flies. Richard Thorpe directs and it stars Robert Taylor, Nicole Maurey, Linda Christian, Donald Wolfit, David Kossoff and Eric Pohlmann. Music is by Clifton Parker and cinematography by Edward Scaife.It's a film that looks tired and cheap, the plot for what it's worth pitches Taylor as a sea dog type captain involved with criminals, the law, pretty ladies and hidden treasure. Those elements should have made for a riveting mystery, sadly that is not the case. Taylor looks bored but still manages to give off a presence and a nice line in wry humour, while the Dutch locations deserve a better film. But ultimately there's a reason why this is a little known Taylor movie, it's poor and just one for us Taylor completists to tick off of our list. 5/10

House of the Seven Hawks was released in December 1959, when its star, Robert Taylor, was forty-eight years old. It is a mystery based on Victor Canning's best selling book, House of the Seven Flies. The plot concerns John Nordley, an American ex-pat who lives in Britain and runs a charter boat. Captain Nordley is flung into a convoluted situation involving dead policemen, ex-Nazis, scheming women, creepy crooks and innocent daughters.The New York Times called the movie "a satisfying labyrinthine plot and carefully placed direction and underplaying that adds up to a modest but truly taut and absorbing diversion." The director is Richard Thorpe, who had worked with Taylor before in six other movies, including The Crowd Roars, Ivanhoe and Knights of the Round Table.Despite being basically a suspense film House of the Seven Hawks has a considerable comic undertone. Robert Taylor plays Nordley as the only sane man in a nest of loonies. No one is what they are supposed to be, with people assuming false identities and numerous double-crosses.Other than Taylor, the cast is European. Nicole Maurey plays the love interest. Linda Christian is a one of the double-crossers. Donald Wolfitt and Gerard Heinz are policemen. David Kossoff, Eric Pohlmann and Philo Hauser are villains. The story ends with a diving expedition to recover stolen treasure and a satisfying shoot-out.I'm not sure Robert Taylor took this movie terribly seriously. He wears the same costume throughout the film, including an Eisenhower jacket that he had made for himself. He does a little mugging, especially when Nordley is being asked to believe one fantastic lie after another. Far from being wooden, he displays considerable facial flexibility. Mr. Taylor does look as though he's having fun.MGM seems to be insisting that Mr. Taylor is much younger than his actual age. Nicole Maurey is too young for him. He is referred to in one scene as a young man. As in so many films the story gets him out of his clothes. The Taylor body is in good shape for a 48 year old, but it's not the body he had twenty years earlier. Nonetheless this film provides good, undemanding and ultimately satisfying entertainment.

This sort of film could only have been made late in Robert Taylor's career. That's because under the old studio system, he was one of MGM's stars and the pictures they put him in were all very well written and produced. "The House of the Seven Hawks", in contrast, is not particularly well written or produced and shows just how far Taylor's career had sunk after he finally left MGM. Although this film was distributed by MGM, it was made by a crappy old film company in the UK and Holland--a far cry from his fancified MGM roots.In this film, Taylor plays a schooner captain who is willing, when needed, to skirt British law. In this case, a Dutch undercover policeman offers to pay Taylor the then princely sum of 500 pounds to sneak him into Holland--and Taylor has no idea he's a cop. However, on the way, the man is found dead in his bunk--seemingly from a heart attack. When he reports this death to Dutch officials, he is taken into custody. After all, the authorities want to know why this man was trying to sneak back in the country. In addition, suddenly Taylor has acquired some 'friends' who also are very curious about what has happened not only to the dead man but some key he supposedly had on him or some mysterious overlay.All in all, the film has only a moderately engaging plot and is very low energy. As a result, it just plods along until it ultimately ends. Nothing fancy or special about this one--just a journeyman performance by an actor who deserved better.

"The House of Seven Hawks" would have been much better had it been produced by Robert Taylor's old employer, MGM. Instead, the film turned out to be quite a disappointment for Taylor, a man who had been a major star for two decades. I will say this; the opening is quite intriguing. Taylor's character agrees to transport a man from England to the Continent by boat, and does so. After arrival, however, he soon discovers that this simple business deal is quite a bit more complicated than what he expected.Sadly, the film does not take advantage of this clever opening. From that point on, it is rather routine.As others have suggested, this ends up being a rather lackluster B effort not close to the level of the films Taylor made for MGM. In that regard, this movie is similar to the 1959 efforts of Alan Ladd, a man whose great success in the 1940s and early 1950s was followed by some very mediocre productions. (In Ladd's case, the actor himself was largely to blame due to very poor judgment regarding choice of film projects.)My admiration for Robert Taylor has grown over time. He was a better actor than many gave him credit for. (I recommend his performances in "Bataan" and "Johnny Eager.") Sadly, this particular movie, though watchable, did nothing to enhance his reputation.