Four people are sitting beside a hotel pool in Beirut: the wealthy and important Dr. Rashid; Jane Freeman, daughter of Prof. Freeman; her boyfriend Edward; and Freeman's assistant Pamela. Jane dives into the pool and when she surfaces, she is dead, stabbed in the stomach. American secret agent Mike Drum is sent to help British Inspector Craig, who is not happy about getting help from "an American who probably thinks he's James Bond." Upon arrival in Beirut, Drum is almost killed by a mustached gunman. Craig and his assistant Brook fill him in on the case. Someone has been threatening and killing a number of high-profile people who are known for their attempts to help mankind (yes, it's presented that vaguely) and Prof. Freeman, who is working to find a cure for cancer, was told his daughter would die if he didn't stop work. Mike concentrates on the case of Prof. Bergson who has been told not to go to Stockholm to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. When Bergson is interviewed by a reporter, Mike catches on just in the nick of time that her tape recorder is set to explode in an attempt to kill Bergson. Mike heaves the recorder away and the reporter is discovered to be under the influence of a heroin-like drug that sapped her will power and made her follow the orders of the mastermind criminal behind the recent deaths. Craig's men quickly develop an antidote for the drug, though they do not know that Pamela, from the opening scene, regularly injects herself with a drug.
Soon we discover that Pamela is under the control of Dr. Rashid who basically just wants to "rule all mankind" (yes, it’s presented that vaguely). Mike is caught by Rashid, strapped down in a room with psychedelic wall panels, and given the drug. He is able to take the antidote and fakes being under control, but Pamela, noticing his eyes aren't glassy and empty, catches him out. He goes under for real and is sent to Bergson's to kill him, but Craig manages to stop him and gives him the antidote. They fake Bergson's death in the press and Mike goes back to Rashid's place where he discovers a young woman named Grace is about to become a guinea pig for a new invention, a ray that will allow Rashid to implant his thoughts inside her mind—"I will be Prometheus unbound!" Rashid rants to Mike. Oddly, in another mode, the ray can also burn a person to a crisp in seconds. The climax involves someone getting fried, someone else dying in a car that goes over a cliff, and Mike and Grace (who is apparently a British agent) are allowed to go off for a two-week sex holiday at a mountain resort before their next assignments (hers involves going to Ohio!).
Yes, it’s an Italian B-movie Eurospy thriller, one of many that came in the wake of the worldwide success of James Bond. Most reviewers say that Canadian actor Lang Jeffries (at top left), who made a number of European spy and peplum movies, is OK as Mike Drum, but they agree that he was missing the charisma that might have made this character more popular. I agree with that even as I found myself liking him more as the film went on. He is handsome and can handle his fight scenes well but doesn't have the smooth charm of Sean Connery or even lesser Euro lights like Ken Clark or Brad Harris. Still, I would have watched another Mike Drum movie if one had been made. As usual, the post-dubbing of English dialogue makes it difficult to judge the supporting cast, but they're mostly fine, especially Jose Bodalo (Craig), Andrea Bosic (Rashid), and Enzo Consoli (Edward). Some plot details are rather fuzzy, perhaps because of unintentional cuts in the film. Early on, Mike hops a ride with a sexy young Black woman, uncredited, who later is caught spying on him, but she's gone before we have any idea who she is. Similarly, Grace (Emma Danieli, pictured with Jeffries above right) enters the film at the end with no explanation, seemingly so Mike will have someone to have sex with when it's all over. The jazzy score, which highlights the vibraphone, is a distinct plus, as are the fisticuff and gunplay scenes. It's not campy or bad enough to be a guilty pleasure, but I enjoyed it. [YouTube]
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