Para Agarrar um Espião

It was 1965, the height of the Bond craze, and my friend Chuck and I couldn't get enough 'Man From Uncle'. So Chuck's parents dropped us off at a local theater to see a DOUBLE BILL of 'Uncle' movies! Wow!! (To Trap a Spy and The Spy With My Face.) But before the movies began there was a Japanese cartoon shown. We thought it was just a regular old 5-minute cartoon, but soon realized it was feature-length 90-MINUTE CARTOON. With every passing minute my heart sank as I realized I would be home that Sunday much later than I'd promised- long after dinner. No matter, I was sent to my room without it. Ah, memories. Loved seeing 'Man From Uncle' in color on the big screen, though. Especially the high-speed transitions between scenes. Cool!!!

An UNCLE agent is killed relaying a message to UNCLE about an assassination which is due to be carried by WASP killer Andrew Vulcan (also a wealthy businessman). When a trio of WASP agents carry out a mission to infiltrate and destroy UNCLE HQ to try and kill whoever got the information, UNCLE know it is serious. They look to get someone close to Vulcan quickly and opt for a high school sweetheart, Elaine May Donaldson. They put Elaine in the guise of being rich but widowed and arrange a chance meeting at a party. Meanwhile her handler, UNCLE agent Napoleon Solo tries to infiltrate Vulcan heavily guarded chemical plant.

Taken from the two earliest episodes of the UNCLE tv series, this film clearly shows itself to be the point from which an enjoyable series developed rather than a series that was in it's stride. First of all the film lacks that enjoyable tongue in cheek humour that the series had throughout. It is still amusing and playful but not quite to the same degree. The plot is as good as other UNCLE films though and it does move along quite well, only the ending seems a little unsatisfactory and didn't quite make sense to me.

Although a version of the UNCLE theme is used it isn't in it's `purest' form and sounds a little too funky. The biggest clue that this is an early UNCLE is the fact that Illya Kuryakin has two scenes - both of which he is portrayed as a junior agent with little English, rather than Solo's partner. As someone used to the `Solo gets girls/Illya gets action' formula it was disappointing to see him play so minor a role. Likewise there was no Mr Waverly and the guy in the UNCLE head role couldn't touch him for the role.

Apart from these two key roles, Vaughn looks very slick and young and is able to carry the film himself despite the hole left by McCallum's absence. He is funny and charming and good with the action stuff. Crowley is OK but a little too moaney for my tastes. A much better girl comes in the form of Luciana Paluzzi - the first of many beautiful Italian women who featured in UNLCE. Here she is drop dead gorgeous and quite playful with her dialogue - her and Vaughn have an easy rapport that works even better due to the relationship between their characters. Weaver is an OK villain but not that menacing.

Overall this is a good film for UNCLE fans but to be honest there are much better ones out there. Like the series itself, the early films are solid and show the seeds being planted, the middle films are the strongest and the last ones are weak. This is worth a watch but not UNCLE at their best.

This film begins with a man named "Lancer" (Miguel Landa) running through the night to an isolated house in the woods near Arlington, Virginia to escape from other armed men who are chasing him. Once inside he is greeted by a beautiful woman named "Angela" (Luciana Paluzzi) who notices that he has been shot and urgently advises him to seek hospital care by escaping through a window to a nearby car. However, once he gets to the window ledge she turns on a spotlight which reveals his figure to the men and he is shot and killed immediately. Not long after that some men break into a secret entrance to a clandestine agency known as the United Nations Command for Law Enforcement (U.N.C.L.E.) which has been established by several governments to maintain legal order in the world. Having penetrated the first layers of security the men are caught but soon die due to a slow-acting poison they took prior to entering the complex. However, after an examination the conclusion is reached that these men are somehow connected to the murder of Lancer who was one of their agents and that everything points to an assassination plot against the leader of a small South African nation who is due to arrive in the United States shortly. As a result, "Agent Napoleon Solo" (Robert Vaughn) is sent to Arlington to investigate. What he doesn't know is that a secret society known as WASP is behind everything and that they are well aware of his identity and are waiting for him to make his move. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film was initially made as the pilot for a television series known as "The Man from UNCLE" which played in both the United Kingdom and United States during the mid-60's. Although the television series obviously couldn't consistently compete with the James Bond movies appearing during this time, this theatrical version was quite enjoyable on its own with Robert Vaughn performing quite well in the lead role. Likewise, having two beautiful actresses like Patricia Crowley (as the housewife turned Napoleon Solo's accomplice "Elaine May Bender") along with the aforementioned Luciana Paluzzi certainly didn't hurt in any way either. That said, while it may not have the same recognition as any of the James Bond movies, I enjoyed this film and have rated it accordingly. Above average.

