During the sixties there were literally thousands of spy spoofs made following the popularity of the early James Bond films. One of the silliest of these was Norman Abbott’s Last of the Secret Agents? (1966), which was the first and last film that attempted to make cinema stars out of the comedy team Allen & Rossi (Marty Allen & Steve Rossi). Allen & Rossi were a comedic duo that became popular on the Ed Sullivan Show during The Beatles’ heyday and they were patterned after Martin & Lewis (Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis), but their style of comedy was becoming rather dated as the sixties wore on. Last of the Secret Agents? was butchered by critics on its initial release and Allen & Rossi never appeared in a film together again. They ended their partnership in 1969 and Last of the Secret Agents? was basically forgotten.
The years have not been kind to the film and as far as I know Last of the Secret Agents? has never been released on video, much less DVD. A quick look at the film’s IMDb page shows that most viewers have given the film a 3 star rating out of a possible 10 and the comments are less then flattering, but I happen to think the movie is well worth a look if you enjoy slapstick style humor and silly sight gags, as well as sixties spy spoofs. The film doesn’t contain much comedic gold, but it’s also not the unwatchable mess that so many critics seem to think it is. If you enjoy Mel Brooks’ style of humor or the Austin Powers films you’ll probably find yourself laughing a few times while watching Last of the Secret Agents? and if you like fun-filled spy capers with good soundtracks and stylish wardrobes, then you might actually enjoy the film as much as I do.
Top: Marty Allen
Bottom: Steve Rossi with twins Kay & Ann Hughes
The plot involves Marty Allen and Steve Rossi as two American ex-pats looking for work in Europe. They soon discover that they’ve been unwillingly used as couriers for art thieves who are part of an evil organization known as THEM. They get recruited by the GGI (Good Guys Inc.) and help concoct a plan to put an end to the criminal activities of THEM. Naturally lots of chase scenes and fights take place in the process. Like any good spy film there are plenty of beautiful women that help and hinder the two stars. The film also contains a musical number performed by Steve Rossi and it ends with an appearance of Allen & Rossi on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Allen & Rossi try hard to make the film work, but they’re no Martin & Lewis and they end up being one of the film’s main problems. They don’t seem to have much chemistry here and the jokes they deliver often fall flat. I’m not sure if it’s the fault of the comedy team or the writers, but it’s a shame that the script didn’t seem to really give them an opportunity to show off whatever made audiences enjoy their stand up act so much. Since Allen & Rossi are the stars of the movie I think it’s easy for viewers to get caught up in their rather lackluster delivery and overlook all the funny performances from their costars, which is a shame.
The talented character actor Theodore Marcuse is really terrific here and especially funny as the evil mastermind Zoltan Schubach who heads THEM. His character is obviously inspired by the notorious Bond villain known as Ernst Stavro Blofeld and I’m sure Mike Myers was inspired by Theodore Marcuse’s performance as Zoltan Schubach in Last of the Secret Agents? when he created the character of Dr. Evil for the Austin Powers movies. The great British actor John Williams lends a nice sense of gravitas to the proceedings and the very funny Harvey Korman even shows up in a brief, but memorable bit as an actor playing a frazzled German Colonel.
Top: Nancy Sinatra and Carmen Dell’Orefice
Bottom: Susan Jean and Thordis Brandt
The film also features plenty of lovely female co-stars. Nancy Sinatra gets top billing here, but unfortunately she doesn’t get enough screen time. She plays Steve Rossi’s neglected love interest and she ends up spending most of her time in the film trying to get him to notice her. Rossi is a good-looking guy, but I couldn’t believe that he would turn down Nancy’s marriage proposals even if she would have gotten in the way of his swinging lifestyle. Fashion icon Carmen Dell’Orefice is really wonderful as the wicked Baby May Zoftig and she vamps it up on the set as much as possible. Unfortunately she only has a few lines in the film and I wish the director had given her more to do. Other sixties starlets and femme fatales in Last of the Secret Agents? include Russ Meyer’s lovely wife Edy Williams and the actress Thordis Brandt.
