I really liked it.

It was remarkable that a film in the mid 1960s would criticize a living dictator by name but in The Comedians there is mention of Papa Doc and even a brief glimpse of him the in mirror. Does anyone today even remember Dr. Francois Duvalier, who went from country physician to brutal dictator in the 1960s. The movie shows the poverty, corruption and brutality of the Haitian regime. I thought that was great.

Alec Guiness could play almost any part and did well in this as the phony-commando who rises to the occasion. Of course Liz and Dick were a well known couple but I did not get any real chemistry between them in this movie. Peter Ustinov had a small role but did his usually very good job with what he had.

At this time there were not too many serious film roles for black actors but James Earl Jones, Raymond St. Jacques, Georg Stanford Brown and Roscoe Lee Browne had good roles, especially St. Jacques as the fearsome Captain Concasseur. South African actor Zakes Makae was really scary as the brutal secret policeman "Michel" who has no dialogue but uses his body language to emit ruthlessness. Often films today are afraid to cast black actors in anything but sympathetic parts. But a good role as a heavy is probably the most fun to play.

I cringe at the brief scenes in the Haitian prison, and the scene where Alec Guiness is interrogated by the secret police as he arrives in Haiti. That was a little too close to reality in the third world. Finally Lillian Gish and Paul Ford did a great job as naive American tourists who discover the real Haiti. She shows spirit when she stands up to Captain Concasseur to protect Richard Burton.