Opiniones de usuarios

Bette Davis as an insane super-agent and Robert Wagner as her dupe? Why not? Everybody's having a lot of fun. The villains are equally amusing. The whole thing is tongue-in-cheek and high camp, and it always remains true to its own little world. One of the-lets-have-fun-and-not-take-anything-too-seriously-made-for-TV-flicks that ABC excelled in churning out in the early 70's.

My DVD describes Madame Sin as 'a prime example of the camp spy genre'; how misleading! Yes, there are some crazy futuristic inventions used by the baddies to achieve their nefarious goal, but the film as a whole is actually rather sober affair, especially considering the impact of the unexpectedly bleak ending.

Bette Davis plays the titular character, a criminal mastermind who lives on a remote Scottish island from where she conducts her wicked money-making schemes. Robert Wagner is ex-CIA agent Anthony Lawrence, who is abducted by Sin's henchmen and used as a pawn to assist in the stealing of a Polaris submarine, which the villainess intends to sell to revolutionaries.

Rather than a garish, cheezy romp full of outrageous set pieces and witty one-liners from the hero, writer/director David Greene plays much of the film surprisingly straight, even going so far as to add an avant-garde vibe to early scenes, taking the film firmly out of the realm of Matt Helm or James Bond. A bizarre electronic score only adds to the off-beat atmosphere.

Depicted as such, the film sometimes feels frustratingly dreary and uneventful: one longs for an exotic location, a desperate shootout or an exciting car chase to alleviate the tedium that occasionally sets in as Lawrence tries to thwart Sin's plans.

Madame Sin will never go down as a great Bette Davis movie. But as with a lot of less worthwhile projects, Bette just turns on the malice and let's it carry the film through.

Her role as Madame Sin is an Anglicized version of the Dragon Lady from Terry and the Pirates. What nefarious scheme she has in mind is to steal a Polaris submarine and sell it to some terrorists. To do that she's brainwashed Captain Gordon Jacksonm of the Royal Navy.

Trying to stop her is CIA guy Robert Wagner. Bob has his problems dealing with Bette and her bag of tricks including stealing every scene she's in.

Bette's fans will enjoy it though don't expect Dark Victory.

Ever wonder what Fu Manchu would look like if Christopher Lee looked just like Bette Davis?

Stop wondering, here's the answer. Ms. Davis plays the evil Madam Sin, an oriental villainess who is plotting world conquest from her Scottish castle, fully equipped with laboratory, sonic weapons, hypnotic drugs, etc.

She abducts Robert Wagner, an ex-CIA man whom she frames as a defector. Then she dupes him into helping her kidnap a naval officer and steal a nuclear submarine. European audiences paid to see this pilot for an unsold TV series.

The idea of "Madame Sin" isn't bad...but casting Bette Davis...that's insane!

When the story begins, a secret agent, Anthony Lawrence (Robert Wagner) is kidnapped in the UK and brought to a manor home. This place is run by Madame Sin (Bette Davis), a half-Asian supervillian much like Fu Manchu or a Bond character. She is rich and evil and has scientists working for her making evil gadgets, such as as sonic device that can kill or render someone into human jelly as well as a machine where she can probe mines and even implant memories!! With this, she plans on making a fortune...sort of a mercenary criminal genius for hire! So why does she need Lawrence? Well, using him, she plans on stealing a Polaris submarine and selling it to a buyer willing to give her a billion dollars for it! Can Lawrence possibly twart her evil plans?

This was originally made as a pilot for a TV series...a series that was never picked up by any of the networks. And, when you watch it you can see why. The basic idea and location shooting are all fine...but having Bette Davis in the role was utterly ridiculous and she looks about as Asian as Lassie! I am sure a lot of folks laughed when they saw this...and it's sad that when the film was made, Davis was essentially doing ANYTHING provided it paid. See films like "Bunny O'Hare" and you'll see what I mean.