Besides the lackluster performances of the films stars Allen & Rossi, Last of the Secret Agents? is not without some other obvious problems. The stale looking set designs often make the movie look more like a television production instead of a feature length film. The movie would have really benefited from being shot on location in Europe. Last but not least, someone also should have hired a dialogue coach for the cast. There are a lot of actors in the film trying to sound like they weren’t born in America and most of them fail terribly. Since Last of the Secret Agents? is a comedy I find it easy to overlook the bad accents, but they can still be a little jarring at times.
With all its problems, Last of the Secret Agents? still has a lot to offer potential viewers including one of the funniest opening sequences that I’ve ever seen in any spy spoof. There’s also a terrific long running sight gag that takes place on a train that is very clever and just plain fun to watch. The pop art style of the film gives it a comic book feel at times and the soundtrack by Pete King and Neal Hefti is really terrific.
Top: Carmen Dell’Orefice and Theodore Marcuse
Bottom: Theodore Marcuse and evil members of THEM
The film also boasts a wonderful theme song composed by Lee Hazlewood and sung by Nancy Sinatra. I personally think it’s one of Sinatra & Hazelwood’s best songs and it was released the same year that they released their huge hit single “These Boots Are Made for Walkin.” Unfortunately the title song for Last of the Secret Agents? wasn’t a big hit and I’m sure the movies lackluster reception was a factor. In retrospect, the theme song is just as good as any of Sinatra & Hazelwood’s early recordings so I can’t understand why the song didn’t become more popular after its release.
Before making Last of the Secret Agents? director Norman Abbott had previously made a name for himself working on popular television shows like Leave It to Beaver, McHale’s Navy and The Munsters. For better or worse, he brings that same comedy sense to Last of the Secret Agents? and as I mentioned above, the film often suffers from the somewhat stale television-like quality of the production.
Last of the Secret Agents? would become a minor launching point for some of the cast and crew to go on to bigger and better spy-related productions. Norman Abbott would return to television and direct episodes of the entertaining spy spoof Get Smart and Nancy Sinatra would go on to record the popular theme song for the James Bond film You Only Live Twice in 1967. Theodore Marcuse had acted in other spy spoofs before making Last of the Secret Agents? but afterward he appeared in the Doris Day spy comedy The Glass Bottom Boat and television shows like The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and The Wild Wild West, before his unfortunate and untimely death in a car accident in 1967.
It’s a shame that Last of the Secret Agents? isn’t available on DVD and is rarely shown on television anymore. With the popularity of the Austin Powers films, as well as current interest in the James Bond series, I personally hope that Paramount will consider releasing the movie in the future. It deserves to be seen by a wider audience that might enjoy its silly charms now that over 40 years have passed since the films initial release.
I recently had the opportunity to see Norman Jewison’s extremely silly and sometimes smart 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming for the first time in about 20 years when it played on TCM. When I was a kid The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming was one of my favorite comedies for reasons I can’t really explain, except it seemed to portray adults as I saw them then - easily frightened big kids who projected their fears onto their children and conformed to every bad idea that society and the government tossed their way.
I was afraid the film wouldn’t hold up after such a long period of time between my last viewing so my expectations were extremely low going into the movie but once it ended my appreciation for it remained. It’s no longer one of my favorite comedies but I really admire its undeniable charm and the way it manages to cram complex ideas into easily digested entertainment that the whole family can enjoy. Simply put, it’s a lightweight version of Kubrick’s brilliant Dr. Strangelove (1964) and it works.
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming opens with a Russian sub running aground in a small New England coastal town. Naturally chaos erupts because the U.S. is in the middle of the cold war and only four years have passed since the infamous Cuban Missile Crisis. The Americans think the Russians are invading and the whole town pulls out their guns and comes together to form a modern day militia in an effort to stop them. Of course things aren’t exactly what they seem since the Russians in the sub are merely trying to get back home. After bouts of hysteria and plenty of violent outbursts, the panicky town’s folk and the frazzled Russian soldiers manage to come together to save the life of a young child in peril and the sub returns home.
