Deadlier Than the Male (1967)

British agent Bulldog Drummond is assigned to stop a master criminal who uses beautiful women to do his killings.
Classy production, solid plot, witty dialog, believable characters. When watching this film, one does not say, "Oh yeah, a 60's Bond take-off", as one does when watching perhaps "Our Man Flint" or "In Like Flint". Richard Johnson's Hugh Drummond is smooth, handsome and resourceful without being obnoxious or larger than life. Steve Carlson's Robert Drummond provides youthful energy without becoming a foil. Elke Sommer's Irma Eckman is irresistably gorgeous, intelligent, eloquent, and cold-as-ice deadly. Sylva Kocina's Penelope is kittenish, sensual and apologetic...even as she's torturing or killing a man. Nigel Green is a ruthless, cunning business man who has figured out how to get rivals out of his way; Kill them. The murders are clever, sexy and brutal but not campy.

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Adventure, Crime, Drama, Eurospy,

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Blood on My Shoes (1983)

Agents across the globe take turns spying on and double-crossing one another in an attempt to locate a valuable formula encrypted in the music code.
An obscure Franco, apparently loosely based on Edgar Wallace's story 'Sanders of the River.', little-seen shoestring comedy/action/spy/thriller. A quintessential cast, Vernon goes characteristically and  gloriously over the top as the murdered - or is he? - missile inventor in full Mad Scientist key. Lina charms as a cabaret singer...or is she a spy? Or is she both? And Mayans is the most laid-back, unflappable tough guy you'll ever see.
Music plays a prominent role, in different ways...beyond the typically-awesome minimal jazz soundtrack (credited to Pablo Villa...aka Daniel White, a regular Franco collaborator...though some sources credit the music here to Franco himself).

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Action, Comedy, Eurospy, Thriller,

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