ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Is this another multi-episode "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." feature? Look at the evidence:

(1) It has the word "affair" in the title,

(2) it stars Robert Vaughn,

(3) it involves espionage and intrigue in beautiful Venice,

(4) the villain injects people with a serum that turns them into brain-washed zombies,

(5) it has a long list of well-known guest stars such as Boris Karloff, Elke Sommer, Felicia Farr, Edward Asner, Luciana Paluzzi ("Thunderball", "The Green Slim"), Roger C. Carmel ("Skullduggery", "Star Trek").

Okay, so is it U.N.C.L.E.?

Surprise, the verdict is not guilty. Vaughn plays a reporter and ex-CIA man who investigates the assassination of several diplomats. Karl Boehm is the enemy agent with the zombie serum. This MGM film was produced and directed by Jerry Thorpe from a screenplay by co-producer E. Jack Newman.


The poster art for this movie by Frank McCarthy (creator of several fine Bond posters) is gorgeous. Here's the one-sheet.


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And here's the larger version I found of the artwork itself (with the tagline still at the bottom, dang it. )




Mr. Vaughn looks like a true badass spy, yes indeed . . .
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[orzel-w]

Dat am some beautiful piece of art. (Who says movies aren't art? )
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...or not...

WayneO
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[Bud Brewster]

Agreed.

I discovered that I'd posted the picture I used at the top of the first post a second time in the middle of the post instead of the one-sheet poster I'd meant to. I fixed it just now.

The picture of the painting itself is clear and detailed, but the high gondola thingie on the front extends up into the white area to be part the text above the painting in the poster, and the text at the bottom partially covers the water.



I was bothered by the way the straight upper edge seemed to crowd the composition, especially Robert Vaughn's head. I was certain FrankyMCarthy's original painting included more sky and buildings.

And the big white area is distracting. It mars the beauty of the painting.

So, I did my arty farty thing and painted in some plausible looking stuff at the top, making it look like the the artist let the buildings dissolve into abstract brush strokes (something that artists like McCarthy often do -- and I always like it. ).

What do you think? Did I make it a little better or just mess it up? I can't quite decided myself.


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[orzel-w]

Much better.
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...or not...

WayneO
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[orzel-w]

Did some diddling myself...


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...or not...

WayneO
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[Bud Brewster]

Perfect! I was too chicken to take on the water behind the text. Excellent work, Wayne. I swear, it looks as if the text was never there.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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TCM aired this movie on 11/5/20 as part of their UNCLE trilogy, and I started watching it.

But I quickly realized that it was NOT a compilation of UNCLE episodes (as TCM seemed to think it was), for several reasons — such as the omission of David Mccallum and all the other key elements of that series.

I was surprised to see that it was filmed in Panavision and aired in widescreen — so, I knew this was obviously not a compilation of UNCLE episodes, as I had thought.

I checked with IMDB and found this.
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Actor Robert Vaughn was cast in the lead role in this picture by MGM in order to capitalize on his popular Napoleon Solo spy TV character from The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964).

This movie is actor Robert Vaughn's only other 60s spy film outside of playing 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E's Napoleon Solo in the series.

Since the title of every episode ended with the word 'affair', this film could easily be mistaken for being an U.N.C.L.E. adventure, or for being one of the many theatrical versions which were edited together from several episodes.

However, none of the U.N.C.L.E. 'movies' used the word 'Affair' in it's title. Only the episodes.
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Silly me, this is a clear case of me not doing my homework.

I decided to watch it anyway, partly because it featured ladies like Elke Sommer, Felicia Farr, and Luciana Paluzzi — all in their mid-1960s prime!

It also includes guest stars in their waning years, like Boris Karloff — and stars "before they were big", like Edward Asner,

But I must warn you folks that this movie is "nothing to write home about", and Wikipedia has this quote from a critical review.
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Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote in his review: "It's a totally inane and posy picture about an American newspaper photographer who gets involved in an international intrigue in Venice which has something to do with obtaining a secret report.

Some nice color photography in Venice is the only plus feature of this film, which is based on a novel by Helen MacInnes.
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If anyone on All Sci-Fi wants to NOT watch this one with me in All Sci-Fi's Chatzy Room, I think we can agree that any day this week (or any other week) would be the perfect time for us to avoid this movie like the plague.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)