33 replies to this topic

[SumWon]

I’ve done web browser searches to no avail. I know my details are sketchy but, hopefully, I came to the right place for help.

In the mid-80’s on local tv, I watched a movie that was a Bond-type movie. The good guy was trying to stop annihilation of humans by the bad guy who was going to render humanity sterile or at least disinterested in reproducing. There was a scene in a cave with a woman dancing with fire. The bad guy had a hideout/laboratory/rocket launcher in a mountain. I am not clear on whether the rocket was to preserve him or harm others or both. Also, he had rounded up and froze/immobilized women for himself. It was like a conveyer belt of life size Barbies. (No doubt, this is the part that fascinated me as a child.)

I hope someone else recalls this movie and can help me out with the title. If not, feel free to make such a movie. You are guaranteed an audience of at least one. Thanks for reading.

[SumWon]

Shortly after posting this, I believe I've found the movie.
http://en.wikipedia....Donne_del_Mondo
Thanks anyway.

[TheSaint]

I knew that sounded like "Kiss The Girls and Make Them Die".

[PrinceKamalKhan]

That is one film I've been wanting to see for years.

Here's the trailer



The first 7 minutes, 23 seconds

[Zorin Industries]

Italian-Americans producing spy capers...? It will never catch on...

And Michael Hodern narrating....?

The trailer is superb though. Feels better than the film itself.

[PrinceKamalKhan]

The trailer is superb though. Feels better than the film itself.

Probably true. I had the same experience with QOS.

[Skudor]

That film actually looks like it'd be worth a Saturday afternoon viewing.

[Tybre]

Consider my interest piqued. This is definitely getting a rental, at the very least.

[Brisco]

Consider my interest piqued. This is definitely getting a rental, at the very least.

Good luck! Sadly, it's never been released on DVD. (Officially, anyway.) I wish it would be. It's a very fun movie, though. One of the slicker--and higher budget--Eurospy entries. (I count it as Eurospy anyway. Some people might not because there was a little bit of Hollywood money involved in the production.) Terry-Thomas is great as the chauffeur with the gadget-laden Rolls Royce.

Brisco

[SumWon]

It is in TCM's database, I requested it here:
http://www.tcm.com/t....jsp?stid=80433

Please join me if you'd like to see it.

Also, I considered writing Dino De Laurentiis to request a DVD copy, but the film isn't listed in his filmography. I wonder if someone else owns the rights.
http://www.ddlc.net/index.html

Italian-Americans producing spy capers...? It will never catch on...

And Michael Hodern narrating....?

Is there another film you'd care to recommend to a spy-caper novice?

[Brisco]

It is in TCM's database, I requested it here:
http://www.tcm.com/t....jsp?stid=80433

Please join me if you'd like to see it.

Also, I considered writing Dino De Laurentiis to request a DVD copy, but the film isn't listed in his filmography. I wonder if someone else owns the rights.
http://www.ddlc.net/index.html

Italian-Americans producing spy capers...? It will never catch on...

And Michael Hodern narrating....?

Is there another film you'd care to recommend to a spy-caper novice?

A similar one to Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die that IS available on DVD now (finally!) is Lightning Bolt. This one's pretty fun. The first half is a tad slow, but the budget (meagre though it is) finally kicks in in the latter half and we get an underwater base with shades of Stromberg's Atlantis (but ten years earlier!) and a really great finale. It's in the set RareFlix Triple Feature Vol. 4 available on Amazon, in a nice widescreen transfer with a trailer. The other two movies are junk, but at that price you can afford to have some extras! The best place to START your journey into the sub-Bond world of Eurospy, though, is definitely with Deadlier Than the Male. This is definitely one of the slicker, higher-budget Eurospy entries, and Elke Sommer is a super-sexy villainess and Richard Johnson makes a very credible hero in the Connery vein. I absolutely love this movie. It's on DVD.

The Kommissar X films are very low on the totem pole budgetwise and incredibly dated and horrendously sexist, but they're fun in their own right--and some are on DVD, albeit in poor quality transfers.

