A private detective is sent to Italy by an insurance company to locate a man so that he may be rewarded for his gallantry during WWII. However, soon it becomes obvious that this is all a ruse and they want to find the man for ulterior motives. Yet, despite this and a group of killers who want to stop him, the handsome detective (Richard Todd) doggedly continues his investigation in the town of Venice. Will he find what he's looking for...and, does the audience really care?
It's odd, but for a mystery/suspense film, "The Assassin" is amazingly unexciting. Most of the problem is that the film is so very talky. Again and again, instead of SHOWING the plot unfold, the film relies on HEARING people talking about it--a very static way to do such a film. The other problem is that although Richard Todd is a suave and handsome guy, he just seemed to sophisticated and nice for such a role. It played very much like if Dirk Bogarde or Cary Grant had played the part--all good actors but all too smooth and 'nice'. Overall, it's not a terrible film but it sure could have been a lot better.