There are some standout performances in The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, including Carl Reiner’s terrific turn as a comedy writer trying to calm the paranoid town and the very funny Alan Arkin playing a smart Russian Lieutenant who’s trying to get a handle on the slowly escalating events all around him. Brian Keith is also very good as the town Sheriff who can’t believe the situation he’s found himself in. Arkin’s Russian Lieutenant and Keith’s small town Sheriff could have been roles written purely for easy laughs but they’re not. Viewers are asked to sympathize with both men in some ways and we do. The gorgeous John Philip Law also shows up as a Russian solider who speaks a little bit of English and ends up falling for a perky American blond played by Andrea Dromm. The two young lovebirds make a cute couple and their romance echoes themes found in Shakespeare’s classic play Romeo and Juliet, which gives the film an emotional core that I personally found rather sweet and appealing.
The beauty of The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming seems perfectly clear today as we deal with some vaguely defined idea of an enemy we’re supposed to fear enough to give up our Constitutional Freedoms and basic human compassion for. The film has often been unfairly criticized for its dated jokes, simple plot and silly slapstick style humor. But if the ideas presented in Norman Jewison’s film are so dated, simple and silly, why are people still making the same absurd mistakes outlined in a movie made some 40 years ago? If anything, the film’s basic premise and themes are as pertinent as ever. Underneath all the movie’s jokes and gentleness, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming knows that war is a nasty business and there are rarely any victors.
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming has often been compared to It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) due to it’s title, characters and a large cast that happens to have some similar actors including Jonathan Winters, but I think The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming is a much stronger film that is willing to explore big ideas that were not very popular at the time that the movie was made, while keeping its tongue firmly planted in its cheek. Apparently the movie was banned in the USSR after its release, but it was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar in 1966.
The script is based on a novel called The Off-Islanders by the American author Nathaniel Benchley who happens to be the father of Jaws author Peter Benchley. I find it amusing that both men wrote books set in small New England towns where they were raised. And both stories focus on a town being terrorized by some unknown scary “other.” It’s also worth noting that one of my favorite American filmmakers, the great Hal Ashby, also acted as an editor on the movie.
These days it can be hard to find anything worth smiling about but if you haven’t seen The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming I recommend giving it a look. It just might make you laugh. The movie is available on DVD from Amazon and it’s playing again on Turner Movie Classics Nov. 28th when the great actor Brian Dennehy hosts four of his favorite films. I really like Brian Dennehy so I was happy to discover that he selected the film to play with two other films from the sixties, Karel Reisz‘s gritty British drama Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960) and Bryan Forbes‘s British comedy The Wrong Box (1966). I’ve wanted to see The Wrong Box for years, but it isn’t available on DVD yet so I’ll be watching it on TCM Nov. 28th.
This week’s Recommended DVD Release of the Week is the Trinity Twin Pack from Hen’s Tooth Video which contains the films They Call Me Trinity (1970) and Trinity Is Still My Name (1971). The Trinity movies have been available on DVD for awhile, but this new DVD set features all-new digital transfers remastered from the original Technicolor prints and both films are presented in their correct widescreen ratios for the first time.
As I mentioned back in May, I really enjoy all the Spaghetti Western comedies starring the handsome blue-eyed Italian/German actor Terence Hill (a.k.a. Mario Girotti). Both movies in the Trinity Twin Pack feature Terence Hill along with his longtime co-star Bud Spencer (a.k.a. Carlo Pedersoli) as two unlikely half-brothers who find themselves in all sorts of unusual and very funny situations in the wild and wacky west. The Trinity films parody previous Spaghetti Westerns and seem to really enjoy poking fun at the genre as well as celebrating its eccentricities.
The talented Italian director and cinematographer Enzo Barboni directed and wrote both of the Trinity movies featured in the Trinity Twin Pack and he really knows how to make entertaining slapstick comedies that appeal to all-ages. I first saw the Trinity films when I was just a kid and I still find them funny today. Both of these Trinity movies contain plenty of creative gunplay and exciting action, but the violence and bloodshed found in many Spaghetti Westerns has been replaced by lots of laughs.
The Trinity Twin Pack DVD set is currently available at Amazon and you should be able to find both movies at better online DVD rental sources like Netflix and Greencine.
A semi-nude and tattooed Sean Connery in A Fine Madness (1966)
August Movie Review Roundup . . .
Last month my computer suffered a major meltdown and had to be replaced which really slowed down my writing. I was only able to complete one review for Cinedelica last month and that was for Irvin Kershner’s dark comedy A Fine Madness (1966) which stars a rather young and super cute Sean Connery. I had mixed reactions to the film, but if you’re curious about Kershner’s early work or just want to see Connery in his prime, A Fine Madness is well worth a look.
