Assignment To Kill

Richard Cutter isn't like most insurance investigators. Instead of being equipped with actuarial tables, he's armed with a handgun and a dismissive wit. "Why do you carry a gun?' asks the exec hiring him to probe a case of multimillion-dollar insurance fraud. "It's more effective than a hammer," Cutter replies. Patrick O'Neal brings unshakeable sangfroid to the role of Cutter in this zigzag tale of corporate cover-up and death that's less Bond-like in its pacing and style and more akin to the methodical maneuvering of Harry Palmer. Joan Hackett, Herbert Lom, Oscar Homolka and John Gielgud join O'Neal for moves and countermoves filmed in scenic Switzerland by Sheldon Reynolds (TV's Foreign Intrigue).

• drama