Showing posts with label spies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spies. Show all posts
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| Jo Van Fleet and Robert Conrad in the final episode |
THE WILD, WILD WEST Season Four. 1968. CBS.
While there were less outstanding episodes in The Wild, Wild West's last season than in previous years, it remained an entertaining, generally well-made and well-acted program until the end. During Ross Martin's illness, Charles Aidman filled in for Artemis Gordon as "Jeremy Pike" in several episodes. [William Schallert filled in as "Frank Harper" in one two-part episode.] There was a suspenseful scene in a vault in the first episode, "Night of the Big Blackmail," with Harvey Korman; a mechanical squid and an underwater HQ in "Kraken;" a giant tuning fork sonics weapon in "Avaricious Actuary;" a certain song that holds the key to which secret service agent might be a traitor in "the Janus;" an obnoxious opera singer (Patrice Munsel) in the unusual episode "Night of the Diva;" a tank used to tear homesteaders' dwellings apart in "Juggernaut;" a vial of deadly plague in "Gruesome Games;" and a deadly new explosive in "Doomsday Formula" with Kevin McCarthy. Dr. Loveless (Michael Dunn) plays dummy to a robot ventriloquist and kidnaps several people in ways related to a nursery rhyme in "Miquelito's Revenge;" and "Bleak Island," concerning skulduggery in a spooky old house on a cliff, features fine performances from John Williams, Beverly Garland and, especially, Robert H. Herron. The two best episodes were "The Sedgwick Curse," in which people disappear without a trace from a sinister hotel; and the very last episode of the series, the slightly sexist "Night of the Tycoons," in which Jo Van Fleet expertly plays the sole female member of a board of directors who are being killed off one by one. Robert Conrad and Ross Martin still seem to be having fun, and Aidman and Schallert make admirable and likable fill-ins.
Verdict: Nice wind-up to an unusual and entertaining TV series. ***.
Special Agent Casey Reed (Gene Barry of The War of the Worlds) works in a nightclub in Hong Kong as a singer as his cover. He is told that the Russians have kidnapped the young son, Abdul, of Thamen's King Faid, to force his cooperation in a deal that is also important to the U.S.. Reed is assigned to find the boy, and along the way pretends to be a crook who wants an alliance with Macao gold smuggler Elena Martine (Allison Hayes of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman) and her associates, Chung (Philip Ahn) and Owen Howard (Noel Drayton). Casey's pretty accompanist, Fay (Beverly Tyler) is brought to Macao via subterfuge to put pressure on Reed. Hong Kong Confidential has obtrusive narration that tells us what we're seeing, and is on the level of a cheap TV production, but it does boast a tense scene when Reed, still pretending to be a crook, is told to prove his loyalty by killing the British agent John Blanchard (Michael Pate); the climax is also suspenseful and the movie is fast-paced. The performances are okay, although Hayes, without much of a character to play, seems a trifle bored at times. Ed Kemmer also appears as an old flame of Fay's. When Barry goes into his song and dance routine it looks as if he's doing a parody! Cahn directed a number of cheapie-creepies, some of which, like Voodoo Woman, were a lot of fun.
Verdict: Amos Burke meets the 50 Foot Woman. **1/2.
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| Clint Eastwood and George Kennedy |
"Sorry about this, but twice a year all of my blood must be replaced." -- Dragon
"With what?" -- Hemlock
Jonathan Hemlock (Clint Eastwood) collects art treasures and can afford to pay for them by taking on assassination assignments for a strange agency headed by the bizarre "total albino," Dragon (Thayer David). Hemlock wants to retire but he's importuned into going after one last target, but all he's told is that it's one of the men on an international team attempting to scale the Eiger. Sounds intriguing? -- alas, the leisurely-placed Eiger Sanction takes forever to get going, and doesn't amount to much even when it finally gets to the mountain. Eastwood, who both stars and directs and is only passable at both, supposedly risked his life with location filming, so it's a shame that the results aren't more felicitous, as the movie has hardly any excitement or suspense. A type of semi-spy movie, Eiger not only has secret organizations but something about a germ warfare formula that comes to nothing. The supporting cast includes George Kennedy [Strait-Jacket] as a friend of Hemlock's; Gregory Walcott [The Steel Jungle] as Pope, a tough agent; Jack Cassidy [Richard Diamond] as an idiotic gay character who calls his dog "Faggot;" -- Hollywood's idea of a proud gay man? -- and Vonetta McGee as a lady spy who plays various games with Hemlock. Walcott is good, and McGee manages to retain her dignity despite the dumb proceedings.