Top UNCLE agent Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) is assigned to prevent THRUSH hit-man Andrew Vulcan (Fritz Weaver) from assassinating Premier Ashumen (William Marshall), the leader of a primitive African nation who is visiting the States on a tour of Vulcan's factory. Solo enlists the help of Vulcan's former girlfriend Elaine May Donaldson (Patricia Crowley) and plants her as a rich widow in order to get close to Vulcan and prove to her that he is the evil doer that Solo says he is.

The Man From UNCLE was such a cult success in the UK that eight feature length films (made up of previously unaired episodes) were released in cinemas with virtually the British box office in mind. TO TRAP A SPY was the first film in the series and it is actually an extended version of the pilot episode, THE VULCAN AFFAIR (First aired: 22/09/1964), with extra footage that was considered too "adult" for television. Other changes were made such as in the TV version, THRUSH were the enemy organisation, but in the film they were renamed WASP. Also in the film, actor Will Kuluva plays UNCLE chief Mr Allison, whereas in the TV episode, Leo G Carroll played Mr Waverley and would do so for the remainder of the series.

To Trap A Spy stands as one of the best feature length outings from the TV series even though David McCallam fans will be disappointed as Illya Kuriyakin only appears in two scenes early on. Robert Vaughn is outstanding as Napoleon Solo portraying him as a super suave playboy and interestingly Luciana Paluzzi turns up as a beautiful THRUSH villain who attempts to seduce Solo to his death would later play much the same role in the Bond spectacular Thunderball. The plot may be thin but it is the nostalgia value that holds this film up after nearly forty years since it was first released.

Followed by: The Spy With My Face*, One Spy Too Many*, One Of Our Spies Is Missing, The Spy In The Green Hat (all 1966), The Karate Killers*, The Helicopter Spies* (both 1967) and How To Steal The World* (1968). The titles marked with an asterisk have now been released on DVD in the UK as a box set.

At the height of "spy mania" in the mid- 1960's, MGM sought to exploit their phenomenally successful "Man From UNCLE" TV series with low-budget, big screen adaptations of episodes that had been edited together. The admittedly cheap tactic was nevertheless effective. "To Trap A Spy" was released in the US in early 1966 as part of a double feature with "The Spy With My Face". Unlike the other adapted films that followed, this one wasn't based on a two-part TV epidode. It was derived from the pilot episode "The Vulcan Affair", that was broadcast in b&w, though shot in color for possible theatrical release. As with several of the UNCLE films that followed, certain sequences were shot especially for the theatrical version, most relating to sexual references that were deemed to hot for TV.

The film is more effective than one would think, and illustrates the origins of what was to be the weekly basis for UNCLE episodes: an innocent citizen (a la Hitchcock) is drawn into a caper of international intrigue involving UNCLE. In this case, Patricia Crowley is an everyday housewife who is recruited to thwart her old high school flame (Fritz Weaver), of late a millionaire megalomaniac. This formula of utilizing everday citizens was quickly abandoned. Purists will note the limited presence of David McCallum's Illya Kuryakin. As this was the pilot show, no one had forseen his eventual popularity with audiences, thus the lion's share of footage goes to Robert Vaughn's dapper and suave Napoleon Solo. Wil Kuluva appears as the UNCLE boss Mr. Allison, but in the actual series the character was replaced by Leo G. Carroll as the wonderfully eccentric Alexander Waverly. James Bond's "Thunderball" femme fatale, Luciana Paluzzi has some extended screen time as another bad girl, and keep an eye out for a blink-or-you'll-miss-him appearance by future Bond villain Richard ("Jaws") Kiel in the climax. All in all, a very enjoyable and nostalgic experience. Available only in the UK on Region 2 DVD.