Les Doigts croisés

Jobert's Gallic charm radiates through her voice, eyes and mannerisms. Kirk Douglas seems to look disheartened at his role. He appears flat and strained at times. He does have his moments. Douglas tells a very funny joke to Fabièn (Jobert) about Russian researchers determining the age of a mummy.

A few scenes seem stolen from Jobert's Rider On the Rain (of particular note hiding in the closet and being discovered, peering through a shop window). Jobert's comedic talent comes easily and properly dovetails into the serious aspects of the plot. Sir Trevor's scene stealing butler is absolutely hilarious and rivals Tom Courteny's role as the bungling spy. While the plot may seem a tad contrived, it comes across quite well, if one takes the time to relax and be entertained. The ending does leave you with the feeling that there should have been a sequel. Like "Rider On the Rain", her on-screen husband comes across unappreciative of having a loyal and dedicated beauty such as Jobert for a wife. Also reflecting the cold war times , you have lies, counter-lies and disinformation battering the truth.

Overall, you may find yourself watching this movie a few times for the sheer fun of it!

An amusing and adventurous espionage caper from the early-'70s. I like some of the imagery - the scenes filmed at Loch Leven, Perth & Kinross and Oban (?) are evocative and show the bleak beauty of Scotland. The adventure film ''Kidnapped'' was filmed nearby at roughly the same time at Stirling and Loch Fyne faeturing cockney actor Michael Caine. Those years '71-72 had a strangely ''Caledonian-ish'' feel. Auburn-haired, steely-eyed, lantern-jawed US actor, Kirk Douglas as ''Andrej'' a Rumanian spy is very good and is adept at comedy. He had recently been in the compelling adventure film ''The Light at the Edge of the World'' which was produced in Spain in the autumn of 1970. Some of the comedy scenes have a Python-esque sense of slapstick. Patrick Mower (''Emmerdale Farm'') is good. The writers, Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais are famous for brilliant '70s tv comedies ''Porridge'' and ''Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads''. Gaunt, darkhaired Swiss-born White-Russian actor Sascha Pitoeff is very good too.

In one scene where French starlet Marlène Jobert plugs her nose for a mousy-sounding voice to thwart cat-and-mouse counterpart Kirk Douglas, it's actually less annoying than her real one...

But she's super cute, probably all that mattered to director Dick Clement in his spy-spoof followup to the spy-spoof OTLEY that starred Tom Courtenay in his penultimate big-screen role until THE DRESSER...

Herein Tom's a bumbling spy trying to follow before befriending Jobert; the latter (whose pop Trevor Howard is vastly underused) on a honeymoon interrupted by her enigmatic husband's arrest, connected to Douglas's vain attempts to retrieve Russian microfilm from the couple's luggage...

And while Kirk's not bad doing lightweight action/comedy, his role should have gone to Courtenay, not only befitting the slapdash pace but with far better chemistry with Jobert, who Douglas seems to be babysitting (as opposed to parenthetically romancing) throughout this semi-entertaining yet entirely-uneven cold war romp.

This terrible little film is clearly among the worst Kirk Douglas ever made. It's not as bad as "Saturn 3"...but what is?!

When the film begins, a couple in honeymooning in Bucharest (???). What they don't realize is that the guy working in the hotel is NOT an employee but a smuggler (Kirk Douglas). Because of his actions, the husband is arrested and his wife (Marlène Jobert) is left wondering what happened. Even though it makes no sense at all, she later ends up handcuffed with the smuggler and then on the run with him...and it's all supposed to be kooky and romantic. Well, to me it just comes off as annoying and nonsensical...and Jobert's voice often grated on me. The smuggler says at one point "...you are such a child"...and her voice does sometimes sound like one. Poorly written, poorly acted and boring.

In general, I don't usually go in for Cold War dramas. It's just not my generation, so I can't get into the mindset of those who took it desperately seriously, just as I'm sure those in the next generation won't be able to understand movies taking place in the "old '90s". With that disclaimer, I was fully prepared to dislike Catch Me a Spy, and to stick it through for the sake of Kirk Douglas. Boy, was I wrong! It's now one of my favorite of his movies!

First off, it may take place during the Cold War, but this movie is not a drama. It's a delightful, hilarious spoof on the very tired dramatic genre. Dick Clement, co-writer and director, must have known audiences were tired of the same old "Russians are bad, secret spying" movie. I was especially impressed by the humor of this movie, because I would have expected it to rely on silly 60s gags, like John Goldfarb, Please Come Home. Instead, it's a thoroughly planned, adorable situational comedy.

The comic timing and chemistry between the cast is fantastic. He's been paired up with many leading ladies, but I've never seen Kirk Douglas as vibrant and all-around cute as he is with Marlène Jobert in Catch Me a Spy. They are so darling together! I could write out every sweet and sizzling scene they share together, but that would take up too much room. Just watch it for yourself and get ready to giggle.

Obviously, I highly recommend this movie. It'll cheer you up when you're blue, give you a laugh on a sunny afternoon, and make a great atmosphere for date night. Plus, if it won me over and I don't even like these types of movies, you know it's great!