Verdict: Macho meatheadedness is one thing, but at least make it entertaining! Stick with Play Misty for Me. *1/2.
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| Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin -- in color |
Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) and Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum) came back for a second season of the generally light-hearted spy show, this time in color and "armed" with special pen communicators. There was more humor this season, with some rather stupid episodes, but quite a few were memorable. The two-part "Alexander the Greater Affair" features Rip Torn as a megalomaniac out to rule the world. "The Foxes and Hounds Affair" presents an amusing -- and explosive -- rivalry between two Thrush agents played by Patricia Medina and a wonderful Vincent Price. "The Dippy Blonde Affair" has a Thrush executive falling for the girlfriend (Joyce Jameson) of a colleague he murdered after she's enlisted by UNCLE to play along and find out what she can. Thrush develops a strain of deadly and nearly invisible bees in "The Birds and the Bees Affair," in which Illya and a lovely companion are subjected to torture by sonics. "The Bridge of Lions Affair" features Maurice Evans, Bernard Fox and Vera Miles in a tale of artificial rejuvenation and the power plays surrounding it. The season's best episode, "The Waverly Ring Affair," is a suspenseful business in which the agents must figure out which co-worker, Larry Blyden or Elizabeth Allen, is a traitor working for Thrush. Other good episodes include "The Ultimate Computer;" "Discotheque Affair;" "Re-Collectors;" "Arabian Affair;" "Adriatic Express;" "Project Deephole;" "Minus X Affair" with Eve Arden; and "The Children's Day Affair," in which Jeanne Cooper plays Mother Fear, who runs a boy's school and is training the little fellows to wipe out agents at a special conference. The worst episode is probably "The Deadly Toys Affair," which guest-stars an overbearing Angela Lansbury in one of her least memorable performances; way too much camp. Vaughn and McCallum are perfect and Leo G. Carroll nearly steals the show as their boss, Alexander Waverly. The souped-up theme music is pretty neat. NOTE: The big-screen adaptation of the show due in 2014 will not star Tom Cruise but rather Henry Cavell of The Man of Steel.
Verdict: Cool show if too often on the edges of camp. ***.
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| The cast of MI including Warren, Nimoy, Lupus and Elliott |
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE Season Five. 1970.
The big change for season five was to do away with the rotating females and use Lesley Ann Warren as "Dana" on a weekly basis. Another change was that Sam Elliott was brought in to play a doctor named Doug Roberts and replaced Peter Lupus for about half of the episodes. Neither Warren nor Elliott lasted more than one season, and Leonard Nimoy made this his last season as well. Another change was that more unexpected developments occurred during missions, increasing the suspense. The jazzed up theme music was pretty lousy, however. This was still a solid season, with several especially good episodes. Robert Conrad played a hit man in "The Killer" and Anthony Zerbe guest-starred in "The Amateur." The object was to get an important list regarding a heroin outfit from a dying mobster in "Squeeze Play." Barney's brother is killed by criminals in "Cat's Paw" with a memorable performance by Abby Lincoln. Lupus and Elliott both appear in "The Party" with intrigue surrounding a bash at an embassy. Henry Darrow and Kevin Hagen score in "Blast," about an unknown person trying to raise funds for a revolution. In the unusual "Homecoming," Phelps and the team investigate serial murders in Jim's home town; Loretta Swit guest-stars. The season had other good episodes as well.
Verdict: This team doesn't quit. ***.
