The Lucid Nightmare: Code Name: Jaguar

Monday, April 16, 2012

IMAGES: What's On?

Code Name: Jaguar (1965)

Death Walks on High Heels (1971)

Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

Gorath (1962)

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (1966)

Man on a Spying Trapeze (1967)

Mechte Navstrechu (1963)

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

i SPY EUROSPY: Code Name Jaguar

Code Name: Jaguar
Director: Maurice Labro
Year 1965

Code Name: Jaguar is an exceptionally fun Eurospy film that stars Ray Danton as the extremely charming secret agent named Jaguar. With a Eurospy formula that is right on the money, there aren’t too many surprises to be had within this film, but that doesn’t mean you won’t have a blast seeing it all predictably unfold. With enough beautiful women and spectacular action set pieces, Code Name: Jaguar is set up to be one hell of a great Eurospy guilty pleasure.

The film follows super spy Jeff Larson, AKA Jaguar, as he is assigned to a mission that has him trying to discover the where-abouts of a new Russian spy device that is at present costing his organization a good deal of precious information to leak into the wrong hands. With the help of a few fellow agents, namely Robert Stuart played by Roger Hanin, and a string of sexy female companions, played by Pascale Petit and Helga Sommerfeld, Larson dives head long into the fray, determined to find out what is at the bottom of this mysterious plot. The film is a great deal of fun and with a wide array of exotic scenery, beautiful women, and the inclusion of a double agent, this film really packs on the entertainment value in this little seen gem of a Eurospy film.

Ray Danton pulls off another masterful secret agent role in Code Name: Jaguar, bringing all the fun and thrills that he would later gift to his other two spy outings, New York Calling Superdragon and Lucky the Inscrutable. With a shit eating grin and a swagger to boot, Danton makes his fearless hero an invincible badass, able to detonate bombs with no care in the world plus take on an army of Russian thugs like he’s playing tag in a school yard at recess. The character of Jeff Larson seems to be oblivious to the concepts of death, for he takes on all of these insurmountable odds with an ear to ear grin.

This playful demeanor carries on over to his frequent interactions with the opposite sex. The man can’t get enough of them, often attempting to date multiple women at the same time as we see when both his intended lovers meet up for a dinner out. The film has no shortage of female beauties for our unstoppable agent to play around with and Larson takes every advantage into getting to know them better. Pascale Petit plays the subtly beautiful Pilar Perez, the fellow agent of Jaguar who slowly comes out of her shell once Larson is able to get her between the sheets. Another feisty conquest of Larson’s is the shady Lina Calderon, played by the sultry Helga Sommerfeld. She smokes up the screen in several scenes, one in particular being when she is taking a ride with Larson on a boat. She can’t seem to keep her hands of him, showing that agent Jaguar is one bad mother…. Shut your mouth! Obviously in this spy outing, they don’t give the ladies that much to do aside from being pawns in Larson’s sexcapades, but hey Eurospy flicks are known to do that more often then not. This film particularly revels in this mindset and it’s a whole bunch of wild and ludicrous fun.

As for the wild moments of Code Name: Jaguar, we have quite a few. The gadgets are as usual spectacular, showing some of the most strangest of espionage devices this side of a Bond film, like a tiny camera hidden inside the button of a jacket to a small ring housing a communicator device that Jaguar uses frequently throughout the picture. Another more notable gadget that the Russian’s use on our defiant secret agent is a mind control device that when strapped to the head of Larson, emits a series of colorful lights that supposedly turn any secret agent into a fun loving commie. Unfortunately for the Russians, Jaguar doesn’t seem to have much of a problem withstanding the devices lure as he brushes off the hypnotic lights and starts a full blown rebellion from within the secret lair of the head villain’s estate.

In another entertaining scene of the film, Larson has to defuse a bomb that is tied to a surveillance camera out in the middle of nowhere. Disrobing down to just a pair of pants, because everyone knows that this is the best way to disarm a bomb, Larson listens to a prerecorded tape of another bomb diffusers failed attempt earlier in the film. By listening to the recording, he’s able to follow step by step, eventually trying out some of his own theories after reaching the part where the now deceased disarmers go boom. It’s an overly long scene, but gives a strangely different tone from the rest of the movie. Well it can’t be all shits and giggles all the time for Jaguar can it?

Code Name: Jaguar is a typical Eurospy flick that has an exceptional secret agent in the form of Ray Danton’s Jaguar. His charisma and overall charm carry the movie, making it more of a fun filled romp then a serious espionage film. The thrilling moments are comprised of Danton charming the pants of a number of ladies while at the same time battling the Russians on land and by sea. The cast does an exceptional job and the lovely ladies of the film are just that, lovely.

This entry in the Eurospy cannon of films is a no-brainer. It has all the elements that make this genre great and it’s a sure fire way to entertain the super spy lover in you. As always Danton impresses and it’s nice to know that after this film was completed, he went on to star in two more wonderful entries in the Eurospy world. If you’re curious about the genre and you want to ease into these fun filled stories of guns, girls, and gadgets, then Code Name: Jaguar is a safe bet. I only wish they would have called it by another and more appropriate name……