O Incomparável Espião

A poor "caper" film from the nadir of American moviemaking. Trite set pieces and dreadful cinematography. Acti? Go to a grammar school play and see better. It's the second or third worst I've see, since previewing a turkey about the gas lines during a gas crisis at the Paramount Studios executive screening room. Since I was dating one of the executives, I couldn't leave. Nearly as bad was a Coppola mess with Francis in a wrinkled white suit, sweating more water than the LA river trying to defend it and raise money for it. I think it was about drunks in Las Vegas.

Spy movie, not great but better than many others. Interesting and able to entertain as a worthy James Bond imitator.

The plot is not very clear but maybe it is I who was unable to follow it.

A Euro production that calls upon the talents of people like Patrick O'Neal, Donald Pleasence and the consummate movie and TV bad guy, Henry Silva, can't be all bad, which it isn't.

A spaghetti spy flick spoof, which starts with the inheritance of a mystical ring containing a drug which can enable the wearer invisible (but not their clothes, leading to usually interesting rematerialization scenes), and can only be used every ten hours, leads to a manhunt for our titular hero as he is pursued for the ring throughout Europe by every single government espionage agency on the Earth, as well as his backstabbing, sleazy partner (Silva) who provides a great deal of comic relief during the chase.

Nothing tremendous in storytelling, it serves as a light hearted romp for the stars.

Donald Pleasance (in a pre-Bond appearance), used ROBOTS to serve food in his castle. This was in 1967 and today we use them in serving positions and call it AI. The movie moves along well with a fabulous cast of international stars and many "familiar" Italian actors known in that era. A somewhat believable story from start to finish. However, the escape across the river in the Car that is ALSO a Boat was taken directly from Richard Harrison's 1965, SECRET AGENT FIREBALL. They even used the river tunnels in much the same fashion. However, watch it if you like Euro-Spy movies.

So: the Cold War meant that spies were terribly interesting people, and Ian Fleming -- who actually had been a spy -- wrote some potboiler novels full of sex and sadism about the sort of spy he would have liked to have been: able to run around, drink infinite amounts of booze, save the world and bed all the good-looking women. This, of course, led into the long-running series of James Bond movies and into imitators and spoofs, like GET SMART and this one, which is not particularly gallant and not particularly funny.

Patrick O'Neal is a newspaper reporter about to the shot by the Red Chinese, probably for being in this movie. Fortunately, he has just been given a dime-store ring by an Ancient Chinese man which will turn him invisible. He has to be naked for it to be effective, of course. He escapes and is promptly recruited by American General Howard St. John to get some vials full of red liquid from billionaire Donald Pleasance -- who looks like the only one enjoying this movie. In this he is aided by Ira von Fürstenberg, and opposed by Henry Silva, who is working for the Chinese. Pleasance has a number of beautiful women working for him, and some thugs. He also has a really weird expression on his face, a Rumanian name, a castle and an Italian accent.

I am pretty sure this is supposed to be funny, because Alberto Lattuada directs, as well as contributing to the script. Maybe it's funny in Italy. From this American's viewpoint, he did a lot better work when he was writing with Fellini.