House of Cards (ej svensk text) (Blu-ray)

The American writer Reno Davis has recently retired as a boxer. Unemployed and completely destitute, he meets Anne de Villemont, a widow, in France. Attracted by Reno's serenity, Anne gets involved with him - the two become lovers. Reno realizes that Anne is terrified that her eight-year-old son might be kidnapped. He also learns that the family is in contact with a fascist organization that is planning to conquer the whole of Europe. Reno is accused of murdering his best friend and, together with Anne, becomes the target of the organization's manic planners. Together with Anne's eight-year-old son Paul, the two are chased throughout France. The chase ends in the Colosseum in Rome, where the big showdown takes place. John Guillermin's film is a complex conspiracy story in which the young George Peppard cuts an incredibly good figure as the reluctant hero. The cynicism of his role is portrayed in a stirring way. Orson Welles is the eminence in the background who pulls all the strings and lends the movie gravitas. "House of Cards" is perhaps the best Hitchcockian thriller that Hitchcock never made. Conclusion: There are no such films these days.