(thanks, ohwhatamindblast!)
OK, I know I haven’t been keeping you guys and gals up to date in terms of this feature, but that’s what happens when one tries the world domination thing – you end up with too much stuff on your plate and some things get dropped. Speaking of world domination and dropping things, this fun to watch James Bond pastiche from 1967 happened to pop into my head as a film I haven’t seen in ages that’s worth tracking down. Sure, it’s not perfect, but it’s great for a laugh or three and some excellent set pieces keep things quite cool. Even better, in terms of all the Bond spoofs on that landed in theaters during the period, it’s one of the more polished efforts.
Granted, Hugh “Bulldog” Drummond is NOT a spy, but an updated version of the classic British detective for the swingin’ 60’s set and thus, sure as heck looks and feels like a fun Bond knockoff. Richard Johnson ably plays Drummond as a Bond not so lite tough guy insurance investigator (that’s longhand for detective for hire) who’s good with his fists, pistols, a snappy quip or two and the ladies (not necessarily in that order). He’s put on the case of a dead oil company executive and soon finds out that there are some sexy female assassins (the drop-dead gorgeous Elke Sommer and Sylva Koscina) and a mastermind behind the whole thing to deal with in his particular (albeit Bond-like) manner…
(thanks, RareCultCinema!)
As with Ian Fleming’s Bond books, this film’s writers very wisely took Drummond into the 60’s by dropping his rather racist tendencies from the old books in the process or reinventing him as a more likable character. Granted, he’s as sexist as Bond ever was in the films and yes, you also get a stereotypical 1960’s evil bad guy who’s smarter than Drummond, but not quite smart enough to outwit his fate. The film hits all the right Bond-like notes and if you squint a little, take off your glasses or pop out those contacts, Johnson even LOOKS a bit like Sean Connery. I think when I first saw this as a kid on network TV, I thought it was a Bond film for a hot minute (no thanks to that theme music that sounds yanked from one of those films). Ah, the folly of youth…
Highlights include an awesome and deadly chess game played on a giant board with radio controlled moving pieces, a car chase featuring British cars that shouldn’t go as fast as they without the wheels coming off and a suitably hilarious ending that shows karmic revenge thanks to a little vanity and petty larceny gone haywire. Oh, and I guess I’m required as a non-lethal stupid male to be a bit sexist here and say lady assassins with fancy accents in skimpy clothing? ALWAYS awesome in a film like this that doesn’t take itself so seriously. I recall seeing this one a number of times as a kid in glorious black and white before finally catching it in much better color sometime in the late 70’s or early 80’s, and it still holds up as a great mix of action, humor and manly-man action.
As far as my memory serves me, I never did see the sequel to this one (1969’s Some Girls Do), but I hear it’s not too shabby. Then again, perhaps I did see it way back in the early 70’s on TV, as the story sounded insanely familiar when I looked it up recently. Granted, like this film, it’s not extremely “original” in a few areas, but those sexy female robot spies with the ability to zap people and objects with sound waves sure sounds like it makes a fun film, doesn’t it? Oh well… I’ll need to get to that one of these days, perhaps as some sort of super Bond-like double feature extravaganza.
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 
This is the first entry I have read for Snoopathon. What a great way to start. I have read about this movie but never seen it. I am partial to Ronald Coleman’s interpretation of Bulldog Drummond, but Elke Sommer and Sylva Koscina probably make this one worth investigating. Thanks for sharing it with us.
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Oh, I’d seen a few Drummond flicks AFTER this one, so I was surprised that they were better in many respects thanks to this one going TOO Bond in the updating. Still, it’s fun and amusing because you could tell the filmmakers were going for those Bond dollars yet still making a film that was kind of it’s own bird. And yup, the ladies are lovely here!
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We can all use a little kitsch in our lives. Sounds like a blast! 😉
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Oh, it’s a total hoot in that “Hey, let’s OUT-Bond Bond!” way. It’s hard to take seriously, but that makes it fun.
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I’ve never heard of this one, but being a fan of Bond films, and after reading your review, you better believe I’ll be searching it out. And yes, maybe even its sequel, too.
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It’s absolutely worth a look, but I’ll note that it’s tends to be slightly campier in spots than some Bond films but not as intentionally goofy as the Flint flicks. Still, that chess match is pretty fun to watch, the ladies manage to equal the Bond girls of the era (and being assassins makes them fun to watch as they do their thing). It’s out of print on DVD in the US (did it even get a disc release?) unless you track down an official all region disc for the Asian market (I stay away from bootlegs myself)…
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I just found the complete film on YouTube, so I guess I now have something to watch this weekend!
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Ah, I’d forgotten that the film might have been uploaded there! I keep hoping TCM will run this so I can see it on a bigger screen, but YouTube will do in a pinch as long as the quality is decent.
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Deadlier than the Male is a fun movie! The chess game with the giant pieces that slide around when you call out the move…I’m thinking JK Rowling ripped this off for the first Harry Potter book.
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I recall some years back seeing a live outdoor chess game with people in costumes acting as pieces and laughing as I watched because I kept thinking of this film. Granted, they were all in pretty fancy costumes, but I wondered in this film was also an inspiration for that bit of fun.
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I suppose Star Wars did the moving chess piece thing too. Not traditional chess, but close enough.
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Oh, I know folks who’d kill (or maybe just maim lightly) for an actual chess set with holographic pieces from the film. There was a PC game from a while back that tried to replicate that, but I don’t think it took off…
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Sometimes, I really wonder what people were thinking in the 60s as the gender stereotypes and representation that were taken as ‘the norm’ seem so incredible when viewed with a modern eye. I guess I have to remind myself films like this were made for a different audience and market, and filmmakers weren’t thinking about their legacy. Going to have a look at this on YouTube now, thanks for alerting me to this film!
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