The Next Man

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the comic, see
Next Man
.
The Next Man
Morton S. Fine
Richard C. Sarafian
Alan Trustman
Produced byMartin Bregman
Starring
Cinematography
Allied Artists Pictures Corporation
Release date
  • November 10, 1976 (1976-11-10)
Running time
108 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Next Man (also known as The Arab Conspiracy and Double Hit) is a 1976 American political action thriller film starring Sean Connery, Cornelia Sharpe [de; it], Albert Paulsen, and Charles Cioffi. Music for the film features New York City guitarist Frederic Hand. It was the film score debut for composer Michael Kamen.

Plot

The film is set in November 1976,

asphyxiated. In the first two cases, the assassins themselves are killed shortly after leaving the scene — in one case by another assassin named Gregory Zolnikov (director Richard C. Sarafian in an uncredited role),[2]
and in the other by the victim's bodyguard Hamid (Albert Paulsen). In the third case, the seductress is Irish aristocrat and part-time assassin Nicole Scott (Cornelia Sharpe).

Due to his predecessor's assassination, Khalil Abdul-Muhsen (Sean Connery) becomes the new

Palestinian state, and Saudi Arabian aid to needy Third World nations. He ends by quoting Yasser Arafat's 1974 UN General Assembly speech
: "I hold neither a symbol nor a gun. My hands are empty. They reach out to you. Which of you will take them?" His police bodyguard informs him that this speech has raised his risk of assassination from a "C-minus" to an "A."

Meanwhile, Nicole Scott has flown to New York and arranges to meet Abdul-Muhsen at a soiree. They flirt again at an auction, where Scott is outbid on a

Bahamas to escape New York's winter weather. In the Bahamas, a team of commandos
posing as Palestinian terrorists attempts to assassinate Abdul-Muhsen, but he survives with help from Hamid and from Scott, who has a chance to kill Abdul-Muhsen but chooses to shoot his attacker instead.

Abdul-Muhsen returns to the UN, where he delivers a second impassioned speech, this time announcing that Saudi Arabia will invite Israel to join

traffic jam. Hamid turns around in the driver's seat, revealing a gun, and tells Scott, "Now. Kill him now." Hamid's gun moves toward Abdul-Muhsen. Scott shoots Hamid in the temple
, then turns to Abdul-Muhsen and shoots him as well.

The final scene shows Scott bringing the snuffbox through customs in London, explaining that it was "a gift." As she leaves the airport, Zolnikov is seen following her.

Cast

Production

Connery's casting was announced in January 1976.[4]

Reception

The film on its release was not received particularly well by critics. Roger Ebert began his review: "When good directors work with bad material, Pauline Kael once said, [...] they shove art into the crevices of dreck. That would do as a description of The Next Man, a movie with an impenetrable plot that nevertheless has its moments."[5] Ebert was impressed by Sharpe's performance, describing her as a "cool beauty."[5]

Bahamas, though nothing much happens in any one of these places that couldn't as easily happen somewhere else."[6]

Variety was not impressed, commenting, "The Next Man emerges more a slick travesty with political overtones than the cynical suspense meller it was designed to be ... No less than four writers compiled the screenplay and it shows."[7]

Producer Martin Bregman received an official protest from the Saudi government after the film was released.[citation needed]

The film came third for the week at the U.S. box office, behind Two-Minute Warning and Car Wash.[8]

References

  1. ^ The first scene is captioned "Monday, November 1, 8:06 AM"; November 1 fell on a Monday in 1976 and not again until 1982. The film's dates through November 15 are consistent with 1976. The final scene is captioned "Tuesday, December 11, 8:10 AM", an impossibility unless we assume it takes place three years after the rest of the film's events.
  2. IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  3. ^ "Jaime Sanchez (actor credit)". Archived from the original on 2017-09-15.
  4. ^ MOVIE CALL SHEET: Picker Comes In From the Cold Murphy, Mary. Los Angeles Times 28 Jan 1976: f8.
  5. ^ a b Roger Ebert (1976-11-17). "Chicago Sun-Times review". Archived from the original on 2012-09-24. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  6. ^
    New York Times. Archived
    from the original on May 20, 2011. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  7. ^ "Film Reviews: The Next Man". Variety. 1976. Archived from the original on 2012-10-21. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
  8. ^ "50 Top-Grossing Films". Variety. November 24, 1976. p. 11.

External links

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