rodrig58 Women are indeed more dangerous than men, I know it from my own experience. Sylva Koscina (34 years old when the film was made) and Elke Sommer (27 years old when the film was made) lookalike two Amazons-sirens just came out of the sea and you don't know what is more dangerous, their personal charms or their deadly harpoons. Also, who's cigars smoker, would do well to check that smoke from now, lest to shoot himself tugging fumes, because Elke Sommer is still alive. Very entertaining action movie, I've seen it many times and I'm always watching it again with great pleasure.

Bogmeister MASTER PLAN: expand a corporate empire via simple assassinations. Capt. Hugh 'Bulldog' Drummond, a gentleman who indulged in detective work, was conceived in the 1920's in a series of novels and was in quite a few films in the 1930's and 40's. The last one before this was a 1951 potboiler "Calling Bulldog Drummond," with Walter Pidgeon. This late-in-the-game restart of sorts has Mr. Drummond (not referred to as 'Bulldog' here) as little more than an insurance investigator. However, the character and plot borrow heavily from the popular James Bond formula of the sixties and results in the closest approximation to the actual Bond films during this period, more so than the 'Flint' duo of films and the Matt Helm series of films, which featured American spies. The actor Johnson, as Drummond, even resembles Sean Connery in some shots, with a similar virile approach, a slight grim smirk & tough demeanor, and Johnson is a fine actor, so this isn't just some silly parody; yet, it does capture that same vicious streak of gallows humor. So, yes, the wicked humor is there - I mean, really wicked. The two main femme fatales (played by Sommer & Koscina) are curvaceous assassins and they're outrageously effective (hence, the film's title). They are completely amoral, enjoying their work and behaving as if they're shopping in some high-end store rather than killing people. Some of their scenes, the terminations, actually made me wince a little, probably because I'm not used to seeing such cruelty and callousness on film from females, even if it is comedic in nature and tone. Ironically, the lethal ladies would be copied by the Bond films in "Diamonds Are Forever," where the assassins were gay males rather than female.The plot tends to be fiendishly funny, if you like that dark satire take on things: the head villain is an out-of-control capitalist, moving through the corporate world with a new set of rules and simplistic ruthlessness. If, for example, members of a board vote on a corporate resolution and it's tied 5 to 5, he simply disposes of the member whom he feels is holding up the vote, to change it in his favor. Drummond catches on to this, of course, and becomes the latest target. The best and most intense scene, straight out of the Bond movies and about an hour in, is the requisite 'villain and henchpeople have a last supper with the hero as planned victim' scenario. But, Drummond taunts the villain and provokes the henchman (a burly poor man's Oddjob) into some bad moves. Drummond proves to be fearless - he's surrounded by characters we now know to be very dangerous and ends up mocking them all - it's one of the best Bond scenes and it's not in a Bond movie. Drummond then defies expectations by refusing to partake in the also-requisite 'hero & femme fatale seduction scene,' much to the lady's surprise and anger. And, even though the budget is understandably lower than a typical Bonder (while we're in London in the 1st half, there's barely any spectacle), the filmmakers do manage to throw in that wild, weird chess board later, outdoing many of the grander set-pieces in the Bond films. Since Johnson plays it straight, even straighter than Connery some might say, much of this resembles "Dr.No" and "From Russia With Love," the Bonders which relied mostly on pure espionage. Sommer and actor Nigel Green would reunite in the Matt Helm Bond-spoof "The Wrecking Crew," playing similar characters. Drummond and Johnson would return one more time in "Some Girls Do." Hero:8 Villain:8 Femme Fatales:9 Henchmen:6 Fights:7 Stunts/Chases:6 Gadgets:6 Auto:6 Locations:7 Pace:8 overall:7

bensonmum2 Richard Johnson (of The Haunting fame) is Bulldog Drummond, a insurance investigator trying to uncover what happened to one of the planes his company had written a policy on. It's not long before anyone with information for him turns up dead. And most of the deaths "appear" to be accidents. Before you can say "Shaken, Not Stirred", Drummond is up to his neck in hired killers and a mad genius.Deadlier Than the Male has a lot to enjoy. The 60s feel, Johnson's Drummond, Nigel Green, terrific locations, and the implausible yet wonderful gadgets and traps are all a delight. But my absolute favorite moments are those between the two hired henchmen (or should that be henchwomen or maybe even henchpersons) played by Elke Sommer and Sylva Koscina. There constant spats and barbed remarks are a riot.There are a lot of bad Bond wannabes out there, this is one of the good ones.

mike robson Perhaps the best of the escapist superspy movies spawned by the James Bond phenomenon,"Deadlier than the male" benefits by taking itself more seriously than the leering and campy approach found in,for example,the "Matt Helm" series and the 2 "Derek Flint" films.Richard Johnson-who could well have played James Bond,and would have brought more humanity to the role than any of the actors who played 007 managed,is excellent as Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond(a character featured in a series of books in the 20s and 30s and a number of "b" movies,reborn here as a secret agent for the swinging 60s).Nigel Green is also perfect,as a suave and very dangerous master criminal.The female assassins,played by 60s stunners Elke Sommer and Sylva Koscina,are allowed to be despicably evil,and without any redeeming features(they are as keen to sadistically torture people as they are to kill them),and the sight of the murderous pair in bikinis emerging from the ocean with harpoon guns,should be as iconic as the "Ursula Andress hits the beach" moment in "Dr No".Unfortunately the sequel to this movie,"Some girls do"(1969),though not without interest,adopted the over the top camp "Deadlier than the male" avoided,and ended the franchise.