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Best Bond-inspired series/individual "copycats"

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  • TriggerMortisTriggerMortis
    Posts: 158
    ClarkDevlin wrote: »
    OSS 117 Is Not Dead

    2-The Paul Cadeac/Andre Hunebelle films:
    OSS 117
    OSS 117: Panic In Bangkok
    OSS 117: Mission For A Killer
    OSS 117: From Tokyo With Love (written by Terence Young)
    OSS 117: Double Agent

    3-The Pierre Kalfon Production:
    OSS 117 Takes A Vacation

    4-The Michel Hazanavicius/Jean Dujardin Parodies:
    OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies
    OSS 117: Lost In Rio

    Those are the primary Bond knock-offs of the 1960s/60s period pieces every Bond fan MUST see. Sure, some of them are made of absurdity, but if you're a fan of the spy genre and the 1960s overall, these films you should never miss. And I must point out, some of those titles are very hard to track down and find. They took me awful lot of time (and money) to acquire them and add them into my collection.

    Just a note that may interest some. Anything concerning OSS117 can never be considered a "knock-off" of Bond.
    The late great Jean Bruce started writing the books in 1948. Some 5 years before Fleming brought us Casino Royale and indeed, there were a number of OSS117 screen adaptations before the first Bond movie in 1962.
    There is a very, very strong supposition that Fleming took his inspiration from Bruce and there is an excellent article about this over at literary007.com It's a must read for any Bond aficionado.

    Beyond that, one movie I would definitely recommend from the '60s is the excellent 'The Liquidator' adapted from the first of John Gardner's Boisie Oakes thrillers.

  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    edited September 2015 Posts: 15,423
    TriggerMortis wrote: »
    ClarkDevlin wrote: »
    OSS 117 Is Not Dead

    2-The Paul Cadeac/Andre Hunebelle films:
    OSS 117
    OSS 117: Panic In Bangkok
    OSS 117: Mission For A Killer
    OSS 117: From Tokyo With Love (written by Terence Young)
    OSS 117: Double Agent

    3-The Pierre Kalfon Production:
    OSS 117 Takes A Vacation

    4-The Michel Hazanavicius/Jean Dujardin Parodies:
    OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies
    OSS 117: Lost In Rio

    Those are the primary Bond knock-offs of the 1960s/60s period pieces every Bond fan MUST see. Sure, some of them are made of absurdity, but if you're a fan of the spy genre and the 1960s overall, these films you should never miss. And I must point out, some of those titles are very hard to track down and find. They took me awful lot of time (and money) to acquire them and add them into my collection.

    Just a note that may interest some. Anything concerning OSS117 can never be considered a "knock-off" of Bond.
    The late great Jean Bruce started writing the books in 1948. Some 5 years before Fleming brought us Casino Royale and indeed, there were a number of OSS117 screen adaptations before the first Bond movie in 1962.
    There is a very, very strong supposition that Fleming took his inspiration from Bruce and there is an excellent article about this over at literary007.com It's a must read for any Bond aficionado.

    Beyond that, one movie I would definitely recommend from the '60s is the excellent 'The Liquidator' adapted from the first of John Gardner's Boisie Oakes thrillers.
    I know, @TriggerMortis. Jean Bruce's hero made it to the world of literature way before Fleming's Bond did. Same with the first film and only pre-1962/Bond era entry when Ivan Desny starred faithfully in the role. When Dr. No and its follow-up stroke popularity in the world of cinema, lots of attempts have been done by other nations and companies to recreate the success of the Bond films, hence 'The Spy Craze'. The OSS 117 of the 60s films didn't share much of characterization other than being an American spy, the name and codename. So, to some extent, I would say it's a 'Bond knock-off' since the stories had little in common with the books they were based on. The fourth film in the Spy Craze era as you know it is an all-original one penned by Terence Young to make it look, sound and feel like a Bond film... The generic spy film of the time.
  • GerardGerard
    edited September 2015 Posts: 6,022
    One that seems to have been forgotten : "The Wild, Wild West". I mean the original series (don't talk to me about the movie).

    And I second "The Liquidator". I just love the novels by John Gardner.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,348
    Gerard wrote: »
    One that seems to have been forgotten : "The Wild, Wild West". I mean the original series (don't talk to me about the movie).

    And I second "The Liquidator". I just love the novels by John Gardner.

    Yes, that's definitely one of my favourite 1960s non-Bond spy films, for obvious reasons. It's a pity more of the Boysie Oakes novels weren't filmed after this.

    I know there were plans to but they sadly fell through. The same fate befell the creators of Modesty Blaise, Dr Jason Love, Quiller and Charles Hood of course: only one film made before the intended idea of a series petered out.
  • CrabKeyCrabKey
    Posts: 2,029
    For all the knockoffs and parodies, none have really captured the Bond films. For me the most enduring series is Mission Impossible. Yet it never quite captures the Bond magic. It's hard to be Bondian without seeming an imitation. Then there's the iconic music. It's an easy to copy formula that just never seems to deliver with other characters and films. Even some of the Bond films themselves have struggled to deliver the goods.
  • underwater_mayhemunderwater_mayhem
    Posts: 18
    Hello! My first post here :)
    I see we’ve thrown in all sorts of Bond-inspired films and cinematic moments, and also films that perhaps did inspire Bond films as well. I must mention the amazing Batman trilogy by Nolan. The relationship between Bruce, Lucius and his gadgets can’t go unnoticed…surely someone has already commented on this in some other thread if not this one?
  • LegionnaireLegionnaire
    Posts: 142
    Passing by and happened to see this thread. Many of my favorites listed here to which I'll add Le Tigre Aime La Chair Fraiche (Code Name: Tiger), La Route de Corinthe (The Road to Corinth), Le tigre se parfume a la dynamite (Our Agent Tiger, and Fury in Marrakesh (with Mitsouko of Thunderball fame).
  • LegionnaireLegionnaire
    Posts: 142
    Jean Dujardin is back with his third OSS 117 spoof. Alert Rouge en Afrique Noir. Great fun like the first two. Plus one more, that I forgot, Danger Girls (Peligro Mujerer en Accion, by Rene Cardona Jr.). One of the few Bond spoofs where the women get to shoot up everything in sight, and actress Barbara Angely has a chance to show off her SCUBA skills. She went on to win a Hawaii Iron Man in her 60's, and tragicly died in a peloton pile up a few years later.
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