Mission spéciale Lady Chaplin

In this third and final part of the series about Agent 077, who is actually called Dick Malloy (Ken Clark), but is referred to as Jack Clifton in German-speaking countries, there is a very special character with the Bond girl Daniela Bianchi ("With Love") attractive guest star on board.

Lady Arabella Chaplin (Daniela Bianchi) is a renowned fashion designer. Nobody suspects that she also works as a very versatile killer lady. When the possibility of recovering atomic bombs from a sunken ship arises, it naturally attracts both secret services and criminal gangs. Super agent Dick Malloy (Ken Clark) is of course sent into the fray by his boss Heston (Philippe Hersent). There he meets some breathtaking women (Helga Line, born in Berlin in 1932, Mabel Karr and the fantastic Ida Galli) and the mysterious Kobre Zoltan (Jacques Bergerac). Not to forget: the enchanting Lady Arabella!

EuroSpy at its best! Locations in New York City, London, Madrid, Rome and Paris! Lots of action, beautiful women and a good pinch of frivolity. Of course, Ken Clark (1927-2009) is no Sean Connery, but he also has impressive chest fur to offer. He cuts a fine figure in mattress sports and in close combat.

And Daniela Bianchi can be seen in her star role as a beautiful, exquisitely dressed and mysterious woman, who also has her violent moments here, for example when she "takes out" several monks as a nun.

This lively film from the EuroSpy wedding was directed by Alberto De Martino and Sergio Grieco. It was produced by Edmondo Amati and Jacques Roitfeld. The music worth listening to comes from Bruno Nicolai.

This is the third and final film starring secret agent Dick Malloy (Ken Clark). I have not seen either of the previous films but they are spy films much like the 007 films, but made by Italians and starring this lesser-known American actor in the lead.

When the film begins, Lady Chaplin (Daniela Bianchi...of "From Russia With Love" fame) dresses up like a nun and kills some monks in a monastery. Clearly, this lady lacks scruples and she'll come into contact with Dick sooner of later. As for Dick, his boss is worried about a sunken American sub, the USS Thresher. On board are Polaris missiles...nuclear missiles and the good guys need to get to them first. Unfortunately, when Dick goes exploring, he finds the sub but the missile tubes are empty! How does Lady Chaplin play into all this and will she fall for Dick by the end of the movie?

Like a Bond film, this movie has a nice international look--with location shoots in New York, Spain, France, Italy and the UK! It also looks good...with a better than usual budget for an Italian film of the era. Like Bond, this agent has his gadgets and the plot is pretty similar to the Bond thriller "Thunderball"...which debuted the previous year. So is it up to Bond quality or worth seeing? I'd say no and maybe. No, it's not quite bond in quality (such as camera-work, acting and props) and whether or not you will enjoy it depends on if you can get past seeing a relatively bland secret agent...and Dick is a bit limp as a character. But if you simply cannot get enough 007 and don't mind that he's sort of a cheap substitute, Dick is work seeing.

Daniela Bianchi stars in the title role involving the presumed attempt by some unfriendly government or organization to resurface the sunken American atomic submarine Thresher. The American agents know that Jacques Bergerac's organization is the only one capable of raising the sub but feel that he is above suspicion because he's wealthy! Bianchi's cover as a fashion designer is blown during her first meeting with American agent Ken Clark who quickly undresses her - literally! There are some well done action sequences with the fighting scenes especially well choreographed. I enjoyed the chase scene in the bullfight arena. The movie has some beautifully shot on-location scenes in New York, Spain, London, and France. Unfortunately Ken Clark did not have much on screen charisma. And despite Helga Line's top billing she was given little to do. Bianchi and Bergerac are very good, however. The movie does have a good plot and some decent twists at the end. This is a good Euro spy thriller and, in spite of its shortcomings, it is an enjoyable viewing.

This is Ken Clark's most Bondian adventure and it is a hoot. Despite the fact that the numbers `077' are prominently featured on the door of a taxi taken by Ken at one of the many airports in this movie, this is not a Coplan flick. Ken is CIA agent Dick Malloy and although he looks slightly uncomfortable in his designer duds, he's still mighty dapper. SMLC was Ken's fourth spy flick and it's one of the most enjoyable especially for those who want to come down easy from Bond. It's full of gadgetry and has a Fleming feel to the plot.

Don't miss this fun adventure. It's easily as entertaining as any Bond flick despite the absence of a charismatic villain.

This film essentially begins with an American nuclear submarine experiencing a catastrophic accident resulting in the death of the entire crew and subsequently sinking to the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean. Although everyone in the American government assumes that the submarine is too deep to be recovered, officials quickly become alarmed when it is learned that a dog tag from one of the dead submariners is being auctioned off in Spain--highlighting the possibility that those 16 Polaris missiles have also been recovered as well. So, to get some answers to this question, the CIA sends an agent named "Dick Malloy" (Ken Clark) to retrieve the dog tag in order to determine its authenticity. However, immediately after buying the item, the man who sold it to him is wounded in an assassination attempt, thus temporarily preventing him from divulging any information concerning how he came acquired that particular item in the first place. Still needing answers, Agent Malloy then goes to the hospital to question him further. Unfortunately, once he gets there, he discovers that somebody has murdered him--and an attractive woman named "Lady Arabella Chaplin" (Daniela Bianchi) soon becomes his prime suspect. But even more important, he still needs to find the key person behind the organization that hired her, as failure to do that could result in a hostile nation acquiring 16 nuclear missiles. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this turned out to be an okay international spy film due in large part to the performance of Daniela Bianchi who, in my opinion, dominated every scene she was in. Even so, unlike any of the more popular James Bond films, the lead character (Ken Clark) wasn't nearly as polished and lacked the on-scream charisma of any of the actors who have played Agent 007. Likewise, the film quality in this film wasn't nearly as good either. In short, while this film was clearly not a first-rate production, those looking for a cheap James Bond clone might find some entertainment value with it, and I have rated it accordingly. Average.