How to Steal the World

How To Steal The World was the eighth and final spin-off from "The Man From UNCLE" spy series. It was compiled from the final episodes of the series, "The Seven Wonders Of The World Affair" (part one: 8/01/1968) and (part two: 15/01/1968). The story began life as a single episode but was stretched to feature length so that producer Norman Felton could release another theatrical movie overseas. As with the others, the TV version was not aired in the countries where the movie was released such as Britain.

Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuriyakin link the abduction of various VIP's with a plot to dominate the world. The mastermind behind it is Robert Kingsley (Barry Sullivan) an ex-UNCLE agent who plans to end all evil by launching a docility gas that Dr Kurt Erikson (Albert Paulsen),a top bio-chemist has developed with the help of the abducted VIP's.

All in all, How To Steal The World is a disappointment and clearly shows that it was padded out from a one-hour episode to make a feature film. The plot is lacklustre and its absurdities do not carry the same weight here as they did in its predecessors mainly because the tongue-in-cheek chemistry between Vaughn and McCallam, which made the series so popular has faded. Even Barry Sullivan's villain, Robert Kingsley, is a poorly conceived part as he seems like a big softy compared to his predecessors such as Luther Sebastian (Bradford Dillman) in "The Helicopter Spies" (1967). The supporting cast includes a young Leslie Nielsen who offers the best acting as an ex-army general who will go to any lengths to protect Kingsley's scheme even if it means killing people and both he and Kingsley are always colliding over each other's different ways of dealing with saboteurs.

I was a die hard U. N. C. L. E fan back in the 60s. Because of Illya I studied Russian for five years and applied to the F. B. I., the closest I figured I could get to U. N. C. L. E.. Yes, the series veered off into "campiness" which was silly fun but at the heart of it was the friendship between Napolean and Illya, the wise guidance of Mr. Waverly, and the concept of good winning out over evil. How to Steal the World, cobbled together from the final two episodes of the series, was a travesty. No fun, no suspense, and a confusing story line that is being delivered by actors who clearly don't care. The sets were horrible, the dialogue horrible, the wardrobe horrible (Illya in a leather bomber jacket?? Really??), what were the producers at the time thinking? Don't sully your fond memories of the tv show, avoid this movie even though TCM thought it worthy.

I have mixed feelings about this movie/episode. I like certain parts because of camera angles or music or dialogue. But at times Solo and Illya seem like background characters, even at their own intended execution. They are passive, and have no dialogue then. I get the impression that the movie is more about the guest stars than the series stars.

The handheld camera work can be annoying at times. It makes scenes look rushed, as if they didn't have time to do it properly.

The music is memorable but some scenes repeat it to the point of distraction.

Leslie Nielsen is quite good as the general. You'd never know he would later make his mark as a comedy actor.

"How to Steal the World" was the last of eight (!) movies MGM culled from "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." and released to cinemas outside North America, and in fact it was put together from the final story of the series (the two-part episode "The Seven Wonders Of The World Affair"). Alas, even if you didn't know it was from the last episodes you could tell the end was near - neither Vaughn nor McCallum has his heart in this latest U.N.C.L.E. vs T.H.R.U.S.H. escapade, and indeed no one else (except for Leslie Nielsen) can be bothered to act with conviction. Limply written and directed, and with Jerry Goldsmith conspicuously absent from the credits for his theme, this is a depressing experience all round. (Mind you, so was the fourth season of the show.) Stick with the other seven ersatz movies.

Solo and Kuryakin follow a dangerous trail searching for the answer to a baffling mystery that begins with the disappearance of a key U. N. C. L. E. Agent. In Hong Kong they seek a clue from his wife and are soon caught between two enemy camps - each a threat to the future of the world ... The battle of wits between the menfromU. N. C. L. E. And THRUSH continues in the high Himalayas.

The U. N. C. L. E. Feature films are made out from episodes, and they all flow well and don't look out of place, however, How to Steal the world, looks disjointed, lacks plot clarity, the pace plods, but most of all lacks the sense of fun and humour that gave the films/series its charm. It's the weakest U. N. C. L. E. Film, though Eleanor Parker and Barry Sullivan ( has some intelligent dialogue) prep up the proceedings to a degree, and Robert Vaughn and David McCallum are at their heroic best, though they're lacking the quips, the interplay. Still, it's just about watchable with a thought-provoking idea and some good action at the end.