The Man Who Finally Died (1963)

Director: Quentin Lawrence

Writers: Lewis Greifer, Louis Marks

Composer: Philip Green

Starring: Stanley Baker, Georgina Ward, Peter Cushing, Mai Zetterling, Eric Portman, Niall MacGinnis, Nigel Green, Barbara Everest, Harold Scott

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The mystery of the century explodes!..An espionage hunt across sinister post-war Europe!

Plot: A mysterious call summons Joe Newman to Bavaria in search of the father he believed dead for 20 years.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

I really dig Stanley Baker but this is the first of his films I've seen where I think he went too far.  He's too angry and almost all of the time.  I understand where Joe's (Baker) anger comes from and I get his frustration but he's in the red almost from the beginning of the picture.  It's a good cast and any picture with Peter Cushing is a better one because of him.  The plot reveal near the end changes Joe's (and our) perspective but it comes at a time that's past the point where I just about stopped caring.  It's an interesting picture that looks great, and I like the European setting, but the story keeps you the dark longer than feels necessary...and you don't want to be in the dark with a super pissed off Stanley Baker.  Is it worth watching?  Yes because of Peter Cushing and probably yes for Baker fans but otherwise, it's a soft recommend.