The Reward

French director Bourguignon won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film with 1962's Sundays and Cybele, his first feature, then went to Hollywood and swiftly blew his chances with this lackadaisical South-of-the-Border thriller. The price on accused killer Zimbalist's head becomes the source of much friction between von Sydow, the crop-duster who fingers him, and Roland, the cop leading the hunt. The point about the malign influence of money is made early on, leaving the rest of the film to fizzle to a surprisingly underwhelming conclusion. 'Where's the beef?' you're tempted to ask.