The bottom line is that is actually a very cool spy/action film...but is fatally flawed simply because of the casting. Fun to watch...and unfortunately a bit silly.

I know very little about Director David Greene, who did mostly TV work and appears to have been no relation of Graham Greene's, the British writer. That much is clear from the campy script that David and Oringer hammered together with some self-deprecating humor, especially in the shape of eyelid-painted Bette Davis as MADAME SIN, the sinister lady who carries out all manner of experiments on the unfortunate souls who get caught in the waves of her sonar-sounding waves that basically turn the brain into jelly, and pliable to her despicable whims.

Of course, the fact that she wants a British Polaris submarine, apparently to make a fortune out of it, is preposterous, Even harder to believe is Robert Wagner as some top spy/agent who keeps getting hit by the sonar, to the point of going deaf, which has laughable consequences as he tries to enlighten the British military on the foul plays by the evil MADAME SIN.

Cinematography is just OK, editing not that great. The best thing about this TV flick is Denholm Eliott as the Madame's evil sidekick, looking prim and proper, constantly adjusting his tie. His initial encounter with Wagner, with two Catholic nuns on hand, provides the film's most memorable segment. The other good bit is the end, with MADAME asking when the lease on Buckingham Palace, or Windsor Castle or whatever that royable abode is, will be up because she wants to take it over.

Also interesting to see Burt Kwouk, of Cato Fong fame in the Pink Panther franchise as Inspector Clouseau's sparring manservant, as the wordless hand-scarred man who remains shadowy until close to the end.

Not bad fun, but having just rewatched it all I remember are the beginning and end. 6/10.

The movie does have some nice ideas - using sonic weaponry etc. that does make it more interesting. It doesn't seem to have anything else that drew me in. Wagner and Davis acted well, and there were a few funny scenes that would draw light chuckles. The plot does have a few twists that does make it watchable but nothing that will make you think or go beyond the story itself. The implausibility of some fight scenes appear a bit confusing, but need to be taken according to the time of the movie being made. If you have an hour-half to spare, this movie won't really help ease the boredom, so best bet would be to skip it. Rating 4/10.

Although by 1972 the "Secret-Agent" Fad was about Ready to Fade, but a Few Stragglers were Offered Die-Hard "Bond" Fans, even though They Had Run the Gamut on the Big and Little Screen, with the Likes of...

"Our Man Flint", "Matt Helm", "Secret Agent Man", "The Man From U. N. C. L. E", "The Avengers", The Girl From U. N. C. L. E., "Get Smart", "The Prisoner", and Others.

This is Wildly Watchable as Bette Davis is Out to Conquer the World and Fry a Few Brains On the Way, with Agent Robert Wagner Trying to Keep His Head on "Straight".

It's a Lively Affair with Lurid Mad-Labs Full of Brain-Probing Experiments and Sonic Weapons with an Electronic Soundtrack Underneath and a Surprisingly Down-Beat Ending.

It Manages to Retain just the Right Amount of the Overtones of a Cracker-Jack, World-Domination Espionage Flick, Sprinkled with the Absurd that Keeps thing Frisky.

If Failing to Snatch a "Polaris Sub" Doesn't Work Out, Next on Her "Bucket-List" is "Buckingham Palace" and The Crown Jewels".

That could have Filled "Season One", but No One was Buying at this Late Date and the "Spy" Genre Continued to Fade Into "Yesterday's News"

But this is Produced Snazzy Enough and with Davis, Walker, a Good Supporting Cast, some Psychedelica, and Groovy Sounds, it was a Good Try, and...

Worth a Watch.

Bette davis was already 64, and would do "nile" six years after this! She's madam sin, who kidnaps lawrence (wagner, between thief and hart to hart). He's a retired agent, whose help they want in stealing a new model submarine. Step one is to kidnap and brainwash the sub's captain. Lots of cheap and cheesy sound effects, which quickly get tiresome. Some fun co-stars. Denholm elliott, who we all know as coleman, from trading places. And catherine schell, who played some HUGE roles before and after this. Take a moment and check out the parts she played in very well known films and series. It's campy and silly, but good. Kind of a james bond knock off film, with davis as the evil villain. Bette davis plays herself, as she always does, with her stilted speech. Directed by david greene, who had also directed godspell and roots.