Sorry to insert a plug here, but my blog, Double O Section, deals with exactly this sort of topic. Check out my full review of Deadlier Than the Male here and Lightning Bolt here--and The Kommissar X Collection here. Then follow the Eurospy tag and poke around for other Eurospy reviews. There's so much to discover in the world of Sixties Bond ripoffs! Have fun!

Brisco

Edited by Brisco, 18 September 2009 - 09:03 PM.

[Brisco]

Is there another film you'd care to recommend to a spy-caper novice?

Oh, another one I'd DEFINITELY recommend to a spy-caper novice would be Mario Bava's brilliant and beautiful Danger: Diabolik. Unfortunately the DVD is currently out of print, but you can still find it easily enough. That's another one I absolutely adore, and you can read my full review and see lots of screen shots here.

By the way, Diabolik was unfortunately maligned on the final episode of Mystery Science 3000. I love MST3K (and other Eurospy targets like Secret Agent Superdragon and Operation Kid Brother deserved the treatment they got there), but they really missed the mark in going after a genuinely wonderful film like Danger: Diabolik. Pay no attention to the MST3K-driven haters!

Brisco

[PrinceKamalKhan]

It is in TCM's database, I requested it here:
http://www.tcm.com/t....jsp?stid=80433

Please join me if you'd like to see it.

I've requested that one many times on TCM. If they show it, please post it here. I've been wanting to watch it for years.

The best place to START your journey into the sub-Bond world of Eurospy, though, is definitely with Deadlier Than the Male. This is definitely one of the slicker, higher-budget Eurospy entries, and Elke Sommer is a super-sexy villainess and Richard Johnson makes a very credible hero in the Connery vein. I absolutely love this movie. It's on DVD.

Deadlier Than The Male is one of the best Bond spinoffs. Richard Johnson was a contender for the role of Bond a few years earlier. And it does feature a young Virginia North(Olympe from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service), sparkling in her film debut.

Here's the pretitle teaser, the Tom Jones-ish sounding title song, and a spear gun toting Elke Sommer emerging from the sea in sort of a Honey Ryder mixed with Fiona Volpe kind of way



Here's the trailer. WARNING: IT DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS!

[SumWon]

Sorry for the belated reply. I subscribed to the thread, but didn't receive any notifications.

Various recommendations and plug

I already had Deadlier Than the Male in my Netflix queue so I bumped it. I can't find Lightning Bolt , but I added Danger:Diabolik. Thanks for guiding me in the right direction. I will consult your blog for more options as needed. I'm more of a drama fan usually, but after I began my search for what turned out to be Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die, I watched Our Man Flint and found it entertaining. I don't know where that stacks up against these, but I did find some enjoyment in the kitsch.

I've requested that one many times on TCM. If they show it, please post it here. I've been wanting to watch it for years.

I sure will and thanks for the youtube links.

[PrinceKamalKhan]

Sorry for the belated reply. I subscribed to the thread, but didn't receive any notifications.

Various recommendations and plug

I already had Deadlier Than the Male in my Netflix queue so I bumped it. I can't find Lightning Bolt , but I added Danger:Diabolik. Thanks for guiding me in the right direction. I will consult your blog for more options as needed. I'm more of a drama fan usually, but after I began my search for what turned out to be Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die, I watched Our Man Flint and found it entertaining. I don't know where that stacks up against these, but I did find some enjoyment in the kitsch.

I've requested that one many times on TCM. If they show it, please post it here. I've been wanting to watch it for years.

I sure will and thanks for the youtube links.

You're welcome. Let us know what you think of Deadlier Than The Male after you see it. Also, if you liked Our Man Flint then the 1967 sequel In Like Flint is a must-see. I highly recommend that one as well. I actually like the plot of the 2nd Flint film more than the 1st one.

[Brisco]

Sorry for the belated reply. I subscribed to the thread, but didn't receive any notifications.

