Pedestrian pacing and a poor script, together with a less-than-likeable main character, sink this 1970 action movie, based on the novel by Mickey Spillane and starring Christopher George as Morgan, the freelancer forced into helping out the government in a plan to rescue an imprisoned scientist. Yvette Mimieux is the agent assigned to work with …
Deadlier Than the Male (1967)
Elke Sommer and Sylva Koscina as clever and ruthless killers are perhaps the chief reasons to watch this movie recasting Bulldog Drummond (played by Richard Johnson) in the mold of the cinematic James Bond, though Johnson is fine as the suave and skilled, if a bit too off-putting, agent, and Nigel Green makes for an …
Read the full post →“<em>Deadlier Than the Male</em> (1967)”
Slalom (1965)
Lucio (Vittorio Gassman) and Riccardo (Adolfo Celi) visit a ski resort with their wives but devise a plan to shunt them away so they can try their luck with the snow bunnies they’re seeing all around. Unfortunately for Lucio, his efforts to woo a blonde he has seen (Beba Loncar) get him mixed up with …
Halfway to Shanghai (Universal, 1942)
A man is murdered aboard a train carrying an assortment of refugees and suspicious characters as it heads to Shanghai, after Nazi agents have evinced an interest in securing a map that the victim has stolen, one that shows important military facilities. Major Vinpore (J. Edward Bromberg) investigates, while two long-separated folks (Kent Taylor and …
Read the full post →“<em>Halfway to Shanghai</em> (Universal, 1942)”
The False Faces (Paramount, 1919)
A tale of espionage and revenge: Michael Lanyard, the Lone Wolf (Henry B. Walthall), pursues a German agent, Karl Eckstrom (Lon Chaney), to avenge the killing of his sister and nephew, a pursuit that takes him from the World War I battlefields of France to a ship sunk by a German submarine and to a …
Read the full post →“<em>The False Faces</em> (Paramount, 1919)”
Federal Fugitives (PRC, 1941)
Unmemorable low-budget fare stars Neil Hamilton as a government agent who spots a villain (Victor Varconi) presumed dead in a plane crash. Said bad guy is now after aviation secrets and control of an aircraft plant, and he resorts to using both a temptress (a Doris Day, but not the Doris Day) and poison in …
Read the full post →“<em>Federal Fugitives</em> (PRC, 1941)”
The Two Crazy Secret Agents (1965)
Two idiotic photographers (Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia) are recruited by the British secret service after Agent 007 is killed, and they are tasked with foiling a plot by a sinister mastermind, Goldginger (Fernando Rey) that involves taking control of government leaders. There are some laughs and decent echoes of Bond, but Franco can be …
Read the full post →“<em>The Two Crazy Secret Agents</em> (1965)”
Ore ni sawaru to abunaize (1966)
A photographer investigates when his date, a stewardess, is kidnapped. Bad guys are after gold that her father had smuggled during the war, and among those interested are killer women who wear black tights and use an assortment of odd weapons, including records as throwing stars and measuring tapes as swords. Lots of fun, with …
Read the full post →“<em>Ore ni sawaru to abunaize</em> (1966)”
Siete minutos para morir (1969)
An American agent investigates the murder of a consular officer in Hong Kong and uncovers a much more complicated situation involving a list of agents that must be kept out of the hands of the Red Chinese government. There’s plenty of action, but overall the movie is unmemorable. Mildly recommended. Otto judiciously thinks this movie …
Read the full post →“<em>Siete minutos para morir</em> (1969)”
Comando de asesinos (1966)
Spies from various countries compete — and sometimes cooperate — to try to secure a scientist’s formula for specially hardened steel in this moderately entertaining but unmemorable Eurospy effort set in Lisbon. Mildly recommended. Otto judiciously thinks this movie is OK, but not great. Movie 277 for 2021.