Commissaire X: Halte au L.S.D.

Captain Tom delivers $1 mil worth of LSD to operatives in Istanbul that a criminal organization is pulling out all the stops to get its hand on. Joe joins him in Istanbul to foil the organization's efforts. Lots of unnecessary martial arts fighting and cartoonish dialog spoil the otherwise enjoyable exotic backdrop. The plot is weak and the action discontinuous. The movie ends up in the enemy stronghold in the "Valley of a Thousand Hills, a terrific location for some exciting action. This adventure is stocked with numerous attractive women who do little more than provide the expected decorative flavor. Best approached as more of a parody than serious thriller.

Kill Me Gently, my first Kommissar X movie, is actually the fourth in the series. My unfamiliarity with the already established characters might account for some of my confusion, but I suspect that bad storytelling and crap editing are more to blame.

This silly Bond-inspired secret agent/crime caper revolves around a stash of LSD brought to Turkey by the Americans for military purposes (what they intend to do with it is anyone's guess). A gang of criminals called the Green Hounds will do anything to get their hands on the acid, leaving NYPD Captain Tom Rowland (Brad Harris) and private detective Jo Walker (Tony Kendall) to try and stop them.

The first hour of this film is so poorly strung together that it is almost impossible to follow and proves very difficult to sit through, with only the local colour and some pretty girls to keep one interested. Make it past the hour mark, however, and things do get a little better, as the action moves to a desert region known as The Valley of 1000 Hills, where the good guys do battle with the baddies, resulting in some fairly well-executed stunt sequences.

There's a fun scene in which one of our good guys (I don't remember who) is pursued over the hills, but escapes by sliding down the sandy slopes on his butt, and we also get an impressive motorcycle chase over the same undulating terrain, the bikes hurtling through valleys, up and around natural banks, and over peaks. It's an entertaining final act, although an extremely dumb closing moment involving a talking camel sums up the film as a whole: very silly, with little concern for logic.

There are not many movies filmed in exotic Istanbul for the western audience. I was hoping for something similar to Topkapi, but this is not in that league. However it is not bad for a low grade secret agent flick. Tony Kendall saunters through the sets pretending to be a cross between Dean Martin and John Gavin. Brad Harris seems to have fun playing GI Joe/G Man in a suit. The story has so many twists and scene changes that it could have been released as 3 different movies--since it was dubbed who would have known? Perhaps this deserves a viewing because it tries so hard to be entertaining. Most effective is the use of Istanbul's settings and environs for unique treatments and stunts (with the major exception of not showing the interiors of the great mosques). This may be the best of the Kommissar X series.

Another entry in the tongue-in-cheek espionage series "Kommissar X", with the amiable duo of Tony Kendall and Brad Harris in the leads. This time their mission is to shut down an LSD smuggling ring that operates in Istanbul. And the first half of this movie is, probably, about as coherent as an actual LSD trip, but, again probably, not half as much fun. When the setting switches to "The Valley of the Thousand Hills", the film gets a little better, and more action-packed. The production is actually pretty slick and there is good stuntwork throughout; Brad Harris' slide down the hills and his fight with an extra-muscular henchman are high points. And even though the heroes keep making remarks like "It's going to be difficult to escape, especially with the girls", the girls are quite capable of taking care of themselves. This is the 4th "Kommmissar X" film I have watched so far; the best remains the first, "Kiss Kiss, Kill Kill" (also the one most closely modelled on the James Bond series). ** out of 4.

In the fourth adventure of the Inspector X film series, Joe Walker (Tony Kendall) and Tom Rowland (Brad Harris) travel to Istanbul, where a gang of green dogs are planning to contaminate the city's drinking water with LSD. This is accompanied by extended brawls and hilarious slides through the Cappadocian rock landscape, which are a lot of fun.

The beautiful ladies are also there. First and foremost is Czech actress Olga Schoberova, who was married to Brad Harris at the time. Her blonde hair is hidden under a brunette wig, but as tour guide Leyla, she certainly provides some piquant moments, for example when she hides Joe Walker in the hot tub.

The villain this time is Samson Burke (he appeared in La Vendetta di Ursus in 1961), who also shines as an oil-stained Turkish wrestler. Austrian actor Dietmar SCHÖNHERR appears in an obscure double role. Director Rudolf ZEHETGRUBER (1926-2023) also makes a very interesting appearance, skillfully assisting the two heroes in the role of "Alman." In the 1970s, the director would make several films about the VW Wonder Beetle Dudu (Ein Käfer Geht aufs Ganze), known in English-speaking countries as the SUPERBUG films.

The fourth installment of Kommissar X picks up where the first two installments of the successful series left off, offering numerous visual highlights, always told with a wink. 2,265,000 visitors in West German cinemas wanted to see the film, the most successful installment in the series to date! Nostalgic Eurospy fun in the familiar Teutonic style of German adventure flicks!