Our Man Flint
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| Our Man Flint | |
|---|---|
 original film poster |
|
| Directed by | Daniel Mann |
| Produced by | Saul David |
| Written by | Hal Fimberg Ben Starr |
| Starring | James Coburn Lee J. Cobb Gila Golan |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Release date(s) | January 16, 1966 (U.S.) |
| Running time | 108 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Our Man Flint is a 1966 action film which stars James Coburn as Derek Flint. Directed by Daniel Mann, the premise of the film is that a trio of mad scientists attempt to blackmail the world with a weather-control machine.
Derek Flint is a rough parody of the James Bond franchise, which had gained momentum in the 1960s with Sean Connery representing the British super-agent on the silver screen. Common traits for the two are:
- The adversary being a powerful criminal organisation
- An appreciation of and by beautiful women
- Usage of exotic gadgetry
- Vast general knowledge
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
Super-cool spy Derek Flint, ex-agent of Z.O.W.I.E., is lured out of retirement to deal with the threat of Galaxy, a world-wide organization led by a trio of Utopian mad scientists: Doctor Krupov (Williams), Doctor Wu (Brocco), and Doctor Schneider (Fong). Despairing of the world's governments ever getting their acts together, they demand that the governments all capitulate to Galaxy. To enforce their demands, they initiate earthquakes, volcanoes, storms, and other natural disasters with their climate-control apparatus.
Flint is motivated to take them on, not by the pleas of his former boss Lloyd Cramden (Cobb), but due to a preëmptive assassination attempt by Galaxy's section head Gila (Golan). Gila covertly replaces a restaurant's harpist while Flint is dining with his four live-in "playmates": Leslie (Grant), Anna (Valdis), Gina (Serra), and Sakito (Funai). Gila uses a harpstring as a bow to fire a poisoned dart, which misses Flint, but hits Cramden. Flint uses field rescue techniques to literally suck the poison out of the wound, saving Cramden's life.
Investigating a lead provided by a chemical trace on the dart takes Flint to Marseilles for bouillabaisse. In one of Marseilles' raunchiest strip clubs (which, ironically, appears to serve the best bouillabaisse) he gains some useful information from "famous" Agent 0008 during a faked brawl, and clashes with Galaxy agent Hans Gruber (St. Clair) who is there to meet Gila. Flint fights and ultimately kills Gruber in a toilet stall, while Gila exits the scene after leaving behind a booby-trapped cold cream jar, replacing the original contents with explosives. Flint chases all the (relatively) innocent bystanders from the club and detonates the bomb.
The remains of the jar lead Flint to Rome. After checking out several cosmetic companies, Flint investigates Exotica, where he formally meets Gila for the first time. He seduces Gila, getting her to take him to her apartment for an exchange of information and "bodily fluids". Following their encounter, he steals the keys to Exotica and breaks into the company's safe, learning of Galaxy's location before being trapped inside by Gila's snide assistant, Malcolm Rodney (Mulhare). Gila convinces Rodney that the safe will become a suffocation-deathtrap as they transport the safe to a waiting submarine. During the journey, Flint learns that his playmates have been kidnapped and taken to Galaxy's island headquarters, then uses his power of self-induced suspended animation to fool the duo into thinking they have successfully killed him. Gila and Rodney take an "evidence" photograph of the "body", which they send to Cramden, then carry Flint back to headquarters on the submarine.
Flint covertly revives and sneaks into the Galaxy complex, but his infiltration attempt is thwarted and he is taken before Galaxy's trio of leaders. Offered a chance to join their new order, he declares that Galaxy's vision of the world doesn't sound all that Utopian to him, and is sentenced to death by disintegration. Gila has (naturally) fallen in love with Flint, and changes sides, slipping him his gadget-filled cigarette lighter before being hauled away to be turned into a Pleasure Unit - a fate which has already befallen Flint's playmates. With the help of the lighter, Flint again escapes, rescues his playmates and Gila, kills Rodney and destroys Galaxy headquarters.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| James Coburn | Derek Flint |
| Gila Golan | Gila |
| Lee J. Cobb | Lloyd Cramden |
| Edward Mulhare | Malcolm Rodney |
| Rhys Williams | Doctor Krupov |
| Peter Brocco | Doctor Wu |
| Benson Fong | Doctor Schneider |
| Michael St. Clair | Hans Gruber |
| Shelby Grant | Leslie |
| Sigrid Valdis | Anna |
| Helen Funai | Sakito |
| Gianna Sera | Gina |
[edit] Trivia
The uncredited actor playing the overseer of the Pleasure Unit process is Dick Wilson, who later gained fame as "Mr. Wipple" in a long string of commercials for Charmin toilet paper.
The continuous-belt elevator which figures in Flint's chase through Galaxy's command complex is an example of a paternoster.
The distinctive ring-tone of Cramden's much-used "presidential hotline" phone was later reused in the films Hudson Hawk and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.
As revealed by a plaque in the movie, Z.O.W.I.E. stands for Zonal Organization for World Intelligence and Espionage.
Malcolm Rodney was clearly meant to be one of many potential foils from the Rodney clan Flint could have faced in the past, or in future sequels that never got made. Flint makes a show of pointing at the family crest on his blazer asking why "the Rodneys always choose the wrong side". Another explanation is that Flint is pointing out a bend sinister in the coat of arms.
Agent 0008 is an explicit parody version of James Bond, and is the subject of a series of adventure novels within the story.
[edit] Sequel
In Like Flint (1967) was directed by Gordon Douglas, and again starred James Coburn, with Cobb also reprising his role as Lloyd C. Cramden.
