Deadlier Than Male

The plot feels second rate, the hero as played by Richard Johnson is about as bland as you get and any attempts at campy humor were too subtle to ever make me laugh.

All but serious student of 60's pop culture are probably going to feel a little disappointed after purchasing this film. It isn't nearly as good or fun as the cover illustration makes it seem.

Yes, this is the best of all the Bond knock-offs produced in the mid-to-late Sixties, and there were a lot of them! Unlike spoofs like Modesty Blaise and Casino Royale, Deadlier Than the Male is actually a good movie in its own right. The production values are higher than most other sub-Bond spy films of the period (although nowhere near as high as those of Mr. Bond himself), the acting is good, the action is good, and the script is witty. Elke Sommer (at her absolute hottest!) steals the show as a voluptious assassin, but Richard Johnson makes a darn good hero, too. His character's relationship with his nephew is quite well-done, and a scene where the nephew brings a lady back to his uncle's apartment is a comedic hightlight (somewhat reminiscent of The Pink Panther). The murders are all very creative (think Avengers) and rather violent for the time period. The setpieces are great, especially the climax where hero Bulldog Drummond faces the villain (an amazing Nigel Green) on a giant chessboard filled with oversize pieces. If you like Sixties James Bond movies, or the Pink Panther movies, or TV shows like The Avengers, you'll like Deadlier Than the Male. (The Walker Brothers theme song is amazing, too, on par with many of the great Bond themes!) All in all, a great Bond-style action-comedy. Deadlier Than the Male is to Thunderball as XXX is to Die Another Day (only both those sixties movies are better to their 2002 counterparts). Bond in everything but name. (And budget.)

I'm so glad this movie is finally on DVD! As far as I know, it had never been officially released even on VHS before, so all I'd seen previously was a poor-quality bootleg. The dvd offers no features, and the print is a bit scratchy at times, but the widescreen transfer looks nice and it's infinitely superior to the bootlegs! I'd like to see the sequel, Some Girls Do, released as well, though it's nowhere near as good as this one.