Various recommendations and plug

I already had Deadlier Than the Male in my Netflix queue so I bumped it. I can't find Lightning Bolt , but I added Danger:Diabolik. Thanks for guiding me in the right direction. I will consult your blog for more options as needed. I'm more of a drama fan usually, but after I began my search for what turned out to be Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die, I watched Our Man Flint and found it entertaining. I don't know where that stacks up against these, but I did find some enjoyment in the kitsch.

I've requested that one many times on TCM. If they show it, please post it here. I've been wanting to watch it for years.

I sure will and thanks for the youtube links.

You're welcome. Let us know what you think of Deadlier Than The Male after you see it. Also, if you liked Our Man Flint then the 1967 sequel In Like Flint is a must-see. I highly recommend that one as well. I actually like the plot of the 2nd Flint film more than the 1st one.

I'll second the prince's request! Please do let us know what you think of Deadlier Than the Male. None of those movies I mentioned are very "dramatic," but they sure are fun! (And most of them ARE kitchy.) There are some more dramatic Eurospy movies, though, like The Quiller Memorandum or The Deadly Affair (one of my favorites, sadly not available on US DVD).

Another suggestion if you like the Flints is The President's Analyst. It's also James Coburn from that period. As much as I enjoy the Flints, I actually like The President's Analyst better. It deals with loftier ideas than Flint (it's satire rather than parody), but in an even sillier manner by the end.

Brisco

[SumWon]

You're welcome. Let us know what you think of Deadlier Than The Male after you see it. Also, if you liked Our Man Flint then the 1967 sequel In Like Flint is a must-see. I highly recommend that one as well. I actually like the plot of the 2nd Flint film more than the 1st one.

Another suggestion if you like the Flints is The President's Analyst. It's also James Coburn from that period. As much as I enjoy the Flints, I actually like The President's Analyst better. It deals with loftier ideas than Flint (it's satire rather than parody), but in an even sillier manner by the end.

Thank you both. I liked Deadlier Than The Male and I loved The President's Analyst. Deadlier Than The Male was fun and full of fantastic and strong ladies. The President's Analyst was clever and compelling. This might sound strange, but another thing I watched this weekend was Sesame Street’s 40th Anniversary discs. The early years seemed riskier and smarter than the later ones-real, but full of hope. It made me long for pre-PC entertainment and these two films fit the bill well. Next in my queue are Lightning Bolt and Danger: Diabolik. I will get to In like Flint after.

[Brisco]

Awesome! I'm glad you liked them. And I'm glad you loved President's Analyst. That's really an overlooked gem of its era, I think. (Although actually still applicable to this era, for better or for worse.) Enjoy Lightning Bolt and Diabolik!

Brisco

[AMC Hornet]

If I were compiling a boxed set of 007-inspired B movies my set would include:
Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die
Our Man Flint
The Liquidator
Murderer's Row
Come Spy With Me
The Billion Dollar Brain

The Liquidator was the first of 8 novels and four short stories written by John Gardner years before Licence renewed, and starred Rod taylor as a womanizing, high- living coward who is accidentally recruited to the SIS as an assassin. (trailers and theme song (by Shirley Bassey) are on Youtube) Also starring Jill S. John, Trevor Howard and Wilfred Hyde-White.

Murderer's Row was the second of four Matt Helm movies starring Dean Martin, and the only one worth watching (IMHO). Also starring Karl Malden and Anne-Margaret.

Come Spy With Me was Beach Blanket Bingo meets Thunderball with Troy Donahue and a theme song performed by Smokey Robinson. Bad enough without the hipster narration, but still mindless fun.

Billion Dollar Brain was the third Harry Palmer movie starring Michael Caine, and the most OTT (less political intrigue and more fantasy) also starring Karl Malden.

There was one other I would like to include, but I can't for the life of me remember its name. It features a glib agent who looked rather like George Lazenby, and all I recall was a scene where he is almost seduced by a Chinese assassin disguised as a woman ("another minute and this would have been very embarassing for both of us!") before throwing him out a window. Also a shootout where he is lying on his back in the street returning fire (rather like Bruce Willis in Die Hard 2). Has ayone seen this film, or should I advertise on the back of a milk carton?

