FILM REVIEW OF "THE NARCO MEN" (1970)

Too many dull interludes and not enough derring-do derails this gritty, atmospheric European melodrama about an ex-Interpol agent (rugged looking Thomas Tryon of "The Cardinal") who is hired by an infamous drug-lord Marcos (Jose Bodalo of "Captain Apache) to find a missing shipment of narcotics. Along the way our hero hooks up with a hippie chick with a guitar, Jill (Lorenza Guerrieri of "Operation Snafu") whom he uses to act as a cover during his investigation. Inexplicably, in the middle of this Euro thriller, Richard Deacon of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" appears briefly as a records clerk.

The Spanish scenery is spectacular and the photography is breathtaking, but there simply isn't enough intrigue to fuel this indifferent actioneer. A scene near the beginning where the villains conceal a shipment of narcotics under the hood of their automobile is cool and director Julio Coll's understated staging of their demise in hail of gunfire during a downpour generates a modicum of excitement. There's also a decent scene in a garage where out hero gets doused with gas. The problem here is that the action lags between the better scenes. Sergio Donati, who co-scripted with Sergio Leone on "For A Few Dollars More" and "Duck, You Sucker," contributed to the loquacious screenplay. The chief villain Marcos sports a pair of spectacles with one clear lens and a dark lens. He is ruthless but he isn't as ruthless as he needs to be to stand out from the pack. This disposable thriller is no diamond in the rough and only die-hard action fans who want to say that they have seen it for the record need waste their time on it.