The 1960s was a watershed era for the spy movie genre. From James Bond to Matt Helm, U.N.C.L.E. to Bulldog Drummond, Harry Palmer to Derek Flint, and many others beside, a new generation of glamorous characters with an eye for danger was dominating our cinema screens.
With Dr No and From Russia With Love, Ian Fleming and Eon Productions had found both a winning and successful formula and these first 007 movies inspired many other filmmakers to enter the genre and present many different rivals, imitators and spoofs of the masterspy James Bond.
Written by TV and movie historian Michael Richardson, Guns, Girls, and Gadgets is an indispensable guide to 50 productions which assisted in forming the 60s movie spy craze.
Paperback, 704 pages, over 314000 words, ISBN: 978-1-911537-17-5
NOW AVAILABLE to pre-order at discounted pre-orde price:
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BOOK CONTENTS - 50 CHAPTERS
01 DR NO ( 1st James Bond film )
02 FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE ( 2nd James Bond film )
03 HOT ENOUGH FOR JUNE
04 TO TRAP A SPY ( 1st The Man from U.N.C.L.E. film )
05 GOLDFINGER ( 3rd James Bond film )
06 CARRY ON SPYING
07 MASQUERADE
08 THE SPY WITH MY FACE ( 2nd The Man from U.N.C.L.E. film )
09 THE IPCRESS FILE ( 1st Harry Palmer film )
10 THE INTELLIGENCE MEN
11 WHERE THE SPIES ARE
12 THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD
13 THUNDERBALL ( 4th James Bond film )
14 OUR MAN FLINT ( 1st Derek Flint film )
15 THE LIQUIDATOR
16 ARABESQUE
17 A MAN COULD GET KILLED
18 THE SILENCERS ( 1st Matt Helm film )
19 MODESTY BLAISE
20 ONE SPY TOO MANY ( 3rd The Man from U.N.C.L.E. film )
21 ONE OF OUR SPIES IS MISSING ( 4th The Man from U.N.C.L.E. film )
22 THE DEADLY AFFAIR
23 FUNERAL IN BERLIN ( 2nd Harry Palmer film )
24 THE DOUBLE MAN
25 THE VENETIAN AFFAIR
26 THE QUILLER MEMORANDUM
27 DEADLIER THAN THE MALE ( 1st Bulldog Drummond film )
28 THE SPY WITH A COLD NOSE
29 IN LIKE FLINT ( 2nd Derek Flint film )
30 THE MILLION EYES OF SUMARU
31 YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE ( 5th James Bond film )
32 MURDERERS' ROW ( 2nd Matt Helm film )
33 THE NAKED RUNNER
34 THE SPY IN THE GREEN HAT ( 5th The Man from U.N.C.L.E. film )
35 OPERATION KID BROTHER
36 ASSIGNMENT K
37 BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN ( 3rd Harry Palmer film )
38 THE KARATE KILLERS ( 6th The Man from U.N.C.L.E. film )
39 A DANDY IN ASPIC
40 DANGER ROUTE
41 THE AMBUSHERS ( 3rd Matt Helm film )
42 ICE STATION ZEBRA
43 THE HELICOPTER SPIES ( 7th The Man from U.N.C.L.E. film )
44 HAMMERHEAD
45 HOW TO STEAL THE WORLD ( 8th The Man from U.N.C.L.E. film )
46 OTLEY
47 SOME GIRLS DO ( 2nd Bulldog Drummond film )
48 THE WRECKING CREW ( 4th Matt Helm film )
49 THE CHAIRMAN
50 ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE ( 6th James Bond film )
Will certainly be getting this. I like Mike's research (loved his books on "The Avengers" and "Casino Royale") and he normally does some very good scouring of trade papers and periodicals. It also looks like a nice mix of films that I already adore and an array of new titles that I've never had chance to see and that I may well seek out.
Anyway, felt that I should flag it up in case it was of interest to others.
Thanks for showing interest. Yes, it does cover a lot of sixties spy movies. This is the book I always wanted to read about the well know spys and secret agents of the big screen, such as Bond, U.N.C.L.E., Matt Helm, Harry Palmer, Derek Flint, etc. However, the years went by the subject was virtually ignored and so I researched and wrote it myself.
One odd thing I noticed in one of the Helm films recently, at the end there's a funny scene where he tries to seduce a new agent, but she's not in the mood when it's a Dean Martin song playing, but responds to a Sinatra one, behind Helm is a Dean Martin LP cover, but it's fuzzed out of the picture?
The chapter on The Wrecking Crew looks at the fifth and unmade Matt Helm movie The Ravagers, including the basic storyline and who were lined up to appear. Hopefully this will prove of interest.
I’m pleased to announce that Guns, Girls and Gadgets: Sixties Spy Films Uncovered has now been printed and that ordered copies will be dispatched in the next few days.
Anyone wishing to obtain a copy just follow the link.
