Friday, September 09, 2011

U.N.C.L.E. Week: One Of Our Spies Is Missing

The second-season two-part MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. episode “The Bridge of Lions Affair” became the fourth U.N.C.L.E. movie to hit the big screen. Gerald Fried composed an original score for the film, including a real gone main title, and director E. Darrell Hallenbeck shot new scenes of soon-to-be-Batgirl Yvonne Craig playing a flirtatious U.N.C.L.E. agent to pad the running time. Although it was written by the great Howard Rodman (the creator of HARRY O) from a Henry Slesar novel, ONE OF OUR SPIES is among the weaker U.N.C.L.E. movies, mainly due to its lack of a strong villain.

While Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum) is in Soho investigating a string of stolen kittycats, Mr. Waverly (Leo G. Carroll) sends Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) to Paris to find out how an elderly biochemist (James Doohan) could have de-aged thirty years in three months. The dual subplots come together when both agents discover Madame DeSala (Vera Miles) and her scientific rejuvenation process.

Hardly a feature-worthy threat, particularly behind journeyman Hallenbeck’s dutiful direction. Miles (PSYCHO) is a fine actress, but a fizzle as an adversary for U.N.C.L.E. because her performance just isn’t “big” enough.

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