OUR MAN IN JAMAICA

Larry Pennell as Agent 001

OUR MAN IN JAMAICA/aka A 001: operazione Giamaica/1965.) Director: Richard Jackson. 

Ken Stewart, aka Agent 001 (Larry Pennell), is sent to Jamaica to investigate the disappearance of Larry Peacock, Agent 009. Once there, Stewart pretends to be an antique dealer, and establishes a friendship with Mrs. Cervantes (Linda Sini), who is also in the business. But Larry develops a more personal relationship with the older woman's secretary, Gloria (Barbara Valentin), and Larry's sister, Jane (Margitta Scherr). Joining forces with Captain Mike Jefferson (Brad Harris), Stewart tries to uncover the true identity of an arms dealer operating out of the island, and winds up in the villain's makeshift electric chair! 

Brad Harris as Captain Jefferson

Clearly modeled after Dr. No -- although with a much less interesting villain -- Our Man in Jamaica is a fair-to-middling Eurospy film that features all of the usual elements, including an American actor in the lead; Pennell is fine as the spy. Brad Harris, also an American, went on to co-star in several more eurospy films in the Kommissar X series. This is a pretty low-tech affair -- a high-frequency recorder seems to be Agent 001's only gadget -- with location filming, and women who are far less beautiful than you usually see in Bond movies. Like Dr. No, the villain in this, played by Wolfgang Kieling, has his own private island, but there isn't much of interest on it. A pop tune that deliberately sounds like music for the Bond films plays over the opening credits.

The film has a hilarious prologue, with both Stewart and a lady friend passed out after a night of lovemaking. The woman says "You can marry me, like you said." To which a hungover Stewart replies: "Who are you?" Unlike a lot of eurospy movies, Our Man in Jamaica manages to hold the attention and proceeds at a relatively swift pace, but it never quite develops into anything that memorable. Italy-West Germany-Spain co-production. 

Verdict: Well-played and smooth but no Dr. No. **1/2. 

MISSION BLOODY MARY

Dick Malloy (Ken Clark) works at his favorite occupation

MISSION BLOODY MARY (aka Agente 077 missione Bloody Mary/1965). Director: Sergio Grieco. 

"Bloody Mary" is the code name for a  new nuclear bomb called B-32. When the bomb is stolen from the wreckage of a plane that crashed in France, CIA agent 077, Dick Malloy (Ken Clark), is sent into action, taking time away from the women he loves to romance and bed. He has a stocky assistant named Lester (Antonio Gradoli) and also hooks up with a friendly taxi driver (Andrea Scotti) after escaping from a yacht. But his main contact is Dr. Elsa Freeman (Helga Line). Dick finds the bomb inside a block of stone inside a factory but then he has to do his best to keep enemy agents from getting their hands on it.

Ken Clark and Helga Line

Mission Bloody Mary is the second of three Dick Malloy films starring Ken Clark, best-known for the schlock classic Attack of the Giant Leeches. He's given a weird dubbed voice in this one, and his performance is hard to judge, but with a physique that puts Sean Connery's to shame, and an ability to love up the women and rough up the guys in more than adequate fashion, it's easy to see why he was cast in these Eurospy films, co-productions of France, Italy and Spain. 

Dick Malloy with colleague

At one point Malloy has to audaciously confirm Elsa's identity by looking at her naked breasts, which she, of course, allows him to do as the camera swings discreetly away. A bad guy who calls himself the "Black Lily" turns a room into a makeshift crematorium to get rid of a difficult colleague. There's a helpful cab driver, both Russian and Chinese agents, and some duplicitous individuals -- as well as the usual interesting locations, with a climax in Athens. This moves at a fast enough pace to keep you watching although it gets a little wearisome towards the end. The pop tune "Bloody Mary," composed by Ennio Morricone, plays over the title credits.

Verdict: Acceptable Eurospy fare. **1/4.