Our Man Flint

Super smooth freelance agent and dapper playboy millionaire Derek Flint (the always amiable and engaging James Coburn on top of his game) has to stop the nefarious criminal organization Galaxy from taking over the Earth through manipulating the weather. Director Daniel Mann, working from a hip and witty script by Hal Fimberg and Ben Starr, relates the eventful and hugely entertaining story at a snappy pace, maintains a winningly sly tongue-in-cheek tone throughout, and stages the fight scenes with genuine aplomb. Coburn's supremely cool, assured, and charismatic presence really keeps the picture humming throughout; he receives sturdy support from Lee J. Cobb as Flint's huffy boss Cramden, the gorgeous Gila Golan as lovely, yet lethal femme fatale Gila, Edward Mulhare as suave killer Malcom Rodney, and Benson Fong as evil scientist Dr. Schneider. The bevy of beautiful gals (Shelby Grant, Sigrid Valdis, Gianna Serra, and Helen Funai are all quite foxy and sexy as Flint's live-in distaff companions), Jerry Goldsmith's wonderfully lush and groovy swinging score, a neat array of funky gadgets (Flint's watch and lighter are both amazing), Daniel L. Fapp's vibrant widescreen cinematography, the sharp dialogue (favorite line: "An anti-American eagle; it's diabolical"), and the lively and exciting climax all further enhance the gloriously kitschy fun. A total blast.

I had high hopes for this spy spoof from the mid 60's given its supposed influence on Austin Powers and all, but in truth it's pretty tame and very dated. James Coburn brings a neat Zen-type coolness to the title part but there's very little for him to play against here. There's no evil megalomaniac to lock horns with, indeed the three scientists who invent the weather controlling machine which threatens the world do seem to actually mean it when they say they're doing it for the greater good and even the protagonist Rodney character, besides looking like Michael Caine's older brother carries almost no physical threat whatsoever to our hero so that their fight near the end doesn't even qualify as anti-climactic. It goes without saying that the females in the cast are mere decoration, scantily clad in the main, subservient to Flint's every whim, almost literally "pleasure units" for the male viewers delight. There's an absence of real action or tension throughout while the mock up miniature sets showing the effects of nature in revolt or the exploding island at the end are ridiculously obvious and the fight sequences similarly very lame indeed. Leave it to Sean...

A dull parody of the spy-movie, made at the time when James Bond had the fascinating persona of Sean Connery. The film is flat, one-dimensional. I remember watching it at the time, as a boy; it was boring. The only mild item of interest were the parodies of the gimmicks that secret agents used in such movies. I remember a funny telephone ringer that did a musical tune, instead of the metallic "breeeeng!" we were used to at the time. With present-day cellphones playing symphonies and ouvertures, even that mild humour has been lost.

I remembered bits and pieces of this movie prior to seeing it again, because they stuck in my mind from my childhood. Maybe that's the way it should have stayed because I found "Our man Flint" really isn't as funny as I had thought. It's just a silly movie with a silly leading man with silly inventions that make MacGyver look like a boy scout. The funniest bit in this parody is without a doubt the part when he joins the dance party to collect his girls. First that look he makes right before he enters, and then the "dance" he pulls off. I must have pushed the rewind button about a dozen times because it was so funny. A silly movie with neat ideas, a rather poor production and a good leading man. Outdated, granted, but still enjoyable. 6/10

In this, the first of the two 'Flint' films made by 20th-Century Fox, our intrepid hero is on a mission to (guess what?) foil an evil bid for world domination. This time the baddies have built a gizmo inside an extinct volcano, and this contrivance is able to control the planet's weather. The governments of all nations must capitulate ... unless Derek Flint can save the day. These low-budget spy satires are hard to like. James Coburn lacks the knowing self-parody of, say, Roger Moore and in my view doesn't pitch it quite right. He should have gone for the laughs a little more. The cool omnicompetence of Flint is not impressive, it's irritating. Lee J Cobb does the best that can be done with Flint's exasperated boss, but the part is one-dimensional. The UNCLE movies covered this territory with greater flair and flippant charm.

