Eurospy films

Torgeirtrap

Finished watching Assignment K (1968) last night. A yearly Christmas viewing for me, I had to watch the film over two days this time, as I started watching way too late in the evening. this actually highlighted my own, few issues with the film.



I've never actually viewed this film as a Eurospy, but it features elements and locations that would qualify it as one. And seeing as @Seve has already reviewed it, I'll only add my own notes on the film.

@Seve makes some good points which might not make this a film for everyone. It's a slow burner for sure, and more geared towards those that appreciate The Ipcress File and similar films. But unlike Harry Palmer, our hero of the story, Phillip Scott (Stephen Boyd) freelances rather than being forced into the profession, and thus can quit the spy game at any time. He's clearly not enamoured of moonlighting as a secret agent though, at least as the story progresses. In other words, where many Eurospy stories features a Bond type, larger than life main character, this film doesn't.

We do however get the travelogue aspect of Bond films and similar films in the same vein, and it's only in the latter half – in the London scenes towards the climax, when the more exciting spy craft sequences are over, I feel the film could have been more exciting. I do enjoy watching Assignment K though. It's one of those 60's spy films that managed to tap into the more weary, John le Carré like spy world, in contrast to the more action filled, adventure like world of James Bond.

Seve

Anthony Eisley starred in the private detective TV series “Hawaiian Eye”, and managed to combine that with a B (C, D, etc… all the way down to Z) movie career, which included one Eurospy.

Operation Goldman (but as far as I could tell there is no “Goldman”) aka Lightning Bolt (as “Thunderball” came out the previous year) or my personal favourite, as suggested by a reviewer on IMDB…

“Beerfinger”

This one takes the rocket downing plot from “Dr No” and combines it with a grand scheme to mount a laser weapon on the moon (anticipating “Goldeneye” and “Die Another Day”) in order to rule the World. The villain’s appearance is clearly based on Auric Goldfinger and his undersea base is reminiscent of “The Spy Who Loved Me”.

Production wise, this is a real mixed bag of “the good, the bad and the ugly” of Eurospy, but I’d like to start off with “the good”, which, by the standards of the genre, I might even dare to describe as “great”, namely the villain’s lair and the climax, which is where most Eurospy movies are usually found wanting. Due to their threadbare budgets, the “Emperor” is eventually revealed as having not enough clothes and the audience are left shaking their heads in disappointment or laughing out loud, rather than being excited and thrilled, as intended. Not so here. For once the final third of the movie easily surpasses what has gone before and delivers a surprisingly effective and relatively exciting spectacle.

The futuristic internal sets of the Villain’s undersea base are without doubt the most impressive I have ever encountered in a Eurospy. I think even Ken Adam would approve of them. I’ve asked myself how they could be of such a high standard, when compared with the rest of the production. The best theory I have come up with is that director Antonio Margheriti was also working on his popular “Planets” series of Sci-Fi adventure films over the course of 1966, so he may have either borrowed some of the space age sets used for them (or some other Spaghetti Sci-Fi production) or alternatively, he got the same set designers to knock something up for this movie as part of a larger contract.

The finale does not disappoint either, containing no shortage of action and destruction, with fiery explosions, torrents of red lava, and numerous fight scenes of varying quality. All in all, it comes closer to matching the grandeur of an actual Bond movie climax than any other Eurospy I’ve seen.

However the external visuals of the base are far less effective, consisting of brief, murky shots of a model, which, at a stretch, may remind the viewer of Stromberg’s undersea city in “The Spy Who Loved Me”, but are nowhere near the standard of a Gerry Anderson TV series equivalent from the same period.

So the story concept is above average, the plot development is rudimentary, but contains all the necessary situations required. Fight scenes vary from very good to embarrassingly inept. The dialogue is banal and the music is unremarkable, but they perform their function appropriately.

Anthony is not really good looking enough to be convincing as an “International Man of Mystery”. He ogles his way around the hotel pool, stepping over sunbathing babes, then makes his way across the dancefloor, deliberately walking between dancing couples and leering at the ladies, all the while delivering a smug monologue to the audience. He gives off a sleazy vibe that registers a negative reading on the Suave-o-meter.