Robert Wagner does a Eurospy.

Wikipedia says that "Wagner's friend and agent Albert Broccoli suggested that he audition to play James Bond, but he decided it was not right for him." (Yeah right!)

And

"The following year, he produced and cast himself opposite Bette Davis in the made-for-TV film Madame Sin, which was theatrically released overseas as a feature film."

Robert played a jewel thief who becomes a reluctant secret agent in "It Takes A Thief" on the television, as well as another jewel thief alongside David Niven in "The Pink Panther" on the big screen, and would later play a high class con-man in "The Switch" (and much, much later, he would play #2 in the Austin Powers spoof series), so it's the type of smooth operator role that suits him well.

Bette Davis plays a female "Dr No" (half Chinese and no more convincing than Joseph Wiseman in that regard) who runs a SPECTRE like organisation with designs on a British Nuclear submarine. She plans to use brainwashing to gain the co-operation of the subs captain, Gordon Jackson, and kidnaps Catherine Schell in order to coerce Robert into assisting her. She also has a fancy sonic rifle in her arsenal which can disable and kill.

She has oily Denholm Elliott as her second in command and Dudley Sutton brings his distinctive skull like visage to the role of henchman. Pik Sen Lim and Bert Kwouk are also along to add a more authentic Asian flavour.

It's a polished TV level production, but never feels like anything more than that, plus I've never been a fan of 1960s "Manchurian candidate" subgenre of espionage movies. The downbeat ending doesn't sit quite right with me either (the price of having Bette on board?)

However I've always had a big crush on Catherine Schell, so it worth waiting around till the end just to see her in a bikini.

Catherine was fresh from being one of Blofeld's "Angels of Death" in "On Her Majesties Secret Service" with George Lazeny (As Catherina von Schell). Previously she had a small role in "Assignment K", then continued her espionage career in "The Black Windmill" with Michael Caine and "Callan" with Edward Woodward.

On television she was almost ubiquitous, appearing in "The Persuaders" with Roger Moore, "The Return Of The Saint" with Ian Ogilvy and almost any other UK drama series in the 1970s and 80s you can think of.

Now who didn't enjoy Bette Davis doing her very own impression of Fu Manchu"? She's so hammy it's good! Sadly, though, it also features Robert Wagner who was never the most compelling of actors to watch. He's an agent for the American government whom she uses her mind-bending ray upon so that he will help her and her scheming henchman "De Vere" (Denholm Elliott) to pinch a billion-dollar Polaris nuclear submarine from it's Scottish loch base. To that end, she uses her guile and expert manipulation techniques to get him to kidnap his pal "Cavendish" (Gordon Jackson) who co-ordinates all the naval activity and whom she hopes to brainwash into diverting this vessel into the clutches of her evil client. The question is, though, might "Lawrence" (Wagner) have enough cerebral mettle to resist her powerful gadgetry and thwart her cunning plan? What I did enjoy about this is the sheer joy of a star who is out to send the whole thing up. She's having fun - and Elliott actually does quite well too as her dastardly cohort. There's some lovely Argyllshire scenery and plenty of toys straight out of the "Doctor Who" end-of-season sale from 1972. Though there are a few interlopers from time to time, it's really just left to the three of them to tell us this daft story and for my money they do it fine. No, you'll never see it up for an award but I did rather savour the conclusion, her aspirations for Windsor Castle and that malevolent grin on her face could strip paint! Aim low and you ought not to be disappointed.

Bette Davis was and remains a great actress, a unique personality. I never liked Robert Wagner, but he is the producer of the film... Denholm Elliott, Gordon Jackson and Dudley Sutton are very good actors. Catherine Schell is very beautiful. That's it!