TO TRAP A SPY (1964)
Article 2425 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 11-16-2007
Posting Date: 4-2-2008
Directed by Don Medford
Featuring Robert Vaughn, Luciana Paluzzi, Pat Crowley

Napoleon Solo investigates the partial report of a now-deceased agent who indicated that an assassination would take place when several representatives from the newly-formed government of an African nation tour a plant.

This is one of the classiest of the movies derived from the TV series, “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”. I also found it one of the most interesting, as it was expanded from the pilot episode of the series (“The Vulcan Affair”), and it gave me a chance to see how the series was originally conceived. It’s the most overtly Bondian of the series, with a lot of footage dealing with Solo’s flirtation with various beautiful women. It also answered a question I’ve long had about the series – why it was called “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” rather than “The Men from U.N.C.L.E.” Here, Napoleon Solo largely works alone; David McCallum’s appearances as Illya Kuryakin are minimal and confined to the opening half hour of the movie. The villain is a group called WASP (not THRUSH), and Leo G. Carroll’s Mr. Waverly does not exist; instead, a Mr. Allison (played by Will Kuluva) is the head of U.N.C.L.E. As usual with this type of genre, the fantastic content is marginal, confined to the slight science fiction elements having to do with the technology that is used by the spies and villains.