Hammerhead, traficante del placer

"Hammerhead" fit very nicely into the 60's/70's explosion of spy flicks which were rushed into theaters following the success of James Bond. It was less humorous and over-the-top than either the Matt Helm or Derek Flint series, but less dark than the Harry Palmer films. It was a solid blend of humor and action and stands as one of the best productions of the era.

Vince Edwards did quite a very respectable job as Charles Hood, handling himself exceptionally well in the action sequences, making a credible two-fisted action hero. Peter Vaughn was excellent as the eccentric title villain and I have a memory of a very well done chase sequence with Edwards and a motorcycle that sticks in my mind. Judy Geeson as Hood's romantic interest, while cute and 60's groovy, was incredibly weak and was the film's major drawback, much like a large number of the Bond Girls of the Roger Moore era.

"Hammerhead" was based on the Charles Hood spy novel by Steven Coulter, writing as James Mayo. Coulter/Mayo was a friend and contemporary of Ian Fleming and even helped Fleming with the background material for CASINO ROYALE. Coulter finished five spy novels in the Hood series. They are actually quite good and it's a shame that Irving Allen only made one Charles Hood film. I recommend the novels as well if you can find any of them in print anymore.

I saw "Hammerhead" in the theater when it was first released and then remember seeing an edited version on TV some time later. Although it's been a very long time since I've seen "Hammerhead", I have very fond memories of it and would love to see a DVD release of it in the future.

I recommend "Hammerhead" as one of the better spy adventures of the 60's.

Hammerhead is a strange mixture, blending a determination to be bang up-to-the-minute with the trends of 1967/68 with a routine espionage story. A series of bizarre 'Happenings' and weird performance art, together with Judy Geeson's groovy young thing, the latter the highlight of the movie for me, hardly fail to disguise the kind of plot that had been churned out ad infinitum on TV. Vince Edwards is perhaps best described as adequate in the lead; he's OK but not particularly memorable. Peter Vaughan was born to play a super-villain, but his Hammerhead must have been on the screen for all of ten minutes. He doesn't even get to fight the hero and his demise is pretty nondescript. Neither William Mervyn nor Patrick Cargill, excellent character players both, are seen at their best, though Diana Dors is in her element as the proprietor of a dubious nightclub. The finale with Michael Bates in a dual role tends to drag on.

Zany spy caper with an American James Bond and an assortment of British b-movie stars.

It's bookended by two crazy freak out style montages of hippie youths doing dangerous antisocial things like dancing and taking off their clothes which the cops put a stop to, but it neatly introduces Judy Geeson who repeatedly shows up in each change of location so often I was convinced she would be revealed as some sort of British intelligence operative masquerading as a nymphomaniacal socialite junkie, stealing every scene she's in by giggling and pouting. Her omnipresence is so remarkable she is the mugaffin.

The rest of it was something about missiles and piano recitals and scenes of torture, the victim of which gets moved around almost as often as Judy Geeson but happily delivers his expository dialogue before expiring giving necessary depth to the hapless stooge before killing off everyone else without worrying about the ethical quandary.

Sadly it's neither funny enough to be a spoof nor serious enough to be a thriller. The violence/ action scenes are a bit unnecessary and the diabolical masterplan seems too fantastic and risky to be plausible. Happily there was no secret underground lair but there were henchmen wearing stripy T-shirts.

A host of familiar faces play small roles including David Prowse, Diana Dors, Kenneth Cope and Veronica Carlson and there's a bit of humour involving a hearse chase but like the diegetic theme song which appears at least 3 times including the hippy dance at the end, it's highly derivative and repetitive. Our man Hood in one scene names the artists of various paintings to demonstrate his cultivation; but does it so many times in succession the he ceases to resemble a gentleman and turns into a tour guide.

Like the crazy kid/ stoner at the end, lowering his caged self into the bay water while everyone dances; it all seems kind of random, dangerous and stupid and someone really should put a stop to it.

For years I thought Victor Mature was the most uncharismatic, untalented actor to have ever managed to succeed in Hollywood, but now, ladies and gents, I stand corrected. That dishonor must go to the, er, "star" of Hammerhead, Mr Vince Edwards. In short, he's an utter bore. As is the movie. But my God, is he dreadful. His face is like a catcher's mitt, just expressionless throughout the whole movie. His voice is one note of droning monotony and as for his physical presence, well, I suspect most of the action was performed by a double as they consisted mostly of suspicious close ups of legs and arms being thrust in the direction of bad guys without ol' Vince's hammerface in the shot.

Won't bother with the plot, critique the direction or soundtrack ... sufficed to say it all pretty much stinks.

I'm a massive spy movie fan - seen 'em all pretty much - especially the 60s adventure ones, and I must say this movie is easily one of the worst. Even the mostly incomprehensible Italian stuff of the same era is a lot more fun and watchable than this rubbish.

The only good thing from Hammerhead are the girls. Plenty of them and all pretty.

I saw this when I was in the ARMY, a BIG waste of time what's worst the The Projectionist must have missed a reel as 1 could see it just didn't fit