Masquerade is a 1965 British comedy thriller film directed by Basil Dearden based on the 1954 novel Castle Minerva by Victor Canning.

[2] The contract giving Britain the right to the oil fields in the fictitious country of Ramat in the Middle East is coming to an end.

To protect the rights of the British and the Anglo Oil Media Company, the British government, with Sir Robert (John Le Mesurier), Colonel Drexel (Jack Hawkins) and stuffy spy Benson (Charles Gray) launch a secret mission to kidnap the prince (with his consent) to protect him from assination before he can take control of the country and the oil.

Colonel Drexel forces Benson to allow his old America buddy David Frazer (Cliff Robertson), who fought with him in Ramat in WWII, to help.

Frazer arrives in Spain and immediately meets beautiful French girl, Sophie (Marissa Mell) who offers him a ride to his villa.

Benson tries to take him in for questioning, but on the way the gang abduct Frazer and drive him to an abandoned castle inside a wine barrel which makes him drunk.

He learns that the betrayer who set him up is his old friend Drexel, who wants to ransom the prince back to the British to get a huge pay off from the Oil company.

Frazer and Drexel team up and realize that the gang, consisting of a knife thrower, a little person, and performing dog, are circus people.

He is working for the current ruler of Ramat who will pay him to kill the prince Fraiser and Sophie are kept in a circus cage, where they make out some more, while Dunwoody negotiates.

Benson says it was obvious that Dunwoody was the mastermind behind the double kidnapping, while Drexel celebrates his new job with the oil company, for which he smugly says they’re paying him an embarrassing amount.

However when it’s handed to him, Sir Robert happily informs him that they took care of some problems he was having with the American IRS, and therefore is only paid £11 pounds for his adventure.