This book arrived today and is a very classy addition to our library. I've just had the luxury of dipping into it for an hour or so and found a lot of very interesting material.
One of the great pleasures in this book is clearly going to be the fact that it's covering a lot of movies that don't normally get a vast amount of attention elsewhere. While I've already got a few books on the James Bond movie, it's a real joy to find something like "Otley" or "Arabesque" in here, because those are precisely the sorts of films that I don't tend to see covered.
And there is a lot of detail - an awful lot of period information from the trade magazines of the day is present, and clearly the development of each film as seen through the eyes of the media is something that seems to be fused very effectively here with the study of lots of interviews and commentaries to build up a full picture of production. There's a great deal of information here on the locations that were used in each film, and I see that the appendices to each film also delineate things such as tie-in novels, soundtrack albums, uncredited extras and the like which are all extremely valuable.
The section on "The Ipcress File" was a very enjoyable read - again, lots of detail on locations and plenty of production anecdotes from numerous sources, all of which blends together to give a really good overview. Also, "The Intelligence Men" has always been a guily pleasure of mine and I found myself learning all sorts of new bits and pieces about where Eric and Ernie were in their careers at this time - particularly with relation to film financing.
All in all this is a very nice package and all very nicely presented with a clear layout and a striking cover. I know that this is a lot of information that I'll be wanting to access whenever I watch one of these films going forward because it'll clearly answer all my questions on soundtracks, production dates, location venues, uncredited cast and the like.
Thanks for the kind words on the book, which has taken me years to research and write and then was held up for almost two years due to Covid. I’m hoping that in the future Guns, Girls and Gadgets: Sixties Spy Films Uncovered will be the ultimate reference work that people go to if they are wanting information about sixties spy and secret films.
I really left no stone unturned in my research of the 50 movies that are presented in this tome and as they are in production order, the reader can see how this genre of feature film developed and progressed throughout the decade. Generally the chapters spotlight the sources material such as being adapted from a novel and then various drafts of scripts written by different writers. Early casting considerations that were not followed through and the ones that were, which leads into pre-production. Filming locations, special effects, behind the scenes problems and censorship requirements are all covered in detail. Each chapter concludes with cast and credits (including uncredited cast and credits), information regarding original spin-off merchandise including vinyl records, paperback tie-in novels, plus production dates and original UK release dates.
I have just completed an interview with Jason Whiton over on his blog SpyVibe covering the hows and why I wrote Guns, Girls and Gadgets: Sixties Spy Films Uncovered. Plus, I also go into detail about choosing the 50 spy movies that I look at in the book and the ones that got away, basically the films I considered for inclusion, but that I ultimately decided against covering.
Agents Scott and Cam, along with guest operative Michael Richardson author of Guns, Girls and Gadgets: Sixties Spy Films Uncovered discuss the book and turn the spotlight on The Liquidator featuring the only feature film outing of John Gardner’s anti-hero Boysie Oakes played by Rod Taylor.
The Liquidator, number 79 and the latest in a long list of SpyHards Podcasts is now available as I talk with Scott and Cam regarding the writing of the book, The Liquidator and spy films in general.
Mikey wrote: ↑Wed Mar 09, 2022 5:01 pm
SpyHards Podcast
Agents Scott and Cam, along with guest operative Michael Richardson author of Guns, Girls and Gadgets: Sixties Spy Films Uncovered discuss the book and turn the spotlight on The Liquidator featuring the only feature film outing of John Gardner’s anti-hero Boysie Oakes played by Rod Taylor.
The Liquidator, number 79 and the latest in a long list of SpyHards Podcasts is now available as I talk with Scott and Cam regarding the writing of the book, The Liquidator and spy films in general.
Very enjoyable listen Mike. I've dipped into SpyHards a few times and always find it an enjoyable listen. Good to hear the book being appreciated by people who are really enthusiastic for the subject matter! :)
I see Talking Pictures screened the 1965 espionage movie Masquerade recently, starring Cliff Robertson, Jack Hawkins and some years before her appearance in Danger: Diabolik, Marisa Mell, all in storyline where nobody is quite what they appear to be. It’s a long time since this film has been on UK television and so I’d recommend it the next time its shown, which is on Tuesday 19th April, though perhaps not at the best time at 3.15am.
I devoted a chapter to Masquerade in the book and so perhaps read that before you watch.
It’s been a good Bank Holiday for sixties spy movies as last night Great! Movies Classic screened The Spy Who Came in From the Cold starring Richard Burton and Claire Bloom, which is generally held in high regard as a serious espionage film, adapted from the novel by John le Carré. If you missed it don’t worry, as it will be shown again on Saturday 23rd April at 9.00pm.
Again I devoted a chapter in the book to this one, which had a lot of location filming done in Dublin, including the fake Berlin Wall scenes, plus Richard Burton demanding the le Carré be brought in to rewrite portions of the Paul Dehn and Guy Trosper screenplay.