Two women aren’t faking an attraction to him, his superior officer, Diana Lorys, who is strangely besotted with him in a totally unprofessional manner, and an air hostess crew member of a sea-plane that he purchases, so he tells us, as part of establishing his cover as a playboy millionaire. Quite a bit of screen time is invested in this purchase process, which seems to be a redundant irrelevance. They do eventually manage to tie the plane back into the story right at the end, but the appearance of a rescue plane at the end of a Eurospy hardly needs a back story to justify it.

His only gadgets are a watch with a Geiger counter and locator beacon (“even tells time” quips Professor Rooney), a pen which releases some sort of teargas, and a cheque book, which he deploys to try and buy his way out of tight spots, with mixed results. It’s a plot device which doesn’t come off and just seems weird and lame, particularly when he tries to bribe the main villain, who is clearly already very rich or he wouldn’t be able to fund his evil scheme.

Diana Lorys, as Agent 36-24-36, holds a higher rank than Anthony and is talked up at the beginning of the movie as being a highly respected and deadly agent by the bosses, while Anthony is referred to as her “assistant”, however in practise Anthony gets all the glory, while she functions mainly as a damsel in distress and romantic interest. Perhaps it’s intended as a joke? A woman taking credit for the man’s heroics?

Wandisa Guida has much the better role, as the beautiful henchwoman who at first appears to be bad, but turns out to have been coerced into co-operating with the villain, because he has cryo-frozen her father as a hostage. It’s a common Eurospy plot element. She gets to change sides, help Anthony escape, kick some ass and foil the villain’s evil scheme, before dying courageously

There is no Ursula Andress, as some imdb reviewers suggested, but there is an Ursula Parker

Jose Maria Caffarel turns up again, but this time his role is not nearly as quirky and interesting as it was in "Ragan". At one point he tangles with Anthony and gets slapped around for information, before being shot by Wandisa. He appears to be seriously wounded, yet turns up again later, apparently unharmed, to tangle with him again, this time with fatal results.

Folco Lulli plays “Mr Rehte”, a Beer Baron seeking World domination. He is portly and sports a quiff of bright red hair, along with a perpetually amused demeanour and a fruity foreign accent. In other words, if you enjoyed Gert Frobe’s characterisation of “Goldfinger” then you will probably enjoy Lulli’s performance as “Beerfinger”. Anthony engages he and his henchmen in an extended battle during the climax, before the two of them eventually end up at the the top of the rocket gantry for a final confrontation (“Beerfinger” takes the lift, leaving Anthony to climb up the hard way)

Florida is the only exotic location, with Cape Kennedy / Canaveral visited via the magic of stock footage. The film begins with extensive scenes of space rocket launching, showing the huge slow moving machines, gantries and sliding hanger doors, and the towering rocket trundling into position. Further footage of blast off, mission control, radio telescope and then several examples of rockets going off course, veering this way and that, becoming engulfed in fire and having to be blown up by remote control. All of which would still have been quite fresh and fascinating for movie audiences in 1966.

Anthony drives a stylish red E type Jag, which gets an extensive workout mid movie, before being blown to smithereens in a bizarre attempt by Anthony to prevent another launch. This incorporates more stock footage of another rocket exploding on the launch pad in an inferno, while Anthony staggers around amongst the fiery carnage, a scene which rather overstays its welcome in my opinion.

There's also a rom-com finish before Anthony and Diana fly off into the sunset

Overall I found that the gap in standard between its best and worst aspects is so wide that it makes it hard to rate.

Goldfinger-esque moments

Beerfinger – (revolving his chair to face Anthony) “Welcome Mr Sennitt, I was certain that sooner or later you would do me the honour of paying me a visit” (studies Anthony for a moment) “You look disappointed”
Anthony – “I was expecting something different. Are you always pushing your beer?”
Beerfinger – “I brew many things young man, including an excellent whiskey, would you care for a drop?”
Anthony – “On the rocks… if you can spare some of your ice”

Beerfinger – “I've never killed anyone until now, Mr. Sennitt, but you may be the first.”
Anthony – “I'll decline the honour”

Beerfinger – “You are the only unpleasant incident in my otherwise impeccable plan”
Anthony – “Thankyou”

Beerfinger - (zaping Anthony with his “lah-ser” beam when he tries to attack him from behind) “Heh, heh, heh, heh, I should have warned you that I’m not particularly fond of personal contact”

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