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| Al Pacino |
Computer genius James Clayton (Colin Farrell of Fright Night), whose father died under mysterious circumstances years before, is recruited by instructor Walter Burke (Al Pacino of Jack and Jill), for the CIA. Clayton joins a group of young hopefuls at the Farm in Langley for training, but seems to strike out after an especially rough exercise in which he thinks he has actually been kidnapped by enemy agents. But Burke tells Clayton that far from being axed he has been chosen for a covert assignment involving supposed double agent Layla Moore (Bridget Moynahan), another member of the class, whom he is told is trying to steal a CIA-engineered computer virus right out of HQ. But as Clayton gets closer to the woman in order to learn her secrets, will this all turn out to be yet another elaborate game -- or something much more sinister? The Recruit is a mild if entertaining entry in the paranoia sweepstakes, with the leads, including lovely Moynahan, giving good performances. Pacino seems practically like a supporting player in Farrell's movie until the picture's climax in which he has a chance to shine.
Verdict: A paycheck for Pacino. **1/2.
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| The Black Falcon goes into action! |
FLYING G-MEN (15 chapter Columbia serial/1939). Directors: James W. Horne; Ray Taylor.
Four famous sky hawks have now become G-Men, working for the Air Division of the FBI/Department of Justice. Their assignment is to track down the members of a deadly espionage ring and discover who its leader is. When their friend Ed McKay (William Lalley), who's invented a remote control pilot-less bomber, is killed, they vow to track down his murderer with the aid of his young son, Billy (Sammy McKim), and grown sister, Babs (Lorna Gray). The sky hawks decide that one of them should take on the costumed identity of the Black Falcon, so that he can sort of operate outside the law and really get the goods on the bad guys. One of the foursome is killed off in the first chapter, leaving Hal (Robert Paige), Bart (Richard Fiske), and John (James Craig) to become the Falcon. [Hiding the identity of the hero as opposed to the villain had been done the year before in The Lone Ranger, and later in The Masked Marvel.] It is hard not to notice the resemblance between the Black Falcon and comic books' Blackhawk, but the latter character did not actually appear until 1941 [Republic did a serial version of Blackhawk in 1952], meaning the Black Falcon came first. Although the individual cliffhangers tend to be nothing special, Flying G-Men is still a very fast-paced and highly entertaining serial, with lots of lively fist-fights and some exciting aerial action as well. Paige makes an appealing protagonist, and Fiske and Craig are stalwart enough as his colleagues. Lorna Gray would have to wait three years until Perils of Nyoka to make an impression as the evil Vultura; in this she isn't given enough to do. An uncredited Tom Steele has some dialogue passages early in the serial as a bad guy, and Nestor Paiva turns up as one of the saboteurs. Sidney Cutner's rousing music complements the action beautifully. Paige was in Blonde Ice and Son of Dracula; Fiske did The Spider's Web and Perils of the Royal Mounted; and James Craig was in everything from Winners of the West to The Cyclops. Young McKim was also in Dick Tracy's G-Men.
Verdict: Punch-fests and action galore! ***.
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| Casting coup: Leonard Nimoy as Paris |
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE Season Four. 1969.
Martin Landau and Barbara Bain went off in a huff and a puff and were replaced by -- in a casting coup -- Leonard Nimoy and a host of rotating females. Nimoy played master of disguise Paris, and the leading ladies included Lee Meriwether (the most frequent), Anne Francis, Sally Ann Howes, Jessica Walter, Antoinette Bower, and others. This was a solid season with many memorable episodes; among the best were: "Double Circle," in which a fake room is employed in order to get at a secret formula; "The Falcon," in which a royal family is in danger from a would-be usurper, and everything that could possible go wrong does; and "Chico" in which a dog helps steal a stamp which conceals an important microdot. As for notable guest-stars, Luther Adler is outstanding in "Phantoms," about a purge of young artists; John Willians scores in "Lover's Knot," which features a Mata Hari-type lady spy; Pernell Roberts and Cicely Tyson are great in "Death Squad," in which a vacationing Barney (Greg Morris) is accused of murder; and a mustache-less Torin Thatcher almost steals the show in "Numbers Game," about attempts to get at a Swiss bank account. Nimoy probably does his best work in "Commandante" and "The Choice." Jason Evers and John Vernon make an impression in, respectively, the aforementioned "Double Circle" and "Falcon."