The only 60's spy flick to give Bond a run for his money, albeit with more silliness and less pretentiousness. Coburn, spot on as exotic retired super agent Derek Flint, very reluctantly rejoins the service when a group of scientists attempt to conquer the world through weather control. It doesn't help their cause that they kidnap all of Flint's girlfriends, in a strategy doomed to backfire. Cobb is great in his traditional role of curmudgeon authority figure, and Golan is a very attractive femme fatale, as I'm sure the rescuer who "inadvertently" mishandles her at film's end would agree. Consistently entertaining from the first reel to the last.

This boring, misogynistic, pretentious and obnoxious film takes itself way too seriously to qualify as a spy spoof. The film is sadistically violent and overly sexist. James Coburn plays super cool Derek Flint who is the best at everything and the dialog doesn't let us forget it for more than about 20 seconds at a time. There is absolutely NO humor or self-mockery of ANY type present in this film. Variations of the title theme are played throughout the film and have the same effect as the repetitious title theme in the sequel In Like Flint…ANNOYANCE. The production is embarrassing. Check out the computer room at the beginning or the constant shots of Galaxy Island in that bathtub that's supposed to be the ocean or the groovy pleasure unit disco. The women, unlike in the Matt Helm films, are mere sex objects. Too bad, since the only attractive women in this film is the `co-star', Gila Golan (whose carrer went nowhere after this film), who must have enjoyed making this insulting film so much that her weight seems to vary by at least 5 pounds depending on which scene you're watching. Check out how thin she is in the restaurant when she fires the poison dart at Flint and then check out her weight in her apartment and the scenes on Galaxy Island. When Cramden, head of Z.O.W.I.E. offers Flint a weapon with accessories, Flint refuses by offering up the now famous cigarette lighter, supposedly an All in 1 wonder. Funny that except for using it for sending messages or burning a hole in the safe he requires his shirt, jacket and pants for accessories. If you notice, Flint can't use the lighter on Galaxy Island because he's changed his clothes! Both Our Man Flint and In Like Flint rely on two clues that display Flint's culinary and chemistry expertise. Other than that, the dialog from both films lack wit and sophistication and there are no clever scenes such as in The Silencers or The Wrecking Crew. It takes more than two clues to make a spy movie. Apparently, Hal Fimberg, who created the Flint character, wasn't quite sure about Flint's personality. In Our Man Flint, Hal Fimberg accentuates Flint's physical and intellectual prowess and thus the character is more talkative and proactive. The superior sequel, and that's not saying much, In Like Flint, establishes Flint as a sexual icon whose mere existence causes women to swoon and events to occur. I don't feel I've done justice to how bad this film is but I've tried.

If you approach this movie thinking it's going to be a proto-Austin Powers you might be in for a disappointment. Sure, it's a James Bond spoof, but nowhere near as broad as you might expect. The Bond movies were becoming increasingly self parodic by the late 60s anyway, so there's not all THAT much difference between this and say 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service', except this is more entertaining than just about any post-Connery Bond in my opinion. James Coburn is just terrific as super spy Derek Flint, a role he was born to play. I can't say this is his best performance acting wise, but his most enjoyable role? Could be. The More you dig Coburn the more you'll enjoy the movie as let's face it, the plot is pretty thin, about some maverick scientists controlling the world's weather. But hey, it sure does LOOK great, and Gila Golan ('The Valley Of The Gwangi') makes a very sexy co-star. Plus you have respected character actor Lee J. Cobb, and if you keep your eyes open James Brolin, and even Russ Meyer babe Tura Satana in the supporting cast. Cool fun for 1960s buffs.

