DEADLIER THAN THE MALE (1966)
Article #1499 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 4-22-2005
Posting Date: 9-19-2005
Directed by Ralph Thomas
Featuring Richard Johnson, Elke Sommer, Sylva Koscina

Insurance Investigator Hugh Drummond discovers an organization that hires itself out to corporations to facilitate business deals but uses assassination as its modus operandi.

This was the first of the two movies to revive the character of Bulldog Drummond and cast him in the James Bond mold. These movies are far and away my favorite of that genre; truth be told, I think I prefer them to the Bonds. Maybe its because they’re less stunt-oriented (I’m not a big fan of stunt cinema) and more story and humor oriented. In this one, the assassinations are committed by two beautiful women (Sommer and Koscina) who use time bombs, spear-guns and fatal variations on the exploding cigar gag. Fans of character actor Milton Reid will also find him here as a black belt instructor. The movie also features a great chess sequence, and my favorite use of kleptomania as a plot point to date. Sadly, this series never lasted very long.