Verdict: No Cinnamon, but still lots of spice. ***.
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| Barney (Greg Morris) and Willy (Peter Lupus) with a suspect |
In the sixth season of the popular show the villains were usually members of the syndicate as the IMF said good-bye to accented dictators in exotic mythical locations around the world, although they were still called in when "conventional law enforcement" supposedly couldn't handle matters. The original theme music arrangement was back, but the scripts were often sloppy, with the characters not doing enough research to perfect their impersonations. Peter Graves as Phelps gives his best performance pretending to be a blind alcoholic agent in the first episode, "Blind." Among the better episodes were "Tram," with more syndicate bosses on the loose; "Encounter," with guest-star Elizabeth Ashley offering an excellent performance as an alcoholic wife; "Mindbend," in which the group takes on the trainers of brainwashed assassins; "Nerves," with Christopher George and Tyne Daly involved in the theft of nerve gas; "Casino," which features Jack Cassidy and an amazing machine that sucks cash out of a vault; and "Double Dead," in which Willy (Peter Lupus) is captured during an attempt to get money back from loan sharks. "Connection," The Bride" and "Stone Pillow" were also good, while the best episode, arguably, was "Bag Woman," in which the mission is to learn the identity of a syndicate bigwig and Barney's (Greg Morris) mask is pulled off at an inopportune moment.
Verdict: Showing its age, but still entertaining. ***.
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| Unholy Alliance: James Mason and Danielle Darrieux |
5 FINGERS (1952). Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
Based on a true story, 5 Fingers looks at the secret "career" of Ulysses Diello (James Mason) who is valet for the British ambassador in Turkey, a neutral country, during WW2. Diello had originally been valet for the late husband of the Countess Anna Stavisky (Danielle Darrieux of Madame de), who has become friends with the ambassador and is the "impoverished widow of a pro-German count." Diello wants to make a lot of money and doesn't care how he gets it, so he steals top secret papers from the ambassador's safe and sells them to the Germans. He enlists the countess' aid and she agrees -- for a price. Still, the countess may still see Diello as a servant, even if she is attracted to him... Michael Rennie [Phone Call from a Stranger] is a British Intelligence agent who takes over the security for the embassy, but it sure takes a hell of a long time for anyone to change the combination to the safe. In spite of that, 5 Fingers is absorbing and very well acted, with Mason giving another terrific performance; Darrieux is also on the money. Mankiewicz is no Hitchcock, and does little to maximum the story's considerable suspense, but the movie is still effective enough in spite of it; Bernard Herrmann's musical score certainly helps. There are ironic developments and an interesting climax.
Verdict: Mason at his slimiest. ***.
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| James Villiers co-stars along with Daliah Lavi's cleavage |
In this sequel to Deadlier Than the Male, insurance man Hugh Drummond (Richard Johnson) is up against more female assassins, this time a bevy of sociopathic beauties whose brains have been programmed to murder. Drummond dallies with a nasty baroness named Helga (Daliah Lavi of The Whip and The Body) and matches wits with a foppish villain named Petersen (James Villiers of The Nanny) who employs a destructive infra-sound device, and whose main goal seems to be to destroy the prototype of a supersonic airliner. Robert Morley is some kind of cooking instructor known as "Miss Mary," Sydne Rome is an annoying would-be agent who follows Drummond around, and Ronnie Stevens is a nerdy agent named Peregrine Carruthers. There's one fairly good scene when Drummond's parachute fails to open, but Some Girls Do is vastly inferior to the first film, hastily slapped together, with a bad script and production values that are far below the James Bond level. Lavi's smoky, sexy voice has been dubbed for inexplicable reasons. When it develops that many of the female killers have been outfitted with robot brains and surely must have been kidnapped and worse, no one registers any dismay, but then that's how mindless this movie is. Camp is one thing, but Some Girls Do is so stupid and ultimately dull that it's pretty much an effort to sit through.
Verdict: Watch a real Bond movie instead. *1/2.