In Like Flint

As a writer and as someone who suffered the 1970s as a burden, I find this late 1960's projection of women's lib and computers run mad about as funny as any film I know. James Coburn was a thin, charismatic and intelligent actor with limitations by way of his accent but in no other respect. He should probably have been hired to make more westerns and more high-tech thrillers; but in Derek Flint, zen-trained super-spy, in the two films he was allowed to complete in this series, he found his most famous and acclaimed role. The first was "Our Man Flint", also co-starring Lee J. Cobb, which was in my opinion a superior satire but less successful The storyline in the second entry has to do with an offer to Flint's three female assistants to visit an Island run by an outfit's leaders calling their operation "Fabulous Face". As if the girls needed improving. Of course, the corporation's heads turn out to be furious women's liberation advocates bent on world domination, planning to rid themselves of male frustrations, advice and competition forever. Forget the plot. Derek Flint's girls are in danger and that leads his organization, Z.O.W.I.E., his boss Lloyd Cramden and Flint into the exotic blackmail-the-world plot involving female astronauts and nuclear Macgoffins. But first there are the lethal tricks the ladies have thought up; Cramden loses ninety seconds on a golf course; Flint discovers hair driers are being used for brainwashing sessions; and the island resort Fabulous Face runs in the US Virgins turns out to be replete with pretty girls and pretty dangerous ideas. This is a comedy, let us remembers, with an underlying satire targeting both excessive women's lib and male chauvinism thrown in. And in a comedy, actions speak louder than ideas. The film is subtle in unexpected ways unlike its satirical predecessor which was less funny and more a direct comment on gimmick-heavy spy movies. Here we have mostly guided missiles, the world's most lethal cigarette lighter and Flint. His comment to the board of the ladies who are trying to take over the world is exactly right--"But you can't...you're--women/ladies/females" refers to their idea that they ought to do so merely because they're female, and to the methods they are employing in the name of "liberation". Lloyd Cramden in a dress is hard to take, but this production if colorful, only occasionally cartoonish in its look and very-well constructed. The music is overdone for comedic effect, Action film veteran Gordon Douglas kept the pace moving nicely; Harold Fimberg was given sole credit for a film which obviously had several parents, not one. The art direction for this eye-filling romp was provided by Dale Hennessey and Jack Martin Smith, the many fine costumes by Ray Aghayan, makeup by Margaret Donovan, and the elaborate set decorations by James W. Payne and Walter M. Scott. Forget the postmodernist analyses; this is a send-up of spy movies with knocks at both antagonists in the war between the sexes thrown in. It's an entertainment. It is played strictly for laughs, cornball and subtle ones. In the cast, James Coburn looks awkward at times but handles the super-spy cerebrations and courage aspects well. Lee J. Cobb has much less to do than in the first installment. Jean Hale has a large part and is bright and adequate, not more. Others in the cast include dependable Andrew Duggan as the president and his replacement, Anna Lee as the leader of the lethal ladies, Stephen Ihnat, Yvonne Craig, Hannah Landy, Herb Edelman and many others. This is a seventies-style sexy romp born before its time, less estimable than "Our Man Flint" but funnier and a worthy successor. It was made for people who wanted to forget the Cold War and get on with man's favorite sport--being male and female and having fun exchanging one-upsmanships.

If you ever wondered about how the film series like Austin Powers came to be inspired, James Coburn does a memorable performance as Flint, original man of mystery in this film. The film is a spoof and farce from the James Bond spy thrillers. The plot includes the world being overthrown and manipulated by smart beautiful seductive women on a Caribbean Island where their leader is played by Anna Lee (General Hospital's beloved Lila Quartermaine). She is fantastic in her role. The film is a comedy and a statement about women's movement. The ending is now considered to be outdated by today's standards almost camp humor. Still, James Coburn did some of his best acting work here as the hero. The film is colorful and imaginative as well.

