Berkely Mather (1909–1996)

Rating: 4* of five

Again rating the film from 1962. Cannot read the books, they haven't aged at all well.

And in so many ways, neither has the film. Ursula Andress, the most-remembered woman in the cast, plays Honey Ryder (!), and she is the last of three women to find 32-year-old Connery irresistible. (Well DUH.) But her role as eye candy for the straight boys is all she does. Her emergence from the sea in what was for the day a teensy bikini, but for today's audiences might as well be a show more burqa, led to the current Bond iteration's scene with Halle Berry splashing up out of the sea in, basically, nothin' much. How things have changed in 50 years.

I found myself drooling over the decor. (Hey, the story's ridiculous and the effects are risible, had to look at something!) Midcentury Modern for days! Gorgeous copper-plated doors and beautiful leather-upholstered walls! OOO AAAH. Bond driving that adorable Sunbeam convertible was fun for me too...and the tank with fins! Ha!

So yeah, I give it four camp-stars and enjoy it for what it now is: the birth of a cultural phenomenon, interesting more for what it says about our progress than for any intrinsic merits it has. show less

A lot happens. Ross Stafford helps a transported convict to escape the penal colony of New South Wales, travels by junk to China, where he is caught up in the opium wars, is press ganged into the East India Company army under another man's name, joins a rajah's army commanded by a giant Sikh in a kilt, saves the last defenders of a British garrison from mutinying sepoys......

The plot was ludicrous, but I kept reading. 3*

A British intelligence agent investigates a colleague's disappearance.

I loved most of this movie. It's loaded with beautiful mid-century pulp-book-cover-illustration style, the score is crazy fun, and of course Sean Connery is cool. Unfortunately, it's also riddled with racism. And the plot starts to fall apart in the last 15 minutes or so. For instance, why does a tube that carries large amounts of water lead to the lobby? And why does no one care that almost all of the bad guys got show more away?

Concept: B
Story: C
Characters: C
Dialog: C
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: A
Acting: B
Music: A

Enjoyment: B

GPA: 2.9/4

(Oct. 2012) show less

It's the sixties. China has taken over Tibet: the Dalai Lama has escaped to India. The situation in Kashmir is explosive. Add a hero, pair of volatile knife-wielding Pathans, an alcoholic ex-major, an assortment of spies, a little romance, the magnificent Himalayas and you have a first-rate adventure.