[SumWon]

If I were compiling a boxed set of 007-inspired B movies my set would include:
Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die
Our Man Flint
The Liquidator
Murderer's Row
Come Spy With Me
The Billion Dollar Brain
...
There was one other I would like to include, but I can't for the life of me remember its name. It features a glib agent who looked rather like George Lazenby, and all I recall was a scene where he is almost seduced by a Chinese assassin disguised as a woman ("another minute and this would have been very embarassing for both of us!") before throwing him out a window. Also a shootout where he is lying on his back in the street returning fire (rather like Bruce Willis in Die Hard 2). Has ayone seen this film, or should I advertise on the back of a milk carton?

Thanks for the recommendations and synopses. The Liquidator looks particularly interesting. Unfortunately, not many of the titles seem available from Netflix and I cannot help you with your quest.

[Von Hammerstein]

Where The Spies Are, starring David Niven was one of my favorites.
Funeral In Berlin was cracking as was The Quiller Memorandum,

The Billion Dollar Brain was fun and it had one of Michael Caine's best dialogue exchanges:

Leo: Why don't you come work with me again?
Harry: Sounds great, who get's killed.
Leo: No one
Harry: Then who get's double-crossed?
Leo: No one.
Harry: No one gets double crossed and no one gets killed?
Leo: Yes.
Harry: I dunno Leo, I'll have to think about it.

[SumWon]

A similar one to Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die that IS available on DVD now (finally!) is Lightning Bolt.

Oh, another one I'd DEFINITELY recommend to a spy-caper novice would be Mario Bava's brilliant and beautiful Danger: Diabolik.

Lightning Bolt was a miss for my taste. It was definitely a slow starter as you advised and I never got drawn in. However, Danger: Diabolik more than made up for it. I loved it. I concur with your description of "brilliant and beautiful."

The next film in my queue is Arabesque. I checked your blog, but I couldn’t find a review, just an announcement. I’m going to risk it because I happen to like Doren and the combination Sophia Loren and Gregory Peck isn’t a bad bonus. Following that is Modesty Blaise which Netflix recommended. It only has two and a half stars on Netflix, but after a glance at the user reviews, I think it might be okay for me.

[Brisco]

If I were compiling a boxed set of 007-inspired B movies my set would include:
Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die
Our Man Flint
The Liquidator
Murderer's Row
Come Spy With Me
The Billion Dollar Brain

...

There was one other I would like to include, but I can't for the life of me remember its name. It features a glib agent who looked rather like George Lazenby, and all I recall was a scene where he is almost seduced by a Chinese assassin disguised as a woman ("another minute and this would have been very embarassing for both of us!") before throwing him out a window. Also a shootout where he is lying on his back in the street returning fire (rather like Bruce Willis in Die Hard 2). Has ayone seen this film, or should I advertise on the back of a milk carton?

The movie you're talking about is The Second Best Secret Agent In the Whole Wide World (aka Licensed to Kill). It's even got a title song where Sammy Davis Jr. sings that whole mouthfull! The hero is Tom Adams, who turned in great supporting performances in other spy movies like Fathom (now that's a great one!) and Subterfuge (that's not) as well as more mainstream fare like The Great Escape, but is uncharacteristically wooden in Second Best Secret Agent and its sequels, Where the Bullets Fly and Somebody's Stolen One of Our Russian Spies. There's a lot to enjoy in these films, but personally I wouldn't place any of them nearly as high as some of the others on your list. These are Deep Cuts for the dedicated follower of Bond imitators, and not for one just dipping one's feet in those waters!

That's a good list you've got! I agree that Murderer's Row is the best of the Helms. I've never seen Come Spy With Me, but I'd love to! I love The Liquidator and wish it were available on DVD. While it's not, the soundtrack IS on CD, and is well worth it for both multiple versions of Bassey's song and Lalo Schiffrin's score.

