14/09/2013

O.K. Connery (1967)

"Operation Kid Brother: is too much
for one mother!" sounds like a different
movie altogether
Film: O.K. Connery
Alternate Titles: Operation Kid Brother, Secret Agent 00, Operation Double 007
Release: 1967, Theatrical
Starring: Neil Connery, Anthony Dawson, Lois Maxwell, Adolfo Celi
Directed by: Alberto De Martino
IMDB page: Link opens in a new window
Description: The evil organization Thanatos is planning to take over the world with a new magnetic superweapon. In his master spy brother's absence, the surgeon/hypnotist Neil Connery is called in to assist MI6.

Hans' thoughts:

In the 1960's, one of the most booming sub-genres in the film industry was the spy movies - mostly due to the success of the James Bond movies. This movie is an odd little existence from that time. "Operation Kid Brother" is a James Bond rip-off with, just that, Sean Connery's actual brother Neil Connery playing a character of the same name. The movie is also littered with actors who's played characters in the actual James Bond movies. I don't know if this was a serious money grubbing effort, or the most elaborate prank in the history of the world. However, it exists, so let's dive right into it.

So a thing you will quickly notice about the movie is the sound department. The main theme of the movie is a riff on the iconic Bond music, sounding just different enough to pass off as something else. Though I suspect even the most unconcentrated viewer can hear the giant similarities right away. You'll also notice that movie is, unfortunately, poorly post-produced. The actors dubbing themselves apparently have a hard time hitting their own lip movements, and in the case of Neil Connery himself he wasn't even present for the re-dub due to an illness. Therefore, you unfortunately don't get that trademarked Connery type voice as you never hear his own voice in the movie. I don't know who post-dubbed Neil's lines, but the lack of even a fake scottish accent disappointed me. Another sign of a poor post-production is some VERY ugly sound cuts, not even bothering to at least fade or overlap the sound at some points. The movie has sudden jumps of complete silence between scenes and it is painfully obvious.

Plot Wise you get pretty much what you would expect from a James Bond type-movie. It is over-the-top with some weird gadgets and one of the main characters abilities is to hypnotize. It's an interesting spin on the super spy ideal, though I will point out that the character of Neil Connery is very much a Mary Sue (or, well, Marty Stu since the character is male), a character that is way too perfect to be true and feels like a confidence-boosting self-insert, created for wish fulfillment if you will. On that note, Neil Connery is not much of an actor, however not to a degree that it takes away from the experience and seeing the other Bond actors there makes up for in that they at least have talent enough to make it entertaining. 

If you wanted another Connery-era type Bond movie, this is the next best thing. Defying the lack of substance by, at least being a curious bit of history and by not relying too hard on the action like later Connery movies would end up doing. If you can track this down, I recommend giving it a watch if curious.

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