Cinema: Sad-Sack Spy

THE TALL BLOND MAN WITH ONE BLACK SHOE

Directed by YVES ROBERT

Screenplay by YVES ROBERT and FRANCIS VEBER

The tall blond man with one black shoe is related to neither The Thief Who Came to Dinner nor The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun. The comedy, just about as witty and well-turned as its title, centers on the catastrophes that befall a sad-sack classical musician who is selected as a pawn by a couple of squabbling espionage outfits. Made in France, probably by rote, the movie might have remained there had it not contained several sententious asides on the evils of electronic observation and every citizen’s right to privacy. They lend a certain topicality, a tone of lighthearted caution, which, like the movie, is almost totally unnecessary.

—J.C.