1966 - WHERE THE SPIES ARE, another spy film from 1960's

 MGM studios looking to get a piece of the pie of the James Bond spy crazy hired Val Guest to direct this story from a novel by thriller writer Jame Leasor.  

It's all here, the beautiful girls, the spy gadgets, the exotic locations and the usual amount of spy vs spy action.  But Val Guest and his screenwriter have a little more on their mind than just another James Bond rehash.  People in this film actually get hurt and die as opposed to the usual callous disregard for human life found in these films.

The film is well cast with the proper English gentlemen David Niven as the reluctant spy Dr. James Love.  His love interest is played by Françoise Dorléac sister of Catherine Deneuve.  Dorleac's career was just starting to take off when she died in a tragic car accident.

 

Where The Spies Are lacks the frenetic and outlandish action of the James Bond series but a more realistic espionage film is actually a relief to watch in this case.

 

An entertaining 110 minutes.  Val Guest's next challenge was bringing some coherency to the overblown James Bond satire Casino Royale (1967) which he should have been given some kind of special award for.