MASTER PLAN: take over an orbiting space platform, have the nukes ready and use mind control - again. In this sequel to "Our Man Flint," a further parody of the James Bond films, the threat is again a weird organization which plans to rule the world. In the previous Flinter, 3 scientists led the new way; here, it's 3 captains of industry who happen to be female. They also have an island base, somewhere in the Caribbean (the Virgin Islands?) - females, females everywhere! Flint is again played by Coburn as a super-smooth genius who seems to play the secret agent as a side job, called away from his Hugh Hefner-style existence into spy activity when something really unusual rears its nasty head. In this case, he doesn't show up until 15 minutes in, to save the bacon of his former boss (Cobb), who has been discredited and embarrassed in a scheme perpetrated by traitors within the U.S. government. All of this sounds kind of serious and some of it is, especially in the final act, where-in straightforward action goes against the grain of the overall satirical tone. A lot of it is still silly, of course, especially the scenes of Coburn imitating dolphin sounds (I can't believe Coburn was talked into these). The pace is a bit slower than the first film, mostly with all the stuff revolving around Cobb's character getting bamboozled in the early going. It takes awhile for the action to get going. The main femme fatale (Hale) lacks some spark, sort of playing the role as if this was a dull daytime soap opera. The actress Craig, known for her Batgirl role, pops up briefly as another femme fatale, Russian in her case. No sign of Adam West, who would've fit in well here.

The premise proposed by the villains, as in the first film, is that the world needs to be run better; in this case, they feel the planet needs a more feminine touch - a new matriarchy. Though there's the expected glitz and camp of sixties psychedelia, the femme fatales (and there are many of them) are not a total joke; they're pretty well organized and make some valid points, though even Flint appears to sneer at their goals. This is ironic since he, at one point, says he doesn't compete with women, the inferred downside of most men. This foreshadows the reveal of the actual threat, a rogue military - male, of course. The main traitor turns out to be a general (played by actor Ihnat, who would soon be seen as the crazed Garth in the Star Trek episode "Whom Gods Destroy" with actress Craig). None of this is a surprise - the general looked suspicious in his first scene. The President of the U.S., who kept calling on a red phone in the previous pic, is now revealed (Duggan), but is quickly replaced by a double early in the story. Some of this also recalls the "Seven Days in May" thriller done up as comedy. The film is a bit too long, having a padded feel at some points: Flint has an exciting running fight with the soldiers towards the end, but he's captured anyway, so the whole thing was just an excuse to show off his martial arts. The ending is awkward, unlike the explosive conclusion in the first one: the filmmakers had to figure out a way to get Flint into outer space and it's done clumsily. The outer space theme, reflecting the space race between the U.S. and the Soviets of that time, was also prevalent in that same year's Bonder "You Only Live Twice." Flint would return in another incarnation in a TV Movie in the seventies. Hero:7 Villains:6 Femme Fatales:6 Henchmen:5 Fights:7 Stunts/Chases:7 Gadgets:6 Auto:4 Locations:6 Pace:6 overall:6

Basically another in the endless series of Bond-knockoffs of the late 60's, the second Flynt movie (for some reason I keep missing the first one) is fun enough as a semi-parody. It's nowhere nearly as offensive/dumb as the Matt Helm stuff. Coburn makes a decent superman spy, although his lanky physique makes him look rather ungainly in the fight sequences (only Ted Danson looks more awkward). It's your basic Cold War type movie with some women who want to rule the world (and *oh the humanity* are betrayed by the military man they put their trust in, played by a fiendish Steve Inhat) tossed in.

This is James Coburn's second outing as Derek Flint. Though it is ultimately worth a viewing, it doesn't quite live up to it's predecessor. The film takes a while to get going and at times the spirit of fun that infected the original seems to be missing. But when that spirit is present, the film is loads of fun! Anyone know where I can buy a copy of Flint's Dolphin Language Dictionary? Never know when it might come in handy.