Our Man Flint (1965)
Review by Doc Ezra
Film:
DVD:

Written by Hal Fimberg and Ben Starr
Directed by Daniel Mann
Starring James Coburn, Lee J. Cobb, Gila Golan, and Edward Mulhare

Features:

• Theatrical trailers
  
• English and French audio
  
• English and Spanish subtitles
  

Rating: NR, suitable for audiences 13+

Anamorphic: Yes, 2.35:1 widescreen.

My Advice: Rent it if Goldmember didn't fully satisfy your cravings.

With only a couple of Bond movies under the bridge, somebody was bound to jump the gun and make a spoof. The first (as near as I can tell) was David Niven's Casino Royale, a legitimately funny movie about an aging Bond based VERY loosely on one of Fleming's novels. So with the moderate success enjoyed by that film, there were bound to be knock-offs and hordes of second-string films attempting to cash in on a trend. Hollywood is nothing if not consistent. So we get Our Man Flint, following the exploits of the aforementioned Derek Flint as he attempts to save the world from a nefarious cosmetic mogul. Using a keen mind, some of the ubiquitous spy gadgets, and of course his nigh-mystical ability to talk women into the sack, Flint sets out to thwart the machinations of the evil masterminds behind Exotica Cosmetics. Because what maniacal organization bent on world domination wouldn't use a makeup factory for a front?

Yeah, the story's a little thin. But this one was not crafted to be a solid narrative. As a parody, the story takes a back seat to attempting to riff on the original source material. Unfortunately, with only a couple of Bond flicks in existence, Coburn and company were working with a fairly small pool of source material. Mike Myers has twenty films worth of Bond to draw gags from, so it's little wonder that he's funny, and Coburn's not.

This is not to say that Our Man Flint doesn't have some funny moments--it does. And certainly more than Modesty Blaise has. But the gags are predictable, and you can see most of 'em coming a mile away. But the work Lee Cobb does in remaining perpetually out of his depth every time he gets around Coburn's Flint is highly entertaining. Coburn is hard to take as a comic lead, and almost as hard to take (perhaps just for contemporary audiences, who knows?) as an unstoppable ladies' man.

The DVD gives us a good anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer, trailers, and some language options, but that's about it. Nothing fancy here, but I can't see as the film merits anything much fancier. Though, if you've got Coburn around, sitting him down for a few questions doesn't seem a ridiculous idea, now that I think of it. Or perhaps Mr. Elder Statesman of Hollywood didn't want to dredge up his days of bad 60s fashion and silly spy knock-offs. Who knows? So we get minimal to no extras.

Not exactly laugh-out-loud funny, the movie doesn't stink up the joint, either. It's bearable, and if you're in the mood for campy spy stuff, it might bear a rental. Unless you're a 60s kitsch completist, there's really not a very convincing argument for owning this one. Particularly since owning it would almost certainly obligate you to own the sequel, In Like Flint