For the most part, this constitutes the best of the myriad James Bond imitations (because it does not deliberately attempt to send up the genre while adhering so closely to the formula – down to the music score, including a title track sung by The Walker Brothers – that I am surprised that franchise's producers did not sue), even if the literary figure that was revived for the purpose actually preceded 007! For the record, I had watched a handful of the run of Drummond 'B' movies from the 1930s with John Howard or Ray Milland, but I also own the quartet of well-regarded initial entries (two starring Ronald Colman and a couple more emanating from Britain).
Interestingly, the star of this one – Richard Johnson – had made an uncredited appearance towards the start of his career in the MGM one-off CALLING BULLDOG DRUMMOND (1951). By the way, throughout his two stabs at the role, the character is never once referred to by that nickname (which, I guess, suggests his resilience) but nor are we ever told just what field the hero operates in (is he a Military Intelligence officer or just another secret agent?)! Incidentally, while he was usually flanked by a flamboyant superior as contact man and a comic butler for sidekick, the former's role is downplayed here and the latter replaced with a youthful relative (but whose girlfriend – played by Virginia North, who would actually turn up in a different role in the sequel and also appear as Vulnavia to Vincent Price's THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES {1971} in the first installment of that particular two-movie series – still prefers the more experienced member of the family!).
Anyway, the protagonist now has an elderly boss (Laurence Naismith) with a secretary (THE PRISONER's Justine Lord) with whom he flirts a' la M and Miss Moneypenny from the Bond series – though Drummond goes one better than his 'prototype' by taking the girl out to dinner and later to his flat! As expected, there are a plethora of attractive ladies and, given the moniker (which obviously bears no relation to a similarly-titled 1957 French melodrama starring Jean Gabin that I also own), some of them even do the dirty work for the villain (who, also typically, hides behind a veneer of respectability). The most notable are Elke Sommer, Sylva Koscina and Suzanna Leigh – the first two make up an interesting and sparring sexy/comic duo (with the former being the spokesperson for Carl Peterson's nefarious machinations and the latter the 'thug' but whose kleptomania ultimately proves the undoing of both!), while the latter is a new (thus uncommitted) recruit who, unsurprisingly, takes up with Drummond at the end. Curiously enough, though the 2 latter-day Drummond adventures were released simultaneously on R2 DVD, the edition I acquired of this one was unfortunately trimmed of some 2 minutes – running only 93 – with an evident cut in the scene where Johnson and Sommer share a room in Peterson's castle and all of a sudden she is in her underwear; this edit is all the more baffling because a split-second nudity by Leigh (or her stand-in) at the climax has been left intact!
The plot is the standard 'bid-for-world-domination-through-economic-monopoly' which sees a great number of people involved: these can basically be divided into associates and victims (sometimes filling the requirements of both) and include Leonard Rossiter, George Pastell, Lee Montague (from the just-viewed THE LEGACY {1978}) and Zia Mohyeddin as the latest millionaire (coincidentally a school chum of the younger Drummond) to be targeted for elimination. Nigel Green, then, makes for a strong nemesis to Johnson (who would also face Harry Palmer and, with Sommer herself in tow, Matt Helm but never Bond!), and it is only in the latter stages that the film treads the camp factor, as Drummond constantly rubs his burly bodyguard-cum-manservant the wrong way so that they eventually engage in a karate fight – the obvious conclusion being that Peterson is much better served by the weaker sex! Hero and villain also conduct a game of chess where the pawns are creepily life-size but also ultimately prove deadly for Peterson himself.
Interestingly, the star of this one – Richard Johnson – had made an uncredited appearance towards the start of his career in the MGM one-off CALLING BULLDOG DRUMMOND (1951). By the way, throughout his two stabs at the role, the character is never once referred to by that nickname (which, I guess, suggests his resilience) but nor are we ever told just what field the hero operates in (is he a Military Intelligence officer or just another secret agent?)! Incidentally, while he was usually flanked by a flamboyant superior as contact man and a comic butler for sidekick, the former's role is downplayed here and the latter replaced with a youthful relative (but whose girlfriend – played by Virginia North, who would actually turn up in a different role in the sequel and also appear as Vulnavia to Vincent Price's THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES {1971} in the first installment of that particular two-movie series – still prefers the more experienced member of the family!).
Anyway, the protagonist now has an elderly boss (Laurence Naismith) with a secretary (THE PRISONER's Justine Lord) with whom he flirts a' la M and Miss Moneypenny from the Bond series – though Drummond goes one better than his 'prototype' by taking the girl out to dinner and later to his flat! As expected, there are a plethora of attractive ladies and, given the moniker (which obviously bears no relation to a similarly-titled 1957 French melodrama starring Jean Gabin that I also own), some of them even do the dirty work for the villain (who, also typically, hides behind a veneer of respectability). The most notable are Elke Sommer, Sylva Koscina and Suzanna Leigh – the first two make up an interesting and sparring sexy/comic duo (with the former being the spokesperson for Carl Peterson's nefarious machinations and the latter the 'thug' but whose kleptomania ultimately proves the undoing of both!), while the latter is a new (thus uncommitted) recruit who, unsurprisingly, takes up with Drummond at the end. Curiously enough, though the 2 latter-day Drummond adventures were released simultaneously on R2 DVD, the edition I acquired of this one was unfortunately trimmed of some 2 minutes – running only 93 – with an evident cut in the scene where Johnson and Sommer share a room in Peterson's castle and all of a sudden she is in her underwear; this edit is all the more baffling because a split-second nudity by Leigh (or her stand-in) at the climax has been left intact!
The plot is the standard 'bid-for-world-domination-through-economic-monopoly' which sees a great number of people involved: these can basically be divided into associates and victims (sometimes filling the requirements of both) and include Leonard Rossiter, George Pastell, Lee Montague (from the just-viewed THE LEGACY {1978}) and Zia Mohyeddin as the latest millionaire (coincidentally a school chum of the younger Drummond) to be targeted for elimination. Nigel Green, then, makes for a strong nemesis to Johnson (who would also face Harry Palmer and, with Sommer herself in tow, Matt Helm but never Bond!), and it is only in the latter stages that the film treads the camp factor, as Drummond constantly rubs his burly bodyguard-cum-manservant the wrong way so that they eventually engage in a karate fight – the obvious conclusion being that Peterson is much better served by the weaker sex! Hero and villain also conduct a game of chess where the pawns are creepily life-size but also ultimately prove deadly for Peterson himself.