Opération Lotus Bleu

Ken Clark and his first mission as Agent 077

Yes, what is the name of the James Bond imitator directed by Sergio Grieco and produced by Edmondo Amati, which was released in West German cinemas in November 1965? In the original version he goes by the name Dick Malloy, the German dub changed it to Jack Clifton, for whatever reason. Filming took place in Paris, Barcelona and Athens.

When the pretty secretary (Erika Blanc) of his boss (Philippe Hersent) asks him to go on a new mission, the smart daredevil Jack Clifton (Ken Clark) is with a big-breasted girlfriend (Franca Polesello, who could already be admired in "Il sorpasso") ) busy. But of course duty comes first! After all, it's about a new type of nuclear weapon that was stolen by the "Black Lily" criminal organization. Jack Clifton should therefore absolutely prevent this weapon from being sold to the Chinese. He gets support from the attractive Elsa Freeman (Helga Line). Together the two also have to deal with Soviet agents, who are of course also interested in the "Bloody Mary". But that won't be the only surprise...

The American actor Ken Clark (1927-2009) had previously had to be content with supporting roles. In Hollywood he was marketed as a "beef cake" supporting actor because of his impressive physique. As Agent 077, he was finally able to showcase his qualities as a heartthrob who can repeatedly show off his magnificent upper body, and as an action actor whose powerful upper arms the competitors hardly have a chance against. The concept was well received, "Bloody Mary" attracted 836,000 viewers to West German cinemas. The two successors (Vollmacht für Jack Clifton": 777,000 viewers / "Im Netz der Goldenen Spinne": 822,000 viewers) were similarly successful at the West German box office.

The life story of the female lead, Helga Line, is also very interesting. She was born Helga Lina Stern in Berlin in 1932. Luckily, she was able to flee the National Socialists to Portugal with her parents as a small child. She later became a star on the Iberian Peninsula. She even appeared in two films directed by Pedro Almodovar in the 1980s. The great actress celebrated her 90th birthday in 2022.

Worth seeing offshoot of the EuroSpy wave that was started by the success of the James Bond films! And the start of a three-part series with Ken Clark as Agent 077 Jack Clifton!

This film essentially begins with a special nuclear bomb codenamed "the Bloody Mary" being stolen off of an American bomber by a mysterious criminal organization known simply as "Black Lilly." Naturally, wanting to recover this nuclear device as soon as possible, the CIA dispatches its best secret agent by the name of "Dick Malloy" (Ken Clark) to Paris to follow up on an important lead. Once there, he meets an attractive colleague by the name of "Elsa Freeman" (Helga Line) who has been sent to assist him. Likewise, another colleague by the name of "Lester" (Antonio Gradoli) is there to assist him as well. Unfortunately, every time Agent Malloy gets closer to finding out where the bomb is located, he is met with any number of thugs and ruffians who thwart his every move. Even so, Agent Malloy somehow manages to extricate himself from these deadly situations and continues to uncover vital clues along the way. What he doesn't realize, however, is that the Chinese aren't the only ones wanting to acquire this nuclear device--and time is not on his side. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was an adequate international spy film which was clearly intended as the European answer to the incredibly popular James Bond films of that time. And while this was certainly not a bad film by any means, it didn't quite seem to capture the same intensity of its more popular rival. For that matter, neither was Ken Clark able to duplicate the on-screen presence of Sean Connery. Be that as it may, I still found it to be somewhat entertaining, and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

I saw this film as an 11 year old as a 10:30am morning show at the local cinema in Bangalore, India. At the time, there were a lot of Italian spy movies about with Ken Clark or Kerwin Matthews and to us under-age kids these 'Adults only' type films were enjoyable forbidden fruit! Of course, it was the post-McCarthy era with the ethos still firmly on the "Red under the bed" attitude and most of us thought the spies were heroes. Among our group, having seen "Bloody Mary" was the 'in' thing and just about everybody was 'in'.

This is an exceptionally good Euro-spy film. Among its assets are: a clever script; good humor; a hero who has some insouciant charm; good pacing; some big action scenes; a great ending.

I saw a US-dubbed version in a good dvd print. In several ways, the plot of this film reminds one of a Bond film of the 1960's--I won't say which one. I was impressed by some big action scenes that involved the hero battling with quite the small army of villains! There was a nice variety of scenes--on a freighter ship; on a train; in Greece, in France.

There are a few ways in which the smaller budget of a Euro-spy film shows: the cars the characters drive are all small, humble European cars, which look rather dated even for 1965.

The hero and the main woman character are both good and very watchable. The supporting players are good, too. Combine that with a fast-moving pace, and this movie is a big winner in the Euro-spy field. Hard to top this one for all-around quality.

The early sixties brought the best James Bond films ,thanks to Sean Connery's incomparable charisma and humor.In their wake ,a countless spate of sub-007 began to appear:OSS 117,Coplan,and the nadir of them all:O77(sic) Dick Maloy.This one was the first featuring this two-bit spy and it's really a poor man's James Bond;to give you an idea of what's waiting for you,the hero and the villains carry an atomic bomb in a simple case!The plot is a cock and bull story ,where the characters appear and disappear,without bringing anything to the story.actually,the purpose of every scenes is to put up a fight so as to show the hero's steel fists.If you find some logic in the sequence of events ,you are a genius.

Another Trafalgar.