IMHO, I wouldn't rank Billion Dollar Brain with those others. The rest of that list (even the A-list studio pictures like Flint and The Liquidator) are definitely second-tier spy movies, but all of the Harry Palmers are top-tier, right alongside Bond! (Produced by Harry Saltzman with lots of Bond vets involved behind the scenes, they were first conceived as the more realistic "anti-Bond" franchise.) As AMC Hornet notes, Billion Dollar Brain is much more out there than the first two, but it's still an incredible spy movie, and still more thought-provoking than most of the Bond films of the era. It's also got quite a satirical undercurrent. There's a bit of Dr. Strangelove going on there. And director Ken Russell keeps things plenty weird, with wonderfully strange visuals (don't try to watch this movie in anything but widescreen!) that go well with Richard Rodney Bennett's haunting score. I love, love, love this film!

Brisco

[Brisco]

Lightning Bolt was a miss for my taste. It was definitely a slow starter as you advised and I never got drawn in. However, Danger: Diabolik more than made up for it. I loved it. I concur with your description of "brilliant and beautiful."

The next film in my queue is Arabesque. I checked your blog, but I couldn’t find a review, just an announcement. I’m going to risk it because I happen to like Doren and the combination Sophia Loren and Gregory Peck isn’t a bad bonus. Following that is Modesty Blaise which Netflix recommended. It only has two and a half stars on Netflix, but after a glance at the user reviews, I think it might be okay for me.

Sorry Lightning Bolt wasn't to your tastes ("Tosca's not for everyone!"), but I'm glad you loved Diabolik!

Arabesque is certainly fun--if a bit forgetable, ultimately. It's got compelling leads and some great, trippy, Swinging Sixties psychadelic visuals. It's nowhere near as good as Stanley Donen's previous film, Charade, which it's desperately trying to evoke, but it's enjoyable in its own right. Please let us know what you think of it!

Modesty Blaise is another one that's definitely not for everyone. As a fan of Peter O'Donnell's books and comic strips, I definitely understand many fans' position of hating the film. As someone once said, maybe on these forums, for Modesty Blaise fans having the Losey movie is as if the only James Bond movie ever made was the '67 Casino Royale. That's how faithful the movie is to the (more serious) books. But personally, I really enjoy the film--while at the same time recognizing its many, many flaws. It's great in that same Big Sixties Romp way that CR67 is. Again, there are lots of trippy visuals and some of the gags really are funny. The plot is incomprehensible, but the soundtrack (by Johnny Dankworth) is excellent--especially the impossibly catchy theme song. Monica Vitti is hopelessly miscast as Modesty, but always a pleasure to watch. Terrence Stamp is much better as Willy Garvin, but the undisputed scene-stealer is Dirk Bogarde as "the villain of the piece," Gabriel. He's fantastic. Bogarde is always great, but his scenery-chewing performance in Modesty Blaise is one of the Great Spy Villains. (In a very campy way.) He's much better than the movie that surrounds him! Again, I'm curious to know what you end up thinking of it. I just wanted to prepare you, to manage your expectations a bit...

[SumWon]

Arabesque ... Please let us know what you think of it!

Modesty Blaise is another one that's definitely not for everyone. ... Again, I'm curious to know what you end up thinking of it. I just wanted to prepare you, to manage your expectations a bit...

I think both of these movies suffered by virtue of being watched too closely after Danger:Diabolik. If I exclude my love at for D:D, I enjoyed both of these. I nearly always enjoy watching Sofia Loren; Arabesque proved to be no exception. It was interesting to see a mid-60s perceptive on faux-Arab foreign policy. Modesty Blaise was fabulously campy. Though I did lose the plot a few times, the villain was so extremely farcical and sexually ambiguous that he made up for it.

I'm not sure where to go to from here. Maybe I'll try Billion Dollar Brain.

[SumWon]

I think I found Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die on dvd (and ordered it). An online acquaintance recommended notavailableondvd.com; I'll let you know how it pans out.

[Guy Haines]

If I were compiling a boxed set of 007-inspired B movies my set would include:
Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die
Our Man Flint
The Liquidator
Murderer's Row
Come Spy With Me
The Billion Dollar Brain

...

