Opération frère Cadet

You just have to love the massive balls that it took to release this film at the height of the James Bond craze. It wasn't enough just to flagrantly rip off the Bond films, no, the producers actually got most of the supporting actors/villains/hot chicks from the real films and then had the nerve to cast Sean Connery's brother, Neil, as the hero (who is alluded to be 007's brother)! However, as bad'60's spy flicks go, this is astonishingly more entertaining than most of them. Give it a chance!

Another touchstone of the Eurospy subgenre, Operation Double 007 better known as Operation Kid Brother, is a fair Bond copy, albeit on a slightly smaller scale, and is as entertaining as any of the legitimate Bond films. This was the first time out for Neil Connery, brother of Sean, and it was the only spy movie in his movie mini-career. He manages just fine as the super surgeon cum super spy although his distinct lack of charisma makes for a rather bland lead performance.

Fortunately director Alberto De Martino (Upperseven the Man to Kill (65), Operation Lady Chaplain (66)) keeps this colorful, active film moving at a good clip so we don't have too much time to mull over Connery comparisons. The use of Connery's real name for his character is a strange stroke due no doubt to the forbidden use of the name Bond. It sort of screws up the (weak) attempts at humorous mentions of the Bond mystique when you can't even say the word.

Thank goodness Connery is surrounded by exotic locations, beautiful women and villains as good as Adolfo Celi. Celi plays it to the hilt too as Thair, the number two villain of Thanatos who wants to be number one. Celi is deservedly one of the most famous Italian character actors whose talents can be seen in other spy movies such as That Man From Rio (64), Target For Killing (66), and Death Knocks Twice (69). Perhaps the film's finest asset is the presence of the lovely Daniela Bianchi as Maya, a bad girl turned good.

You could do worse than this Bondian escapade; there's plenty to look at and laugh at and there's a Morricone/Nicolai score to boot. We should be used to checking our brains at the door by now.

During the height of the original James Bond craze in the 60's, there were a lot of rip-off films produced. High profile celebs like Dean Martin and James Coburn starred in light hearted Bond rip-off series. Existing characters like Bulldog Drummond and Modesty Blaise were co- opted into films that were more like Bond films. Even Bond material not owned by the folks behind the series got adapted into the terrible film "Casino Royale". Still ... trust the Italians to produce the most blatant rip-off of them all. This film stars a ton of actors from the Bond series ... Lois Maxwell, Bernard Lee, Anthony Dawson, Daniela Bianchi, Adolfo Celi ... and throws in Sean Connery's young brother Neil to play the younger brother of "England's greatest spy" who's called into action when his brother is not available. The film's not exactly good ... in fact, I don't think the plot ultimately makes much sense at all ... but with all these actors from the series and surprisingly decent production values, it's nowhere near as bad as you'd expect. The big problem with the film is the giant gaping charisma hole that is Neil Connery. It's no surprise that only one brother became a star.

Despite being a low budget Italian rip-off of the James Bond series, I think this movie could have worked, but try telling that to the particular Italian filmmmakers that tried to pull this off. There are many problems with this movie, but I think the biggest problem is how dull much of it is. It takes forever for the premise and conflict to be established, and it's mostly slow going from that point on. There is sporadic action, but it's badly directed and choreographed, and it adds little life to the movie. As for Neil Connery, he not only lacks the charisma of his older brother, he doesn't seem to be very enthusiastic to be there. Maybe it's because for most of the movie, his character comes across as a stunned observer for most of the running time instead of actually getting involved in the action. And how can you have a James Bond rip-off that doesn't contain any fancy gadgets? The only thing of merit to be found is the musical score co-written by the great Ennio Morricone.

I was expecting the worst when I found a copy of "Operation Double 007" (one of the many alternative titles for this film) in a bargain video rack for a dollar. But I didn't get the worst -- I got a surprisingly OK film.

Neil Connery, Sean's little brother, is indeed a dead ringer for his sibling. The only major difference is Neil sports a beard, in keeping with his character, a plastic surgeon. As far as acting goes, he has many of Sean's mannerisms down pat, but in the print I saw his voice was badly dubbed by an American (even though his character is clearly said to be Scottish), so I cannot pass judgment.

The story is a pastiche of Bond films past, such as Thunderball, a similarity driven home by the fact the main villain in both this movie and Thunderball is played by Adolfo Celi, one of a number of 007 veterans who somehow managed to get involved in this bizarre Italian production. Anthony Dawson (another 007 vet -- he was Dent in Dr. No and also provided the body for Blofeld in From Russia With Love and Thunderball) plays a Blofeld clone named Alpha, another apparent nod to Thunderball.

Bernard Lee (Bond's M) and Lois Maxwell (the first and best Moneypenny) appear in very similar roles in this file, EXCEPT that Maxwell's character gets a lot more action here. Fans of Moneypenny will love seeing her mowing down bad guys with a machine gun, and she even kidnaps another character! Bernard Lee, meanwhile, gets to show some of his comedy skills. Both actors do a good job here, and for the record they weren't overdubbed.

For me, the real pleasure in this movie is a rare chance to see Daniela Bianchi. Five years after seducing 007 in From Russia with Love, the Italian actress gets to play an assassin with a heart of gold, and she is absolutely gorgeous in this film. Fans of her work in From Russia should check this film out just for her (sadly, she retired from acting not long after this film was made).

Although this movie has been heavily criticized as a rip-off of 007, in fact there are a number of original touches that make the film, if not good, at least interesting. For example, Neil Connery's character (who is, imaginatively, named Neil Connery) is a master of hypnotism and is more apt to use his brains than his brawn. A good example of this is when he creates a MacGyver-like device to get past a machine gun turret.

Released the same year as the infamous Casino Royale spoof, I have to say that OK Connery actually has a better storyline, and unlike that other film, it actually (sort of) makes sense.

This film is hard to find (though I understand Mystery Science Theater 3000 featured it once). But serious Bond fans should check it out at least once as an interesting curio from the height of Bondmania. And if you're a fan of Lois Maxwell or Daniela Bianchi, it is definitely worth checking it out.