When the worlds in trouble who are you gonna call — ? Our Man Flint(1966)!
It’s Super Spy Sunday…
Super Spy Sunday- kicking off with one of the first “Bond” parodies done with style and class. With a twinkle in his eye. Sprinkled with the right amount oh tongue in cheek, yet serious enough with the action.
Featuring an amazing ray of sets — there is nothing like Flint and no one else like James Coburn-voice actor(Monster Inc) and the voice on the Beef industry commercials for many years — long before Sam Elliot as well as appearing on the small and large screen…The Great Escape, The Dain Curse(TV), Looker and Hard Times with Charles Bronson.
shaking it up with a wild retro soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith. Giving a whole new meaning to hip, exotic lounge music.
- ***Jerry Goldsmith was an indemand composer for most of his career.
- Creating sgnature themes and scores for far too many films .. to list here but a few to:Gremlins, Planet of the Apes(1968), several of the Star Trek & Rambo films, The Muumy(Brendan Fraser), Rio Cochos(Richard Boone), The Sand Pebbles and Television- The Twlight Zone, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Barnaby Jones(one of my favorites)
- Numerous awards through out his legendaru career- Academy -18 times… Grammies and Golden Globe and more…
- and his son is alo a talented composer as well- look more like listen to the highly imagnitive score for Laserblast working with another legend Richard Band( of Puppetmaster fame) — Joel Goldsmith.
Tonight- Derek Flint, ex-Z.O.W.I.E. agent who’s only weapon aside from his quick wits, good looks and physical reflexes is a gold lighter that has over 80 functions including lighting a cigarette. Known for not following orders and working strictly alone- he is the worlds only hope in defeating a group of “mad “ scientists bent on controlling the weather and with it capable of causing hurricanes, earthquakes, droughts-putting every seaport on the planet at jeopardy(if this doesn’t speak loads about climate change I don’t know what does) and just plain making a mess of the world.
Flint is recruited to take on Galaxy. Eco-terrorists, scientists and Edward Mulhare(TV series Knight Rider & The Ghost and Mrs Muir) all bent on controlling the world via a weather machine and hiding out on a volcanic island featuring a lush tropical forrest inside the volcano itslef. ( just a little nod to 1967 You Only live Twice). With Flint’s sparring partner Gila Golan, hoping to convert her to the side of good. Will he succeed? Only time will tell.
For every good secert agent/hero agency there is a villianous secret society or a madcap criminal who wants to rule the world… Bond/Universal Imports had Ernst Stavro Blofeld & SPECTRE- Matt Helm/ICE had Big O and Tung -Tze/Cowboy. Derek Flint/Z.O.W.I.E had Galaxy.
They all had their adventures with the opposite sex. There were Bond Girls & Women(now referred to as). Matt had the Slaygirls and Flint had “assistants” 4 to 7 plus the many would be villainouses that would succumb to his wit and charm.
We once again turn to that debonair agent with sex appeal and his( not one but) 4 female assistants. I just want to know where was I when this job was being handed out ….but…. oh yes get Flint!!!! He is after all our only hope ….he is Our Man Flint..man does he have it rough…
Talk about being rough. There was a lot of stunts and fights. Every thing from hand to hand to diving from a waterfall. Well coordinated and planned. The action in the Flint movies were always top notch.
And Coburn did a lot of his own stunts. Plus it helped that he was a student of Bruce Lee, besides being good friends.
Action scenes from Our Man Flint
Flint unlike James Bond(12 novels by Ian Flemimng) or Matt Helm (25 novels by Don Hamilton) was an orginal and from other sourced material or based on. He was a result though of the spy craze that had swept the country-the world for that matter. But he was not your typical gong ho serve the country at the beckon call of superiors . Yeah Soeone would reach out to Flint when no one else could do the “job” . But Flint picked and chose his missions and did his way and no other. HE DID NOT FOLLOW ORDERS but he got it done. Resorceful and highly skilled. Trained and learned in martial arts, science, tech, philosphy, Yoga & Meditation and the arts. He marched to his own drum- Zen. Methods unorthodox-absolutely!!! That is what made him so effective. Oh so unpredictable. And for us most entertaining.
***Trivia *** Our Man Flint was actually filmed and produced in 1965 and was released the following year(66) in order to give the most recnt 007 mission -Thunderball it’s do run at the boxoffice. Smart move on the producers and the studios part. It proved to more than successful and out did Foxes projections by millions.
Our Man Flint-
For a real treat one can do no better than Twilight Times Bluray release of Our Man Flint- loaded with extras and beautifully remastered:Your assignmentis find this while supplies last.
