THE TRAP SNAPS SHUT AT MIDNIGHT

Jerry Cotton (George Nader) goes into action!

THE TRAP SNAPS SHUT AT MIDNIGHT (aka Um Null Uhr schnappt die Halle zu/1966). Director: Harald Philipp.  

A small-time operator named Hatton (Gert Gunther Hoffmann) steals a truck and is alarmed to discover it is stuffed with vats of nitroglycerine. The cool blonde Maureen (Dominique Wilms of OSS 117 -- Panic in Bangkok) acts as go-between for him and big-time operator Larry Link (Horst Frank of Eye in the Labryinth), but Hatton isn't in the picture for long. Link contacts the authorities and threatens to use the nitro to blow up Manhattan if he isn't paid one million smackers. FBI agent Jerry Cotton (George Nader) and his partner Phil Decker (Heinz Weiss) are assigned to get the crooks and find the nitro -- before a summer heat wave causes it to explode! 

Dominique Wilms and George Nader

This is the third of the West German Jerry Cotton films starring George Nader, and as usual it's entertaining and well-played. The film is distinguished by two exciting action scenes: when Jerry masquerades as a window washer and nearly falls to the sidewalk far below; and a tense sequence on the Manhattan Bridge when Jerry has to fight off a thug and get rid of a bomb attached to one of the nitro canisters at one and the same time. The editing manages to blend Jerry and the other characters into the New York City exteriors quite well, and the irritating theme music is used sparingly for a change. 

Verdict: More than decent action film from West Germany. ***. 

OSS 117 -- PANIC IN BANGKOK

Kerwin Mathews 

OSS 117 -- PANIC IN BANGKOK (aka Shadow of Evil aka /Banco a Bangkok pour OSS 117/1964). Director:  Andre Hunebelle.

Operative Hubert Bonisseur (Kerwin Mathews of The Boy Who Cried Werewolf) -- a lover boy with a real line -- is assigned to replace a murdered agent who was investigating a series of plague outbreaks in Thailand. In Bangkok Hubert works with a man named Leacock (Henri Virlojeux) and gains an enthusiastic and helpful assistant in Sonsak (Akom Mokramond). After interviewing Professor Hogby (Jacques Hilling) and his pretty blond secretary, Eva (Dominique Wilms), Hubert set his sights on a charismatic character named Dr. Sinn (Robert Hossein) -- or rather Sinn's lovely sister, Lila (Pier Angeli). Hubert is unaware that Eva is Sinn's lover. Sooner or later, Hubert hopes to uncover exactly who is unleashing the deadly plague -- and why.

Robert Hossein as Dr. Sinn

Well, with one character named "Dr. Sinn" you may not be too surprised at the identity of the villain in this, but you may be surprised that OSS 117 is as (modestly) entertaining as it is. Mathews makes an effective leading man, and Hossein is equally good as his adversary, A group called the Elected People have decided to wipe out most of the world's population and start over again, or something like that. There's a nifty fight scene in a hotel, some nice photography and music, and the Bangkok settings are well chosen. However, while the movie holds the attention it utterly lacks the big scale action and excitement of the best of the Bond films, so some viewers may find this a snooze. OSS 117 was a character in French spy novels, and after the success of Dr. No, OSS 117 is Unleashed  -- also starring Kerwin Mathews -- was released. with Panic in Bangkok being the sequel. Since then there has been a whole series of foreign eurospy OSS 117 movies from the sixties until today with the part being played by John Gavin, Frederick Stafford and others. Kerwin Mathews and Pier Angeli reteamed for Octaman. (In French with subtitles.)  

Verdict: So-so spy film with Mathews making like a lower-key Bond. **1/2.