Adam Ross who runs the terrific DVD Panche blog was nice enough to ask me to be interviewed for his ongoing “Friday Screen Test” and I happily agreed. If you’d like to find out a little more about me you can find my answers to Adam’s questions at his blog.
Before my computer suffered a meltdown I was able to send the guys who run the great If Charlie Parker was a Gunslinger, there’d be a whole lot of dead copycats blog a bunch of images that had been languishing on my computer for their “Contributer Week” which I believe is still going strong. If you’re interested in checking out my contributions as well as all other great submissions stop by the blog and give them a look.
I recently got the chance to watch the terrific William Witney film Darktown Strutters (a.k.a. Get Down and Boogie, 1975) and really enjoyed it. Witney started directing action films and westerns in the ’30s and he’s now mostly remembered for the popular television serials he directed. One of the last films he made was the unusual biker and blaxploitation parody Darktown Strutters, which is undoubtedly one of the most surreal musical comedies made during the seventies. I’ve been interested in seeing this movie for years and I’m glad that I finally got around to watching it.
The film centers around a group of lovely ass-kicking women who ride around the Watts area of Los Angeles on their stylish customized motorbikes. When the mother of the gang’s leader Syreena (Trina Parks) goes missing, the girls find themselves running from hapless law enforcement officers, fighting off the KKK and finally taking down a fast food selling Col. Sanders clone called Louisville Cross in order to find her.
Before Syreena’s mom disappeared she was organizing the construction of an abortion clinic with financial help from Louisville Cross. Unbeknownst to anyone, Cross poses as a benefactor to the black community, but he’s really just a closeted racist who has created a bizarre machine that can clone human beings. He’s kidnapping black leaders with the help of the KKK in order to clone them, and he plans on using these clones to do his evil bidding and in turn wreck havoc on the black community.
Director William Witney uses slapstick humor and lots of cartoonish props to tell his strange tale. The film parodies many clichés found in earlier blaxploitation films, but it’s also a smart and super stylish low-budget comedy that takes a serious jab at white capitalists who often carelessly use the black community for their own good. Darktown Strutters deals with many important issues including racism, sexism, police brutality and abortion, while keeping it’s tongue firmly planted in its cheek at all times. The comedy is often surprisingly dark as well as ridiculously silly, and it’s bound to offend and surprise more than a few viewers.
Trina Parks delivers a unforgettable performance as the biker babe gang leader Syreena. The statuesque Parks stands almost 6 feet tall and it’s easy to believe that this Amazonian queen could knock the hot air out of any creep that gets in her way. The rest of the motorcycle riding ladies are also really good, but they don’t get as much screen time as Ms. Parks.
Other stand out performances include Roger E. Mosley (best known as ‘TC’ from the Magnum, P.I. television series) as the leader of a scooter riding gang who falls hard for Syreena and the great character actor Dick Miller shows up as one of the pitiful keystone cops. The film also features the musical act The Dramatics who get to perform their funky hit single “What You See Is What You Get,” while being held as prisoners in Louisville Cross’s dungeon.
One of the best things about Darktown Strutters is the amazing costume designs by Michael Nicola. I’ve seen a lot of great ‘70s style fashion in many terrific blaxploitation films such as the jaw-dropping designs in Cleopatra Jones (1973), but Nicola’s designs for Darktown Struttersare truly stunning and like most things in this unusual movie, they must be seen to be believed.
The movie is officially out-of-print, but you can still find used copies of the video version of Darktown Strutters on Amazon or selling on eBay.
Billy Wilder & Shirley MacLaine on the set of The Apartment (1960)
“We started filming The Apartment with twenty-nine pages of script and Jack Lemmon and I had no idea how the film would end and neither did Billy Wilder, the director. So he just watched our relationship to see how the chemistry would evolve. Everything was evolving. At the time I was hanging with Frank and Dean, learning how to play Gin Rummy (That’s why the Gin game is in The Apartment). Billy Wilder was such a fabulous writer/director that the studio just financed the film without knowing what he would do, but they did know his reputation of creating great films and the studios knew their investment was secure. Billy could do a film on the phone book and studios and actors would stand in line to be part of the project.