This Bluray release is exploding with extras/triva including several short features/documentaires covering the influence of bond and the spy phenomenon on the Flint films and character but also the influences that Flint had on future spy genre films especiually the Austin Powers farnchise right down to the hotline phone and the actual ring of the phone itself and design .. the ring is the one used in the Flint films. And for the would be fimmaker there are screen tests with Coburn and Raquel Welch who may have been a canidate for one the characters in Our Man Flint.
Only one person could be this cool -James Coburn…
Tune in next week same time-same channel…and if you have a weather problem get the man with the 83 function gold lighter because if nothing else he can still light a cigar…this is Doc …saying ..Hey wait a minute where did that snow storm pop up from ..it’s the middle of summer and this is Florida … Hey Derek …will someone get me Flint!! Flint now don’t hang up… what do you mean we don’t neeed you …the world’s in trouble man. ..Well I admit we have had our differences in the past, but. You have to go -go where? Your flying where? Bulgaria.. for a dance lesson .. this is the kind of stuff that use to drive me ..! Don’t tell to calm down .. ! My blood pressure is not up!… “well gotta go sir…” This is Flint over and out…
Til next time and if you need me just ring…
A big thank you to all my readers and here’s how you can make more of this possible… Now you can support one of your favorite author/writers-Me..just click on the link below. This will take you on a journey to a place where good ideas and great reads come together-MEDIUM.!!!
Bonus-
***Trivia break- Does anyone remember 8 and Super 8 mm film- well that was VHS and DVD of the late ’50s and ’60s. Her is the cover art for the Super 8 sound release for Our Man Flint from 20th Century Fox.-a little fuzzy on the image but you get the idea.
8 and Super 8 mm were on real film and required a projector. It also it helped if you had a descent screen as well. The movies were actually condensed versions of theatrical releases. And this was a big thing in it’s day for entertaining at home. Great for Birthday parties and family get togethers.
Poster Gallery-
The Italian connection-
Two is better than one-When it comes to Flint!!! A pairing of the first Flint film with the second and only sequel: In Like Flint
Art work and poster design based on the trailer for Our Man Flint-
Publicity stills-
Fun Read-By Matt Clark The Eurospy Guide
A highly informative and recommended reference source.
Euro Spies & Austin Powers- There were over 175 films produced in Europe during the theight of the Spy “Craze” . So the US was not the only country caught in the world of espionage and pretty”girls” and all those mad scientists and diabolical villains with whims of world domination.
Don’t forget that all these Super Spy films had some poppin soundtracks with lots of exotic and lounge style music woven in with theme songs to boot
… Bruno Nicolai(orchestrated many of Ennio Morricones scores back in the day-check the film credits)…
- **The agents and super spies and all in between!? or beware of little ol’ ladies in wheel chairs visiting pepole in hospitals-all is not what it seems!!!
- And most definitely in the film below. so watch out Ken Clark. A wtf! moment to say the least.
There was Agent 255, OSS 117 film series featuring a French secret agent who worked for Europe and the US(actually this number was assigned to the head of research for the OSS in real life) & played by Kerwin Matthews( Sinbad), , Joe Walker, Agent 8 3/4(Dirk Bogarde), Bulldog Drummond(John Howard was the best), Agent 505(Frank Stafford), Harry Palmer(Michael Caine), Tiger and many more.
These charming-most debonair agents were played by a plethora of Euro and American actors including Stewart Granger, Tony Kendal, Mike Connors, Brad Harris, Gordon Scott( Tarzan), Burt Reynolds, Eddie Constatine, Richard Johnson, George Nader(as Jerry Cotton), Ken Clark , Richard Harrison and the femme fatales:Daliah Lavi, Sylvia Koscina, Dorothy Provine, Senta Berger, Daniela Bianchi and Luciana Paluzzi(Thunderball). This is to name a few of many,many more!!!
***Why can’t we all be magic pipers… I don’t know…
As for Austin Powers he also owed certain attributes to Matt Helm. The film franchise we are speaking of here. The books were very serious with only enough humor to ease the tense/suspenseful moments that populate the stories. Austin was a photograher -well known for his photo shoots of beautiful women, Matt had his calendar layouts. All comprised of “girls” representing a month and season of the year. That maybe one ways he kept in shape. Dean Martin was thee Matt Helm. No one else could pull off a charcter and persona like Mr Cool himself.
And even Austin gets parodied by Tom Cruise in an Austin Powers film ..is no one safe… Yeah Baby Yeah!!!
Hey the movie’s over it’s time to leave so get, like now!!! We would like to get some sleep… geesh…oh and tootles for now .. just kidding…
