Bulldog Drummond

Richard "Bulldog" Drummond was a popular character who first appeared after World War I.  A former captain in the trenches, he missed the action and excitement so he became a gentleman adventurer.  Not exactly a spy or a private eye but certainly someone who could resolve problems.  He appeared in nearly 20 novels and more than 20 films.  His last notable appearance was in a couple of films in the late 60s staring Richard Johnson, a British actor who declined the offer of James Bond in Dr. No.

Deadlier than the Male (1967): Richard Drummond, veteran of the Korean War, has been called upon to investigate some peculiar deaths that have been very beneficial to a mysterious and nameless figure.  This mysterious person's representative is Irma Eckman (Elke Sommer).  Irma is an assassin who uses her sex appeal to seduce men and kill them.  She often teams with fellow assassin Penelope (Sylva Koscina).  To complicate Drummond's investigation, his nephew has arrived in London and needs a place to crash.  The nameless figure proves to be Carl Peterson (Nigel Green), an evil mastermind with a castle for a lair that is filled with beautiful and deadly women from all over the world.  Drummond must outwit him to save a Middle Eastern monarch, his nephew, and himself!  It is a standard James Bond knock-off with beautiful femme fatales, a menacing villain with a lair full of minions, and plenty of action.  It drifts a bit to the campy side in some scenes but is generally fun.

Some Girls Do (1969): Carl Peterson (James Villiers) has returned and this time he is trying to sabotage the development of a supersonic plane.  As before, he has a bevy of gorgeous women who do his dirty work, the most notable being Helga (Daliah Lavi).  Most of them have been 'robotized,' which is not well-defined.  Peterson's final gambit is to destroy the prototype while in flight by use of infrasound technology.  Drummond is called upon after early sabotage efforts have plagued the project and follows leads that take him to Peterson's latest lair with the "help" of Flicky (Sydne Rome) and Peregrine Carruthers (Ronnie Stevens).  Flicky is a gorgeous ditz who follows - unasked - Drummond from place to place with unlikely stories to explain her presence.  Carruthers is a comic relief sidekick who tends to be more hindrance than help.  This is practically a remake of its predecessor but campier.  Villiers lacks the magnetism of Nigel Green though he does exhibit the master-of-disguise talent that Green didn't.  Nonetheless, I preferred Green in the role.

The movies are entertaining but it's clear why the series did not continue.  It's very sixties.  Drummond is kind of a bland adventurer with the attributes of a spy in the mold of Bond but not a government.  Peterson is a weak villain compared to Blofeld and SPECTRE.  Of course, the second movie is clearly inspiration for Austin Power's fembots.

Popcorn fun.