The Apartment was great… a wonderful shoot and it was one of the first pictures where we mixed comedy and drama together. And many of the people at the screening seemed confused as to whether it was comedy or drama. I remember Marilyn Monroe was at the screening. She had no makeup on and was wrapped up in a mink coat. In her low whispery voice she said… “The picture is a wonderful examination of the corporate world.” My mouth flew open! She got it!
Jack Lemmon was terrific and such a nice guy. And Jack was a pro in every theatrical sense of the word. Billy was in love with Jack’s talent. The chemistry between the two was a joy to watch. In fact it was such a wonderful experience that I would come to the set on my days off just to observe two masters at work. Billy would have Jack do ten, twelve, seventeen takes of a scene to just watch him improve each scene. But in the process of this character development Billy couldn’t decide whether to let Jack just be brilliant or whether to control him.
We shot the film at United Artists which is where I made a string of hits including Irma la Douce (1963) and The Children’s Hour (1961). One day we were at lunch in the commissary and I was depressed about something. Billy and Jack were at my table, when I blurted out, “Why do people have to be in love with people anyway?” “That’s it! That’s it!” Billy yelled. He got up from the table and went back to the set and rebuilt it with that commissary scene.
Billy Wilder would never shoot a master shot. We never had a rehearsal with a master shot. So we never knew what we were actually doing. For a close up he would say, “Be upset.” If you asked, “Why am I upset Billy?” he would say “Because that’s what I want”.
In the scene from The Apartment, where Jack socks the guy… the brother, to get the shock on my face he cracked a 2 x 4 piece of wood, which startled me and gave Billy the shot he wanted.
Working with Billy was like one long ten-week lesson… and apparently it paid off for me, because I received my second Academy Award nomination, for Best Actress of 1960. I lost to Elizabeth Taylor for Butterfield 8, but The Apartment won best picture.
Working with Jack was “magic time”. His staring power was more and more evident as his career grew. He has left us a legacy of supreme humor, drama and talent, which we will be forever grateful. His genius was so riveting that even today I can close my eyes and be reminded yet again that he is the master of magic himself and a real friend throughout all time.”
- Shirley MacLaine in her own words on shooting The Apartment. To read more about Shirley and her films visit her website @ ShirleyMacLaine.com.
This is my very small non-contribution to the Billy Wilder Blog-A-Thon being hosted at Filmscreed. I love Billy Wilder and I would have put something more substantial together if I had more time, but I just learned about it today and wanted to spread the word. The Apartment (1960) is one of my favorite comedies from the 1960s and arguably one of the best dark comedies ever made.
Billy Wilder wrote some amazing scripts and made a lot of great films. Besides The Apartment, my personal favorite Wilder films are Double Indemnity (1944), Sunset Blvd. (1950), Stalag 17 (1953), The Seven Year Itch (1955), Some Like It Hot (1959), Irma la Douce (1963) and The Fortune Cookie (1966). I personally think Wilder did comedy better then drama, but I really wish he would have made more noir films.
During the sixties there were literally thousands of spy spoofs made following the popularity of the early James Bond films. One of the silliest of these was Norman Abbott’s Last of the Secret Agents? (1966), which was the first and last film that attempted to make cinema stars out of the comedy team Allen & Rossi (Marty Allen & Steve Rossi). Allen & Rossi were a comedic duo that became popular on the Ed Sullivan Show during The Beatles’ heyday and they were patterned after Martin & Lewis (Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis), but their style of comedy was becoming rather dated as the sixties wore on. Last of the Secret Agents? was butchered by critics on its initial release and Allen & Rossi never appeared in a film together again. They ended their partnership in 1969 and Last of the Secret Agents? was basically forgotten.
and it’s playing again on Turner Movie Classics Nov. 28th when the great actor 
from Hen’s Tooth Video which contains the films They Call Me Trinity (1970) and Trinity Is Still My Name (1971). The Trinity movies have been available on DVD for awhile, but this new DVD set features all-new digital transfers remastered from the original Technicolor prints and both films are presented in their correct widescreen ratios for the first time.
As I mentioned 
or selling on eBay.
