KISS THE GIRLS AND MAKE THEM DIE (1966)
aka Se tutte le donne del mondo
Article 3000 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 7-25-2009
Posting Date: 10-31-2009
Directed by Henry Levin and Arduino Miauri
Featuring Mike Connors, Dorothy Provine, Raf Vallone
Country: Italy

An American CIA agent investigates the dealings of a man in Rio de Janeiro who is suspected of being a white slaver. He discovers a plot to render the entire population of the world sterile.

For an Italian James Bond ripoff it’s surprisingly well done, and since most of the main characters are played by English-speaking actors, there’s not a lot of dubbing problems to contend with. Nonetheless, there are problems here. The music and pacing are very laid back, too much so for an exercise in superspydom; though it gives the whole movie a surprisingly amiable quality, it also makes the proceedings rather lethargic on occasion. It works best when it plays up the comedy, which is to say that Terry-Thomas steals the movie every time he appears in either of his two roles. There’s plenty of science fiction gadgetry to add to the fantastic content as well, what with the rocket, the secret underground site, the use of suspended animation, etcetera, etcetera. Mike Connors is pleasant enough as the banana-eating Bond substitute here, and Dorothy Provine wears some of the most bizarre costumes I’ve seen in a movie of this ilk. It would have been nice if they had picked up the pace and gone clearly in the direction of comedy. Incidentally, this is one of Quentin Tarantino’s favorite movies.