Shortly after the release of the 007 epic 'Thunderball' ( 1965 ), another secret agent was pulling big crowds into cinemas. 'Derek Flint' was unique in Bond imitators in that he was an original creation, not based on any literary source. Interviewed by the B.B.C. just before his death, star James Coburn said that the starting point of 'Flint' was 'Sherlock Holmes as it might have been written by Lewis Carroll'. He could have said instead 'James Bond as it might have been done by the makers of the 'Batman' television series'. The bright colours, the fast action, the sly humour, the sexy girls, all are redolent of that notorious '60's pop culture phenomenon. Bond was a fully-trained assassin, but Flint was more than that. He was multi-lingual, a crack shot, wrote scientific journals, taught ballet, and so on. He could even stop his heart from beating to feign death, reviving himself using a gadget in his wrist-watch. In fact Flint's expertise became a joke in itself. The film begins with the world in grave peril; an unknown enemy has found a way to control the weather. The chiefs of staff of Z.O.W.I.E. ( Zonal Organisation World Intelligence Network ) meet in Washington to discuss the problem, deciding to let computers choose a leader up to the job of saving the world. To the disgust of 'Cramden' ( Lee J.Cobb ), they choose the same man - Derek Flint. He served under Cramden during the war, and the crabby intelligence boss knows him to be a stubborn character who won't take orders. When Z.O.W.I.E. men call on Flint, they find him engaged in combat exercises, and he won't even talk to them. Cramden tries, but even he fails. It is only when enemy agents 'Gruber' ( Michael St.Clair ) and the lovely 'Gila' ( Gila Golan ) try to kill Flint at a New York restaurant that he realises he has a job whether he wants it or not... Hal Fimberg and Ben Starr's story moves from Marseilles to Rome and an uncharted volcanic island in the Pacific, belonging to the sinister GALAXY organisation, headed by 'Dr.Schneider' ( Bendon Fong ), 'Dr.Krupov' ( Rhys Williams ) and 'Dr.Wu' ( Peter Brocco ). Jack Pearl's novelisation indicates the script was written originally for a much bigger budget. We get to see the trap GALAXY set for Z.O.W.I.E. at the story's start, an attempt is made to kill Flint aboard his private Lear jet, and there is a lengthy chase sequence in Mexico City, culminating in Flint taking the place of a matador ( which explains the origins of the portrait seen in 'In Like Flint' ). The film was slightly ahead of its time in featuring martial arts fights - choreographed by Buzz Henry. In Coburn, the producers had an actor the equal of Sean Connery; in one hilarious scene, Flint even beats up a Connery-lookalike called 'Triple-0 Eight' ( Robert Gunner )! The 'perfect world' GALAXY wants to create looks nice and shiny on the outside - even Flint seems enchanted by it - but has a nasty under surface; recreational drug taking, women brainwashed to serve as sex slaves, even aggressively racist animals. It looks a lot like the city of the future seen in a later Saul David production - 'Logan's Run' ( 1976 ). Edward Mulhare makes a superbly caddish villain as 'Rodney' ( he has the heads of three black sheep for a family crest ), a pity he didn't return in the sequel. The film opened to good reviews and excellent box office, though not on the scale of 'Thunderball'. Our hero reappeared a year later in the disappointing 'In Like Flint'. A third film ( entitled either 'Bride Of Flint' or 'F For Flint' ) went unmade. The character was briefly revived for television in the mid-'70's, starring Ray Danton, but bore little resemblance to the original, and was not developed into a series. 'Our Man Flint' is easily the best of the 007 imitators, and remains entertaining still. The cherry on the cake is the great soundtrack by the late, much-missed Jerry Goldsmith.

Wow, here's another example of how times change...at least with me and films of the 1960s. What was fresh, new, exciting and funny back then now looks ludicrous, stupid and anything but funny. The women back then wore so much eye makeup they look grotesque, not beautiful. Anyway, this "Flint" series was another one that wanted to ride the popularity of the James Bond movies, so here we get a "spy spoof." The film is full of gadgets, humor, action and pretty women. Despite all that, looking at this 30-some years later, I found all of it too outdated and just plain stupid. It was fun then, but it's dumb now.