Customer Reviews

Darker Than Amber

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are a Travis McGee fan, this is one film which belongs in your collection. The movie mirrors the book and the fact leading man Rod Taylor has the role is no surprise as he is perfect for the part. In short the story is of Travis McGee, a Private detective hired to investigate the death of a woman who's sister has been murdered. McGee discoverers the murderer is none other than William Smith who plays Terry Bartell. Smith is awesome in this role and anyone who gazes on that extraordinary physique of his will be impressed his good looks match his formidable strength. Adding to the interest of this film are sympathetic Theodore Bikel as Meyer and Suzy Kendall who doubles as Vangie/Merrimay. Travis and his friends plan an elaborate scheme in which the victim will return to haunt her murderer. What they don't know is that their intended mark is as explosive, unpredictable and dangerous as a lit bundle of dynamite. The final physical confrontation is one of the finest ever recorded on film. So fiercely brutal and bloody that many versions of the movie are highly edited. Rod Taylor at his best and a must film for Taylor fans. ****

Let's hope that someone will bring this out on DVD AND uncut! The fight between Taylor and Smith is one of the best ever filmed. Rod Taylor was simply perfect as MacDonald's "salvage expert" Travis McGee (and Theodore Bikel made a much better Meyer than Gene Evans would some years later in the tv production THE EMPTY COPPER SEA). A very lovely Suzy Kendall. Then there is Big Bill Smith,who made a career as the best crazed, over the edge psychos of all time. Addtion**** Nov. 2009
Recently acquired a region 0 DVD from the Netherlands of the movie. Not the greatest picture, pan and scan and with Dutch subtitles BUT IS THE COMPLETE MOVIE including the really brutal fight between Taylor and Smith. The rights to MacDonald's novel have been picked up for a series of films, starting with THE DEEP BLUE GOODBYE. Rod Taylor left big shoes to fill.

One of the best fight scenes ever made using mostly the actual actors. Still waiting for the DVD "UNEDITED VERSION".

Found a Danish subtitled version on ebay which claims to be spoken in english and completely unedited from Europe, but who knows. Does anyone know when the dvd will be out or where we can find out the answer. Thanks.

I got my OOP VHS of Darker Than Amber last week. I had heard a lot about the legendary brawl between hero Rod Taylor and villian William Smith. I wanted to see the movie and knew I would probably have to pay a little extra for it. First, I thought the movie was pretty good though it was a bit dated. Even though it was dated it didn't take away from the story which was pretty good. I didn't know anything about the books or the character of Travis McGee when I first started watching. I enjoyed the movie but I must say that the print was really bad. Also somebody posted the entire final fight scene on Youtube and after watching both I realized that a lot of it was cut out of the VHS version. Still a good movie but it needs to be remastered. It is really grainy and seems almost like it is something somebody recorded on VHS off of TV.

This was the 1st in a proposed series of "Travis McGee" films which never got off the ground after this first (and only) effort. Abysmal production values, but a good cast & fairly faithful to J.D. MacDonald's vision. Rod Taylor made for a pretty good McGee & Theodore Bikel was an excellent Meyer. And of course William Smith was also very good as the main villain. VERY violent & bloooody, with one of the most expertly choreographed fight scenes in cinema history. (Right up there with Connery vs. Robt. Shaw in "From Russia With Love".) In fact, the slam-bang climax was superior to the book's version. Interesting that the American release of the VHS version severely cut out a lot of the violent stuff. Way overdue for a restored DVD version. Too bad the producers along with Taylor & Bikel didn't continue on after this low-budget, but promising beginning.

I initially saw this on TV, then years ago purchased the VHS-which i was sad to see was the edited version (I believe the same as the version shown on TV).

Well it captures that late 60's vibe perfectly, and I just love the houseboat Travis lives on!

On top of that one could compare this film/story to "Lady In Cement"-a Frank Sinatra mystery which has almost the same exact storyline (Sinatra's detective even also lives on a houseboat) which has just been released on DVD but is vastly inferior to this movie...

Sam Elliot in 'Green Ice' as a Pacific shamus I think is another and there is one I can't recall. The part of this I love is where Suzy Kendall walks up behind the sleeping McGee and he come straigh up out of the fish fighting chair he's snoozing in and nearly snaps her neck. All in all pretty good, if not up to John D. standards