Guns of Darkness

Set in South America, and at first glance a hangover from the Empire films of the '50s, with their familiar paraphernalia of rebellions, plantations and exotic locales. There is, in fact, rather more to it. The story, taken from a Francis Clifford novel, moves through similar territory to Graham Greene's 'entertainments'. Both writers deal with questions of conduct faced by the Englishman abroad, although Clifford's heroes show more practical application and less imagination in the face of moral crises, thereby skirting the spiritual malaise that besets Greene's characters. Here Niven's Britisher finds himself unwillingly dragged off the fence when his own and his wife's safety is threatened. John Mortimer manages an intelligent script.