Customer Reviews

The Poppy Is Also A Flower [VHS]

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1 star:		(4)

 

 

The Poppy Is Also A Flower is an odd movie of great interest to film and trivia buffs primarily for having the coolest, if not largest, international all-star cast, including Yul Brynner, Omar Sharif, Trevor Howard, Gilbert Roland, Angie Dickinson, Rita Hayworth, E.G. Marshall, Stephen Boyd, Anthony Quayle, Marcello Mastroianni, Eli Wallach, Trini Lopez, and Grace Kelly, just to name those I can recall. The film concerns UN investigators tracing irradiated drugs from the poppy fields in Iran through the entire process of smuggling, refining, and sale. E.G. Marshall and Trevor Howard are the main protagonists on the trail of the drugs, which leads through the Mediterranean to Italy and Monte Carlo. Gilbert Roland is interestingly cast as a Mafia boss.

Unfortunately the film isn't very effective, almost dull, in spite of super stars in exotic locations, in the first half, until one of the protagonists is caught by the bad guys. It does get a bit suspenseful at the end, if you're still with it by then.

Sometimes it seems as if the dialog is dubbed or the soundtrack misaligned, or the acting just a bit stilted, though some is very good, especially Anthony Quayle as a cockney sea captain - he sounds like Cary Grant and looks like Victor McLaglen. The film has a few sights you wouldn't expect to find in any movie: E.G. Marshall hiding under Angie Dickinson's bed; Gilbert Roland watching Trini Lopez sing La Bomba; and Rita Hayworth playing a drug addict. So I'd recommend it if you're interested in the trivia aspects, but not for escapist entertainment.

"The Opium Connection", better known as "The Poppy Is Also a Flower", aka "Poppies Are Also Flowers", is an oddity, produced by the United Nations from a story by James Bond creator Ian Fleming, directed by Terence Young and full of stars who allegedly only received $1 for their work.

Leading the cast are Trevor Howard and EG Marshall as two UN narcotics agents tracking a shipment of opium. Their mission takes them from Iran to Geva, Naples and Monte Carlo, and along the way they meet all sorts of people, played by stars including Yul Brynner, Omar Sharif, Angie Dickinson, Marcello Mastroianni, Rita Hayworth, Eli Wallach, Harold "Oddjob" Sakata and Anthony Quayle. Princess Grace (Kelly) appears as herself, presenting the movie.

The cast list and the unusual history of the movie is more interesting than the movie itself. The story is rather dull and despite the all-star cast the acting is only average. The few action scenes are not very good. The picture and sound quality of the DVD leave much to be desired. Recommended only as a curiosity to collectors, but try to find a cheap copy.

I ordered this because my two favorite actors are Yul and Stephen Boyd. Well, they were in the first 10 minutes and then the rest of the movie dragged on and on.
Storyline was disjointed and I would have just walked away but hoped Yul might return. The stars you might have wanted to see were gone in a wink. It wasn't worth the small amount I paid.

Well, well, well. If I'm not mistaken, this film must be the only fiction movie produced by the United Nations. Actors didn't get paid and Ian Fleming supplied the idea for the screenplay. Cinematographically speaking, there are two or three good scenes in The Poppy Is Also a Flower like the attack of the Iranian army in the desert or the surprising death of one of the U.N. inspectors long before the end of the film. Otherwise, the film is rather educational and the point of view not so objective as no one speaks about why there is such a Demand for opium in the civilized world. Already forgotten.

This movie is available at the Dollar Stores, under the title "The Opium Connection."
For a buck, I was surprised at the decent quality of the movie. Yul is cool, but don't except Charlton Heston to burst through the door and part waters.
Angie Dickinson, of limited 70s tv fame, is not an actress, but gives a studio intro -- a description of the poppy. Her speech was a bit heavy on praise for the allegedly drug-stopping efforts of the United Nations. Yeah, right!
Nevertheless, it keeps you going.
The ending left a blah taste in my mouth. It seemed that the director just didn't know how to give the viewer a movie ending to a real-life ongoing problem. I expected a bit more creativity based on the quality of the rest of the movie.
Overall: worth a buck!

I purchased this DVD about a year ago and I was unable to play this DVD at all. It is very poor quality.

I also got a brand new but unplayable DVD. There are clearly manufacturing defects with at least one run of this title.

Strikingly and incredibly the dumbest movie i have seen in...well ever. I am a fan of the genre of movies that depict the evils of drug use in bizarre and unintentionally humorous, but usually untrue ways. Can anyone forget "Reefer Madnes" (1932) or "Cocaine Fiends" (1936) or "The Trip?" (1967) They are made, I'm sure, with the intention of giving somewhat of a warning message intended for the general publics safety, but can be misleading and sometimes grossly overzealous in their efforts. And now they are just fun. I first read about this movie a few years ago and was eager to add it to my movie collection. Thank goodness for Amazon because it has been hard to find. The cast/crew alone is intriguing enough in light of the subject matter for any movie buff. Rita Hayworth, Yul Brenner, Marcello Mastroiani, Eli Wallach, E.G. Marshall, Angie Dickinson, Omar Shariff all appear and it was directed by Terence Young who made the fantastic "Wait Until Dark" (1967) and some notable James Bond movies. Well, I know now why it has been so hard to find. It is an embarrasment to film. I don't know what everyone was thinking when they collaborated on this venture. Rita Hayworth's alzheimers was obviously already setting in for her to have even CONSIDERED this role, let alone taking it. Just a year before Omar Shariff appeared in "Doctor Zhivago," one of the best movies of that decade and I don't even know what to say about Yul Brenner. Just because someone earns an Oscar doesn't mean they should stop trying. Which ever studio head OK'd production for this flick MUST have lost his job and it is no wonder American International Pictures went bankrupt less than ten years later. And to boot it was produced for the United Nations as a television project! The editing is choppy, direction only approaching mediocre at best, and the dialogue and acting at times is just downright bad. Any of the actors who participated in this movie that are still living must cringe at the mere sight of a poppy now. And with good reason. In a masochistic way I had to watch it through to the end just to see how bad it would really get. I wasn't disappointed. It was. Bad. Terribly bad. It is a keeper for movie buffs only for the cast and to make you wonder what the ____ some of the best and well-known actors of the day were thinking. If you like this genre of film, stick with the better ones mentioned above or any of the others made throughout the decades.