SECRET AGENT FIREBALL (1965)
aka Le spie uccidono a Beirut
Article 3744 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 11-2-2011
Posting Date: 11-14-2011
Directed by Luciano Martino
Featuring Richard Harrison, Dominique Boschero, Luciano Pigozzi
Country: Italy / France
What it is: Spyghetti

Agent Bob Fleming is on the trail of a microfilm that is in the hands of a defecting Russian scientist. Can he get it before the Russians do?

The story is fast-moving, clearly told, and fairly exciting. Furthermore, the comic relief cab-driving sidekick is actually fairly amusing, even when dubbed; maybe it’s because he’s used sparingly and keeps the humor at the right level. As a result, I think this is one of the better Spyghetti features I’ve seen; it’s certainly more engaging than yesterday’s entry (OPERATION POKER). On the down side, the science fiction content is rather disappointing; the Maguffin turns out to be plans for the Russian H-Bomb, which, since both sides had the weapon at this point, doesn’t enter the realm of science fiction. That leaves the science fiction content to be the gimmickry; there’s a car that’s set up to set fire to another car parked behind it, there are pills that serve as radio transmitters, and there’s a potentially cool miniature laser used by the hero; unfortunately, he only uses it to cut through some ropes at one point, which is disappointing. This was apparently the first of three movies using the character of Bob Fleming.