El dragón rojo

A West German-Italian spy knockoff in the wake of James Bond, 1965's "Red Dragon" (a Woolner Brothers release in America) imports British star Stewart Granger as an FBI agent from San Francisco who journeys to Hong Kong to infiltrate an international smuggling ring, aided by the ravishing Rosanna Schiaffino as Carol, who replaces a recently murdered agent working with coded messages by teletype. The by-the-numbers plot starts out slow and offers few surprises but patient viewers will manage after the first half hour. The 51-year-old Granger seems just a bit too old to be convincing as the two-fisted hero, but the Italian beauty Rosanna proves she would have made an excellent Bond girl had she been given the opportunity. Shot on location in Hong Kong by a mostly German crew, including actors Horst Frank (as the chief assassin) and Suzanne Roquette, who would also appear together in another Hong Kong-lensed German feature in 1967, "The Vengeance of Fu Manchu," starring Christopher Lee. "Red Dragon" would air only once on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater, Feb 7 1970, followed by second feature 1960's "Atom Age Vampire." Rosanna Schiaffino also appeared in 1966's "The Witch," opposite another British star, Richard Johnson, as well as Edgar G. Ulmer's last film, "The Cavern." Other foreign spies that were shown on Chiller Theater include "Shadow of Evil" (1964, Kerwin Matthews), "OSS 117 Mission for a Killer" (1965, Frederick Stafford), "OSS 117 Double Agent" (1968, John Gavin), "M. M. M. 83" (1965, Fred Beir), "Spy in Your Eye" (1965, Dana Andrews), and "Lightning Bolt" (1965, Anthony Eisley).

Here's a rather bland spy thriller that will pass before your eyes without making much of an impact. One would think that Stewart Granger would make a fine secret agent but he comes across as more of a jerk than anything else. The first time we see him, he's on vacation, sitting on his living room floor playing with his model train set that brings him his liquor. I guess that's appropriate somehow, the guy sitting home alone getting plastered. He certainly couldn't have many friends since he's condescending to everyone except pretty girls.

The film boasts a Riz Ortalani score but even that doesn't help much. If your cup of tea is to listen to Stewart Granger belittle the Chinese for using chopsticks then by all means, have at it.

Fairly dull affair regarding the Feds trying to uncover a Chinese smuggling racket. Granger is good in his role as the Federal agent called out of vacation to unravel the nefarious organization. The ravishing Rosanna Schiaffino as Granger's assistant and location shooting in Hong Kong rescued this from an early sign off. The plot is too predictable and the bad guys just aren't menacing enough. Not awful but not a top choice in this genre.

RED DRAGON is a truly international co-production: it's an Italian spy flick with a Hong Kong setting, co-financed by and produced by German filmmakers who bring a flavour of the German crime film, or krimi, to it. The resultant film is a fun mix of the best of genre staples, with a running time that flies past and an interesting story.

The narrative sees top American spy Stewart Granger (doing his best Cary Grant impression) sent to Hong Kong to investigate a smuggling ring and a couple of murders of fellow agents. While there has time to romance a pretty girl who happens to be a fellow agent (the alluring Rosanna Schiaffino) and has various run-ins with a murderous assassin (Horst Frank at his slimy best).

The Hong Kong setting is a decent one that provides a welcome backdrop for much of the story. The usual fish-out-of-water situations work well here, and the intrigue surrounding the identity of a master villain is fun, if over-obvious. There's not quite as much physical action as I'd expect from a James Bond imitator, but this is nevertheless a colourful and entertaining thriller that brings the 1960s to life. Riz Orlatani provided the upbeat score.

Stewart made a seies of Spy movies in mid 1960s, this was the first (aka"Red Dragon"), quickly followed by "The Killers Carnival", a tryptic where he starred in one segment out of of three, "Target For Killing", "Requiem For A Secret Agent" and "The Zygon Factor", all 4 of which were made in 1965-66 and were just about the last gasp of his movie career.

I think Stewart would have been a strong candidate to play James Bond back in the late 1940s early 1950s, so for anyone yearning to see what an older James Bond might be like, over a decade before Sean Connery and Roger Moore did it, he's your man.

This one has a serviceable script and direction, played straight, with a decent amount of action, though not as much as one might expect from a Bond movie (or a typical Eurospy film)

Materials used in the creation of nuclear weapons are being smuggled via Hong Kong and the local agent has been killed, so the Americans send in an Englishman to sort it out (He's referred to as being an FBI agent, which makes no sense, as the FBI only handle domestic matters, so it should be the CIA).

Stewart plays a suave, cheerful "Roger Moore" type secret agent in this one, and the rest of the lead cast also manage to make an impression; - Rosanna Schiaffino as Stewart's female agent partner, Sieghardt Rupp as the #2 villain, Margit Saad as the female villain, Paul Klinger as Norman and particularly Horst Frank as the nasty henchman.

The director makes the most of the exotic location of Hong Kong, which is used extensively and could be a major reason for watching the film.

The first half is pretty quiet, action wise, but the second half picks up the pace and provides plenty.

Twice Stewart survives having his car strafed by gunfire and run over a cliff, by diving out the door. That could be considered one time to many for a single movie?

The finish gets a bit messy, including several attempts by Stewart to save undeserving bad guys from fires and bombs, but he doesn't succeed, so by the end all the villains are dead and he gets the girl (in fact even his comic relief sidekick, Harald Juhnke, gets a girl).

Fans of Stewart Granger should enjoy.