There was one other I would like to include, but I can't for the life of me remember its name. It features a glib agent who looked rather like George Lazenby, and all I recall was a scene where he is almost seduced by a Chinese assassin disguised as a woman ("another minute and this would have been very embarassing for both of us!") before throwing him out a window. Also a shootout where he is lying on his back in the street returning fire (rather like Bruce Willis in Die Hard 2). Has ayone seen this film, or should I advertise on the back of a milk carton?

The movie you're talking about is The Second Best Secret Agent In the Whole Wide World (aka Licensed to Kill). It's even got a title song where Sammy Davis Jr. sings that whole mouthfull! The hero is Tom Adams, who turned in great supporting performances in other spy movies like Fathom (now that's a great one!) and Subterfuge (that's not) as well as more mainstream fare like The Great Escape, but is uncharacteristically wooden in Second Best Secret Agent and its sequels, Where the Bullets Fly and Somebody's Stolen One of Our Russian Spies. There's a lot to enjoy in these films, but personally I wouldn't place any of them nearly as high as some of the others on your list. These are Deep Cuts for the dedicated follower of Bond imitators, and not for one just dipping one's feet in those waters!

That's a good list you've got! I agree that Murderer's Row is the best of the Helms. I've never seen Come Spy With Me, but I'd love to! I love The Liquidator and wish it were available on DVD. While it's not, the soundtrack IS on CD, and is well worth it for both multiple versions of Bassey's song and Lalo Schiffrin's score.

IMHO, I wouldn't rank Billion Dollar Brain with those others. The rest of that list (even the A-list studio pictures like Flint and The Liquidator) are definitely second-tier spy movies, but all of the Harry Palmers are top-tier, right alongside Bond! (Produced by Harry Saltzman with lots of Bond vets involved behind the scenes, they were first conceived as the more realistic "anti-Bond" franchise.) As AMC Hornet notes, Billion Dollar Brain is much more out there than the first two, but it's still an incredible spy movie, and still more thought-provoking than most of the Bond films of the era. It's also got quite a satirical undercurrent. There's a bit of Dr. Strangelove going on there. And director Ken Russell keeps things plenty weird, with wonderfully strange visuals (don't try to watch this movie in anything but widescreen!) that go well with Richard Rodney Bennett's haunting score. I love, love, love this film!

Brisco

Agreed regarding Billion Dollar Brain, one of my favourite non-Bond films (in fact I like all three of the 1960s Harry Palmer spy films). The plot is a bit convoluted but the visuals are striking, and the music score is marvellous - and includes an excerpt from Dimitri Shostokovich's 7th Symphony "Leningrad" (played over the scene when General Midwinter is sending his troops into battle, aboard those heavily armed tanker trucks).

By the way, Richard Johnson appeared as Bulldog Drummond in two films - Deadlier Than The Male, already mentioned on this thread, and the sequel called Some Girls Do. I watched both on TV years ago. Drummond was a 1920s character originally, something of a pre war Bond but without the gratuitous sex (but with plenty of violence) and he battled an enigmatic Blofeld type character named Carl Peterson in four novels. The 1960s films retained both characters but were influenced by the Bond films in their style.

[Napoleon Solo]

Shortly after posting this, I believe I've found the movie.
http://en.wikipedia....Donne_del_Mondo
Thanks anyway.

The film's star, Mike Connors, celebrated his 85th birthday on Sunday.

[Guy Haines]

Shortly after posting this, I believe I've found the movie.
http://en.wikipedia....Donne_del_Mondo
Thanks anyway.

The film's star, Mike Connors, celebrated his 85th birthday on Sunday.

Mike Connors - alias "Mannix"? Another TV show I was "brung up on".

[SumWon]

I think I found Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die on dvd (and ordered it). An online acquaintance recommended notavailableondvd.com; I'll let you know how it pans out.

The dvd worked great and was affordable. Here's the link: http://www.notavaila...?productID=4192