Lucky, el Intrépido

Lucky, the Inscrutable
Agente Speciale L.K.: Operacione Re Mida / Lucky M. füllt alle Särge / Unternehmen Midas

Spain/Italy/West Germany 1967
produced by
José Luis Jerez Aloza, Luis Méndez (executive), José Frade (executive) for Fono Roma, Explorer Film '58, Atlántida Film, Dauro Film
directed by Jess Franco
starring Ray Danton, Barbara Bold, Dante Posani, Dieter Eppler, María Luisa Ponte, Rosalba Neri, Beba Lincar, Teresa Gimpera, Marcelo Arroita-Jáuregui, Jess Franco, Cándida Losada, Héctor Quiroga, Vicente Roca, Luisa Sala, Patty Shepard, Manuel Vida
story by José Luis Martínez Mollá, Julio Buchs, screenplay by José Luis Martínez Mollá, Julio Buchs, Remigio Del Grosso, Jess Franco, music by Bruno Nicolai

review by
Mike Haberfelner

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At a masque, Lucky the Inscrutable (Ray Danton) is hired to retrieve a 100 Dollar printing plate from whoever has stolen it by an organisation called Archangel. He knows the job is really important by the fact that the woman (Teresa Gimpera) who has hired him is killed shortly afterwards. The trail leads Lucky first to Rome, where he picks up a new sidekick, Michele (Dante Posani), then to Albania, where he and Michele are captured but he wins their freedom back by seducing the female head of security. It's on to an island paradise in the Caribbean, where Lucky and Michele hook up with a nightclub owner (Maria Luisa Ponte), who Lucky knows is involved with the real baddie of the piece (and who's of course killed as well soon enough). The real baddie of the piece, Goldglasses, kidnaps Michele soon enough to lure Lucky into a trap. Lucky however is quick to get himself a new sidekick, a gorgeous blonde, and the two walk into the trap open-eyed. Goldglasses wants to kill Lucky of course, but not without gloating first, and during a tour of Goldglasses moneyforging operation, Lucky manages to win the upper hand and destroy the whole outfit and kill Goldglasses, while making an escape with Michele, the blonde and the printing plates. Ultimately though, both Michele and the blonde - who's actually a Nazi transvestite (!) - turn against Lucky, as does an Archangel agent ... and the whole thing ends in an explosion - because the producers couldn't afford any more action setpieces (yup, that's the actual on-screen excuse given for the sudden ending).

Now I don't for one minute claim that Lucky, the Inscrutable is one of the best or most elaborate James Bond-clones - but maybe one of the funniest: Point is, the film doesn't take itself wholly seriously (a mistake many James Bond-clones made in the 1960's), sometimes to an extent that it even breaks the fourth wall to the audience for a punchline, but at the same time it's well-paced, its directorial effort is far quirkier than with most other genre fare, its many references to photo novels and comicbooks are nothing short of endearing, and director Jess Franco brings a personal note to the story - and not just in the nightclub episodes - that for a change not overshadows the movie as a whole.

No masterpiece, maybe, but pretty cool, actually!

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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