When Jack London, the socialist American author and journalist, died, still a relatively young man at the age of forty, he left some unfinished manuscripts behind. One of these was called The Assassination Bureau Ltd. He had started writing the story in 1910 got to page 109, wrote “Hall, who had sat down, again stood up, moving the wine glass to one side as he rested one hand on the table….” That was it, and there was no more. Many decades later the historian Robert L. Fish, an historian discovered the unfinished novel and took it on himself to write pages 110 to 161, thus finishing the work. It was finally published in 1963.
Paramount decided to make a film from the unheralded completed novel although moved to action from America to Europe and turned the social satire to nothing but a black comedy. The book has been pretty well forgotten as has the film. But Diana Rigg and Oliver Reed, both 29 when the film was being made, were in the heyday and at their most beautiful…
Would you like to support Flashbak?
Please consider making a donation to our site. We don't want to rely on ads to bring you the best of visual culture. You can also support us by signing up to our Mailing List. And you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For great art and culture delivered to your door, visit our shop.