A 077, sfida ai killers

Richard Harrison, who looks like a blond Ben Afflek, plays a different Agent 077 to Ken Clark.

The villain's motivation is one which still has resonance today; - some scientists have developed an alternative energy source to fossil fuels and someone whose fortune depends on fossil fuels is determined to have them killed to stop them.

However the producers only seem to have half a script. The dialogue is bland and although Richard Harrison does his best to charm, he's not given much to work with. The action scenes range in quality from mediocre to disappointingly comedic.

One thing the film isn't short on is beautiful women, Susy Anderson, Wandisa Guida, Janine Reynaud and Mitsouko all bring something distinctive to the table and are there for more than just decoration. This is an unusual number of significant female characters for the 1960s; - there is one who appears to be bad but turns out to be good (sort of), one who appears to be good but turns out to be bad, one who starts out bad but has a change of heart, and one who is just bad.

The wheelchair bound main villain is quite memorable, reminiscent of Raymond Burr playing Ironside, only with the pallor of a corpse.

Thanks to Humphrey Bogart and co, Casablanca has a famous name, but although it's Morocco's largest city, it is also one of the blandest and not nearly as picturesque as Marrakesh, Tangier or Fez.

After all the usual following and chasing and getting knocked out and escaping, the Director finds himself short of a climax and decides to pad out the running time with 10 minutes of comedic bar room brawling apropos of nothing.

Richard participates enthusiastically in the slapstick fight between two groups of wharfies (half inexplicably smudged with grease or coal dust and the other half with flour), along with several sailors and a dwarf. Meanwhile the main villain leaves his wheel chair and drags himself slowly and painfully across the floor to the doorway for no good reason (he could wheeled his way over and taken his shot through the curtain of beads from his wheelchair just as easily, and far more quickly).10 minutes is a long time in a movie and the fight long out says it's welcome, while the change in tone is jarring and inappropriate.

Then the film gets back on track,, with the main female assassin, who escaped in the confusion of the brawl, heading off to Geneva, with Richard in hot pursuit. However the second finale is also a bit of an anti-climax, very downbeat, rather than providing an emotional payoff for the audience.

The epilogue is a satisfactory "The Spy Who Loved Me" scenario where Richard gets the last girl standing.

Overall, as Douglas Adams put it, "Mostly Harmless".