Monsieur Dynamite

An Italian gangster steals an atomic bomb from the USA (nobody knows how) and wants to return it only for the modest sum of a billion dollars. A German agent (Lex Barker) picks up his trace on a Mediterranean island together with his American colleague (Brad Harris), but they are outnumbered by the villain's army of killers. It takes the help of a mysterious lady to get close to the villain and find out more about his plans.

This is advertised by the DVD producers as one of the best German spy thrillers of the 60s, but it is nothing more than a poor man's James Bond based on a dime novel. They were trying hard to be original, for example the eccentric villain plays with his model trains all the time or rolls around on the floor in a carpet (!). But on the other hand, Lex Barker disposes so easily of a dozen gunmen that it becomes a silly spoof, involuntarily. Nice locations in Spain from a time when the coast was not yet invaded by mass tourism.

The UK title of this movie is `Die Slowly, You'll Enjoy It More,' a phrase uttered several times during the course of this run-of-the-mill adventure. It's not a very comforting notion and the weak sentiment reflects the bland happenings on display. What saves this film from being a complete waste of time is a cast of recognizable faces and a nice easy listening score by Gianni Marchetti.

Lex `Tarzan' Barker is Bob Urban AKA Mr. Dynamite, a German BND agent. Self-assured to the point of parody, Urban has the capacity to escape from even the most unlikely scenarios. No matter how many armed men may surround him, Urban can fight his way to freedom. Either he's some sort of superman or henchman help has reached absurdly low levels. Barker is a likable leading man however and his other spy flicks like Victim Five (64) and Spy Against the World (66) are worth checking out.